Recap

Thought I should recap on whats been happening so far. Have just been reading through this blog and I don't think its very clear...

So the general idea: An interactive narrative based on the fairytale Sleeping Beauty, combining multiple versions, which the viewer has control over. So for example someone might be happily going through Perraults versions and then decide that they want something a bit more gritty and swop to Basiles version, and then if they want a happy ending, end on Grimms. I think of it kind of like an editors version of a fairy tale. You edit the narrative yourself. I think that's clear??? What I would like to include is where characters have migrated within the original texts, you as the viewer could move fairy tale with your chosen character. ( Example: The wicked Stepmother originally started off as a wicked wife (Basile) in that the prince was already married, but it was decided to shorten Sleeping Beauty so the ending was when she woke up, so the wicked Stepmother was no longer needed, it was decided to plonk her into Cinderella) However I think that might be making the project slightly ambitious for the time allowed as well as making everything else ie programming, design, navigation eight times harder then its already going to be.
Navigation: Have finally come up with a navigational structure that I'm happy with. Have settled on a grid of circles. You travel from left to right choosing your circle. Will post some diagrams of the new structure with notes on how it is going to work. Have figured out how to program it all in Flash, the navigation will be the main page, depending on what circle you press that will load in the background image. I want to use Photoshop and Illustrator for the designs instead of my proposed use of the Flash drawing tools. This has meant I've had to re-think the structure of the piece. People won't wait for something to load, it needs to be quick and seamless. Hopefully my new idea will enable this.
Design: Have come up with a design that I'm happy with. I am going to keep the same style, however use different colours to indicate which authors version you are on. Like I previously mentioned the navigation system will be on the page at all times, with the text and images fitted in around the outside. The navigation system will always be on a layer above the main image, so the background behind the navigation system will change also. To make this project relevant not just for this module but also my own development using Flash I would like to include a zoom in/out function as well as the ability to "drag" yourself around the screen. In this I mean you will be able to move around the screen yourself. This will be needed for some aspects of the design. I would like to include quotes as well as meanings that are not relevant to the narrative, but should the viewer wish to learn more about the background of the narrative strand they are on, they can. This will mean the viewer will have to zoom in and out and really hunt for the text. Should they not want to, they can take the page at face value and continue onto the next chosen narrative section.