Full disclosure: I fanned out at X-Summit yesterday.

The final keynote presentation of the two-day digital-themed conference in Toronto was “Winter is Coming – Adapting A Game of Thrones” and the title alone had myself and my tablemates practically wringing our hands in anticipation.

Our rapt attention was well rewarded too, as panelists Vince Gerardis, co-executive producer on HBO’s Game of Thrones and Yves Bordeleau, studio director at Cyanide Studio in Montreal, which is developing a new console game based on the property, discussed their experiences bringing author George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy novels to life on screen and in the gaming world.

The transmedia story behind Game of Thrones is almost as epic as Martin’s tale, which, over the course of five published novels, follows the lives of a host of characters caught up in the battle for royal titles in a fantasy medieval realm. The series debuted on HBO this summer and is set to return to the pay channel in 2012.

What is unique about the Game of Thrones property and its transmedia companions, noted panel moderator Lenny Brown, VP, Creative & Business Development at gameco THQ, is the rights story behind it.

Gaming giant EA held the gaming rights to the property long before HBO became interested in the series and held those rights through the publication of the first four novels without developing any properties in support of it, explained Gerardis, who helped bring the series to HBO.

Even after being approached several times after HBO bought the TV rights to the series, EA let the rights lapse, leaving the door open for another gameco to step in.

Enter stage right Cyanide Studio, a France-based company with offices in Montreal and China. They had been interested in the game for a long time, repeatedly approaching Martin about the rights, repeatedly being told they weren’t available, until one day Martin said yes: EA had let the rights lapse.

The TV series was not even on the studio’s horizon, both Bordeleau and Gerardis noted.

“[Cyanide] did it, literally, based off the strength of the story,” explained Gerardis. “How many properties [have that potential]? It’s a Game of Thrones – it’s inherent in the IP.”

The rights story was far more complex than just Cyanide’s piece of the pie. Cyanide actually picked up only a portion of the gaming and digital rights that EA had in their control, leaving the rest of the rights in Martin’s control. Martin had also retained the rights to many other aspects of the IP, such as specific merchandising rights he felt passionately about executing with preferred friends and partners.

It was a decision that almost sunk the deal with HBO, explains Gerardis, until the studio ultimately decided that Martin’s passion for the IP was an advantage, and chose to go ahead with the series despite not being able to retain all of the rights associated with it.

The rights story has influenced the transmedia strategy surrounding Game of Thrones in several significant ways.

“So a portion of the rights are sitting there waiting, and all of a sudden we have a hit show,” Gerardis recalled. “I’m not stupid – I recognized the opportunity and called George and said, ‘Can I do a Facebook game? Can I shop this?’ And we closed the deal about two weeks ago.”

The deal took a year to close, he said, and HBO was reluctant at first to be a partner on it, rather than having control of the IP’s social media gaming presence. “It became a really powerful thing for them to get behind…The interesting thing is not just HBO pioneering this now, but we have three, five, seven years of TV ahead of us? These games can have a life, and creatively sync up with what’s going on in the show and create engagement experiences with the show.”

On the other side of the IP’s gaming story is Cyanide’s Game of Thrones, a role playing game (RPG) for PC, Xbox360 and PS3. The game follows a parallel, unique, storyline to the novels and TV series and was written in partnership with Martin. It is the second game based on the IP pursued by Cyanide; the first was Game of Thrones Genesis, which was an RTS-style game (real-time strategy).

The RPG game was already late in its development stages by the time Cyanide heard that HBO was developing the TV series, so they had to go back and modify elements of the game to match the look and feel of the series.

“We needed to be able to…make the game comfortable for viewers of the TV show too,” said Bordeleau. “So when we started working with HBO, we had to decide, what are the most iconic things in the show? Like, the wall [a central set/plot point] or things like that that we need to make the same, so people don’t feel disconnected. Also the musical score – it is very powerful. We had a score for the game, but using the licence from HBO was the best move. It fits the game so well.”

At that point, Bordeleau cued up the game’s trailer – jokingly calling it the “world premiere”  – and it became quickly apparent he was right: the TV series’ chilling soundtrack added a layer of genuine authenticity to the game for fans of the series (of which there is a growing legion) and an immediate familiarity.

The icing on the cake, Bordeleau admitted, would be if the series’ actors came on board to voice shared characters in the game: “We are working on that right now.”

The multi-million dollar game – funded entirely by Cyanide – is slated for a 2012 release. The social media games are also being developed for a 2012 release, Gerardis said, ideally matching up with the series’ season two premiere.