My own Flash and blood...

Alright, so I guess it`s time for me to talk about what I`m going to present you with, my dear bloggaholic (I know there`s nobody out there, but what the heck, people could pretend they see an imaginary space daddy, so why shouldn`t I be delusional about this?) the result of several days of intense labour. Did I make any significant progress in Flash beyond what was necessary to complete my project? No, I`ll leave that to the holidays (yes, I mean it, my social life is that lame that this is a resolution I might just be able to keep!). But, on the sunny side, the scripting we had to use went smooth after the second seminar when some of my questions got answered. So, basically, I spent most of my time not in Flash, cursing the day ActionScript was invented, but in Photoshop and Word, creating my stills and (re)writting my scenario. Seeing that, as I have mentioned in my previous posts, the idea behind the project is an adaptation of a novel, one would think that there wasn`t much work to be done with the story. Oh, yes there was! Consider the project a personal remix of the novel. I have kept the title, some characters, some locations and dropped whole chunks of it, replacing them with what I would call speculative exercises. Let me expand on this...

Since I was in school I knew that if there was one thing I was good at it was telling the sort of stories that had as little action as possible. To this day, I prefer movies that some of my friends label `No action. None whatsoever` and that are more concerned with making the viewer immerse him/herself into the atmosphere not by identification with the happenings, but with the thoughts, feelings, humour, etc of the characters. So this narrative is not action packed as you will get to see. The novel itself is not action packed. For one thing, I remember an interesting connection that I made with the novel when preparing an essay later on. I was reading about Byzantine mosaics (a graphic concept I have used to illustrate my narrative) and the fact that the inherent stillness of the world that is represented within mosaics is a picture of a stasis perceived as a state of grace by the Byzantines. You might say, of course it is still, they are not animations...but think of the powerfull dynamism of, say, the Sixtine Chapel, where even the muscles on the characters seem to be rippling in a frenzy of movement. So, the stillness of mosaics is true to the image of the state of grace and also, I should point out, to the nature of the Byzantine society: the envy of the world for its affluence and noble legacy, but very much inclined to step outside of time and enter the same stasis is depicts in its mosaics, a state that in the real world brings...well, anything but the good things in life.

So, I think I made my point about the choice for the mosaic effect. Why sepia? For both technical reasons and aesthetic ones. Some pictures were black and white, others were coloured, so I had to figure out a way to make them work as a whole...colourise seemed to be the solution. Sepia: it looks most like the actual background colour for most mosaics I have seen (some are golden, not really sepia, but I think gold would have been a bit too flamboyant). I chose to blur and blacken the edges of the stills to create a story telling mood. Why would that effect bring about that mood? I guess because, on the one hand, it separates the story from the real world, acts like a stage if you will, and on the other hand, it mimics the limitation of our visual field and creates that `I`m there, I live the story` sort of feeling...blures the line between me, as in me, myself and I, and me as the observer of the events that are presented.

You`ll notice that most of the times, the characters are placed on one side of the frame, and there is a block of text on the other side. Of course, most of the times it has to do with managing the avaiable space to include both elements, but in some cases, I found it as a good means to express the idea of characters facing dilemmas, their choices and the outcomes of their decisions.

The fonts...oh, the fonts! I tested them on Sam, she could make out the story so I decided it was British proof and left it that way. The reason I was reluctant to change it, even though it does raise difficulties for some when trying to read it, is that the fonts are integral to the visual whole (mosaics and the typical letters that were used to offer information on the characters or the scene).

Navigation and interaction...I had to make some compromises here. My initial idea was to make timed frames, as in, to avoid using additional buttons in the already small frame. And I have figured out a way to do that...but I think it was more of a improvisation. The thing is, since the texts are usually rather long and also a bit hard to read for some users, adding frames to increase the time reserved for a sequence would just expand the timeline into a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong and endless snake, and it still wouldn`t garuantee everybody has enough time to actually read the sequence. So, what I did, in order to still avoid buttons, is that I made the actual texts into buttons, so that when the user has finished reading it in his own time, he can click on it to continue. Since the text area is pretty large, I think there shouldn`t be any confusion with regards this, because the mouse becomes active. As you progress through the story, you get to make three decisions (well, that is, if you don`t end up watching one of the alternative ends because of a choice you have made) and I tried to convey the importance of all of these decisions. It`s not so much a question of a right or wrong decision, as it is about realising the outcomes of these decisions. So, you won`t end up facing a GAME OVER screen, you won`t die...although there is at one point a masked threat...but I`m being my usual evil self and I refuse to let the player get off the hook so easily when making what I think is a poor choice (who am I to say what`s a poor choice? Well...I`m the narrator :P)...so I just make him/her face the consequences of his/her foolish/selfish/cowardly actions.

I had some trouble finding the right sound for this project. First, I was thinking of some Byzantine chants, and I knew I had some mp3s at home...but really, getting my parents to send them to me via email...forget ActionScript,*that* would have been a real challenge! But, the gods had mercy on me and I found what I think is just right for this story, the introduction theme from the game The Shadow of the Colossus. Serene but also punctuating some of the key moments, it fits very well with the sequences of the story even as I have looped the sound, instead of linking it to specific moments within the narrative. There is an element of randomness that can actually play to my advantage sometimes, because laying different emphasis on the same sequence the next time a user plays the game, is likely to give one a feeling similar to that of re-reading a book...you feel you`ve discovered a detail wou have missed.

Finally, here is the meisterwerk


The Golden Bough by ~dochiaz on deviantART

Interactivity overdose

Narrative seminar task:

Produce an analysis of three additional interactive narratives, commercial or artistic.

http://www.zdob-si-zdub.com/

Zdob si Zdub are a Moldavian band whose repertoire consists mostly of ethnic or folk inspired songs and Balkan rock. And just to show consistency all the way, the site`s narrative is abundant in references to myths and symbols of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The home page takes the visitor on a journey through the use of the magical bird (pasarea maiastra) that flies off whenever one clicks on an animated button. In as much as spacial awareness is concerned, the stage is set from the beginning as a story layed out on a tapestry. Having symbols for buttons invites one to be curious because they are not as straightforward as one would guess. The personalised video player is an excellent idea, partly because it blends so nicely with the theme of the site, but also because it incites one to play around with the little bug that acts as a scroll. The site also gives the bio section a twist, by having a collage placed upon the members of the band, consisting of traditional garments with animated folk motifs running up and down on them.

http://www.tarkan.com/

The narrative idea behind this site becomes clear when one reads the description to the artist`s latest album (the site is made to promote this recent album, and does not contain older material or thorough information about the singer). Metamorfoz has been presented as the artist`s most revealing album to date (a funny way of saying he wrote all of the songs on the album) and the basic layout of the site illustrates that: one gets only a peak, a short glance inside, knowing there is more there, but just out of reach. There is a player in the top left corner, a feature that is useful no doubt but because it starts to play right away as you connect to the site, I found myself scared a few times by the sudden outburst of music. Buttons are animated and additional information appears in pop-up windows that bounce into the active area. Surely not the most interactiv site out there, but it does tell the story of the album and it does sell the image. And seeing that it is a promotional site for an album, it fulfills its goal.

http://www.adamilea.ro/

I always found Ada Milea an intriguing character. Her songs reveal the hollowness of many disputes, controversies, held-up-to-be-worshipped symbols within Romanian society. All this in a distinctly playful vein, often times using allegories and similees instead of blatant criticism. The narrative of the site reflects her style, looking much like an enfant terrible` s playground, with the little animated sheep (a reference to poem) pacing slowly from one end to another of the active screen area. The way the CD and VIDEO sections are organised brings an increased level of interactivity by, again, making the user play around with the little tablets and cds that hang on ropes (they are mouse sensitive and follow the mouse movements). The player on this site is so well integrated into the site...you can`t find it at first and have no idea where the sound is coming from. The active doesn`t take up the entire screen, and the desired effect in this case seems to be, seeing that it is the singers playground, to give the space a petite, childish look, like the secret corner to come and play in.

Getting interactive with the empress...

After following some Flash tutorials and getting more and more confused, I decided that the best way to ward off a feeling of frustration and powerlessness is to focus on the actual story I wanted to tell. What I came up with is a story inspired by Mihail Sadoveanu`s The Golden Bough novel. Given the fact that we are supposed to use stills and that the story takes part in Byzantium, I thought I might use mosaic or iconic like stills to tell the story. But what is the story about? We start off as Kesarion Breb, an apprentice of the Dacian high-priest who is chosen to become the next leader of the cult of Zamolxis (don`t get excited about the names, it will get better). Before that, he is given a mission: he is to leave the refuge of the sacred Kogaionon mountain and embark on a journey that finally takes him to Constantinople in order to find out the answer to the high-priests question: does the new religion, Christianity, that is getting more and more people to renounce their old beliefs, bring people closer to the truth and make them lead a virtuous life.

Once he arrives to Constantinopole, he finds the city to be indeed one of extreme contrasts: decadence and icons, Christianity, ascetism, virtue and corruption, cosmopolitanism and age old wisdom gathered from every culture and violent outbursts of religious fanaticism and violence...all find their place on the streets and in the Imperial court of the city. At the time of his arrival, the capital has been through a major religious conflict between the iconoclasts and iconodoules, both having rallied powerfull and influential supporters. Empress Irina, an iconodoules, has emerged victorious and has decided to choose a bride for his son, the prince Konstantinos, that would further strenghten her and her parties position. Instead of the proposed alliance with Rotruda, Charlemagne`s daughter, she wants to find a Greek bride for his son, one that can thus be more easily manipulated. Having caught the attention of influential people at the court, you are made to choose between helping Irina find a bride, or be labelled a suspect and a possible enemy.

Having found Maria, the daughter of a pious man in one of the provinces of the empire, you face yet another dilemma: bring her to the court and watch her be the victim of all the intrigues or leave her in her town but know you have mingled with destiny and with the chance to remind the Byzantines of the power of virtue through the life and sacrifice of this girl.

As we get back to Constantinople, the scene is set for another major conflict. This time, prince Konstantinos, after getting bored of his new wife and wanting to get back to his debauch ways and finding his mother pushing him out of the scene to claim all power, becomes the leader of the former defeated party of the iconoclasts, and the clash between mother and son for the throne begins.

I hope I can get all the necessary details of the story into the project. What I have here is also a scheme of the choices the user would make to advance the story.