Saturday 5 February 2011

A bit more structure to the interactivity

An interactive projector? Yes. A pen? No.
I have spent the entire morning looking for interactive projectors. I found affordable ones which come with a pen, and a camera/pen combination which can be attached to an existing projector and works via USB with a computer. I am still not convinced about using a pen however. Pens remind me of education - I think this would detract from the interactive experience. I wish I could find another method besides having to use a pen or a mouse.

A linear structure? Perhaps
So in my last chat with Andy he told me to write in more detail how the interactivity between the user and the visuals would happen. After some brainstorming I figured since the experience is based on a surreal trip - I would follow the same structure. The experience would start mild - with videos of everyday life (storyboards will soon follow). The user can click his/her way through by selecting target points in the videos. This would lead to more visuals - as the user clicks his/her way through the videos become more distorted and animated illustrations start to prop into scene. The climax of the experience / the trip is represented by various animated illustrations and distorted video. This then leads to darker visuals - the come down. This is the final stage. Essentially the experience starts normal and increases exponentially until it becomes so ecstatic that it starts to turn scary - very much like a drug experience. The structure is also a typical storyline of films by David Lynch. They start fairly neutral and slowly transport the character into a frenzied state.

Some unsolved issues.
So Can the user go back? Well... I'd like to give the user as much control as possible however going back is not an option if one were to take real drugs, if one was experiencing an actual dream (unless caught in some kind of loop) so I guess it would deter the authenticity of the experience.
Should there be multiple journeys one can take? Yes I would love to do this, especially if the application makes its way online - it can be a sort of game.

So what next?
I need to start storyboarding. 
I need to brainstorm.
I need to update my proposal
I need to update my plans.

But I'm happy I finally have a more coherent structure I can follow.

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