girl online prospectus

HANNAH EMERY

Project Planning And Management

6CTA1010

by

GirlOnline

I have decided to create an interactive narrative piece. “Interactive narrative design combines ludology, narratology and game design to form interactive entertainment development methodologies.” (Dinehart, 2008).

Genre: Drama

The piece revolves around 17-year-old Victoria who faces trouble when she decides to meet up with the

handsome and ever-so charming Charlie, whom she first starts talking to online.

But is all what it seems?

As well as being engaging and enjoyable I also want there to be a serious message behind the story, I want to highlight the issues and dangers surrounding social networking and young people.

My story will be nonlinear, the user will be able to choose the path of the character and influence the narrative. Encountering puzzles, conundrums and a variety of interactivity along the way.

There will be multiple pathways the user can take, each around 10-12 frames long. It will take the user approximately 15 minuets to complete.

Project idea

Statement of Intent

Target Audience

My piece will target the ‘Fun, Fashion & Friends’ demographic. They are aged 16 - 34 and the majority are females. As the main character in my story is a 17 year-old girl I feel this group will be the most likely to engage and connect with the story.

Fun, Fashion & Friends are also typically online everyday, “using the Internet as a source of information and keeping in touch with their friends via social networking sites” (artsau-diences.org, 2011). I plan on publishing my piece online, using social networks to share and market my work, an effective way to target this audience.

Age: 14 - 24

Gender: Female

Employment: Student /Part-time work

Residency: Living athome / shared house

Shops at: Topshop, ASOSNew Look, Primark.

Fashion conscious Limited Budget

Owns: Smart Phone, Laptop,Camera. Is up to date with technology.

Watches: TV Programs,12+ Hours a Week (X Factor,Eastenders, Geordie Shore.) Youtube videos.

Listens to: Radio one,favourite artists: Arianna Grande, LittleMix, Jesse J, Beyonce.

Goes out: Three times a week,typically shopping/cinema/dinner with friends.

AURA DIAGRAM

Creative Arts Audiences:

Fun, Fashion & Friends / 18% of English Adults

I have identified two types of audience that my piece targets.

Family and Community Focused / 11% of English Adults

Mood Board

Fig1. Arts Audience (2011)

Another audience my piece targets is the ‘Family and Community Focused’. They are typically aged 30 - 50 and have a strong sense of community; they often put their family first.

I feel this group will suit my product as the themes and values running through the narrative of my piece will be of interest to them. They may want to show their children Girl Online to help educate them on the dangers of social network-ing sites, or they may even want to educate themselves so that they can help and advise their children if they were ever put in a similar situation as the protagonist in my story.

Key Industry Players

Youtube

Storynexus

Dreaming Methods

Youtube (est. 2005) is one of the biggest video sharing platforms online, 100 hours of video are uploaded each minuet. Anybody is able to upload video for people all around the world to view. Youtube was one of the early sites that users could create and publish interactive content on; creators were able to link from video to video allowing users to follow and explore multiple paths within stories. Although simplistic Youtube started the ‘interactive’ video trend.

Storynexus (est. 2011) is a platform that allows users to explore interactive stories and create and share their own. Last month, StoryNexus had 180,000 registered users. Storynexus allows you to play, and create, storygames: interactive stories in a rich variety of worlds. Users can choose between a range of genres and themes to find any type of storygame they want. The content posted on the site is highly interactive and engaging.

Dreaming methods (est. 1999) is a website established by Andy Campbell, the One to One development Trust’s Director of Digi-tal Media, to develop experimental digital literature. Content posted on the site ranges from complex flash interactive narratives to simple linear comics. Users can view the work but not publish their own onto the site. The website prides itself in “surviving and evolving through vast technological changes”.

Girl Online would be most suited to publication on websites made specifically for interactive projects. Below are three main sites that cater for projects like mine.Girl Online could even be used or shown in schools to help educate students on the dangers of social networking in a fun and unique way.

Rival CompaniesTelltale Games

Quicksand Playground

The Hollow Documentary TeamThe Hollow team are most known for their interactive Documentaries. Their most popular documentary tells the story of people living in rural communities in West Virginia. Hollow combine video portraits, data visualizations, photography, soundscapes and community generated content to bring these stories to life through an online experience. Unlike the other two competitors the user cannot alter the journey or outcomes within Hollow Documentary; it is more of a visual experience.

The Quicksand Playground Company develop ‘highly addictive’ mobile games, they have produced many interactive narrative games. The most popular being the iPhone apps ‘Prom High School Sim Story’ and ‘Movie Star Story Planet’. These narrative games consist of cartoon graphics, animation and text which help to tell the story; the user can alter the journey of the character and choose different outcomes.

Telltale games, founded by Kevin Bruner, is a American company who specialise in episodic gaming and digital distribution. The company is best known for its various graphic adventure game series based on popular licensed properties. All the games produced by Telltale games are of a very high quality and heavily involve the user interactively; they often give the user a range of sce-narios and options they can pick from to influence the narrative.

Fig2. Telltale Games (2013)

StoryboardTo give an idea of the structure and flow of Girl Online I have produced a simplified version of my story below.

Theories and Ideas

User Testing

One of the aims my project has is to raise awareness of the dangers of social networks to young adults. One of the main concerns surrounding social networking sites are people lying about their identity and luring teenagers into meeting up with them. It has been reported that “nearly a third of teenage girls have met people offline after becoming online friends.” (Ghose, 2013).

The narrative of my project involves a 17-year-old Victoria, who believes she is meeting up with a boy of similar age, Charlie (who she knows through online a social networking site). However he turns out to be somebody entirely different. I feel this is an important topic to cover, as it’s an on-going and current issue within today’s society.

I believe my approach to the topic is suitable and effective; the interactivity of my piece will get users involved with the storyline and help spread the awareness of issues involving social networking in a unique and engaging way.

Throughout my project I will ensure that I carry out appropriate user testing. User testing is important as it ensures that quality is up to standard, it is a time where any issues or problems are highlighted and sorted out.

I will carry out user testing at multiple points throughout the creation of my piece. Firstly I will carry out paper based user testing, in the form of a questionnaire; I will distribute these out to peers along with my storyboard and flow chart to collect opin-ions of my initial idea, narrative and flow.

I will then carry out user testing again when my prototype is almost finished, by conducting a focus group. I will select a group of peers to view and explore V1 of Girl Online, once the group has finished checking out my project I will then ask for their feedback on the design and overall experience. I will also ask if they encountered any problems and what I could do to improve the quality of my work.

Week:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Branding

Logo Banner

UX Planning

Flow Chart Storyboard Prototype Planning

Design Production

Sketches Designing Resources Finalizing Design User Testing (paper based)

Project Production

Document set-up Photo taking, editing & importing

Video taking, editing & importing

Text creation & importation

Coding Bug Testing User Testing Promotional Production

Social Media Campaign Promotional Video

Documentation

Contingency Time (Weeks 5 & 10)

Gantt Chart

PRAIS FormItem

Number Asset / Resource

Type

Asset / Resource Name

Function / Contribution

Value / Alternative

1 Hardware Camera I will need a camera to take photos and film video for my piece.

Preferred - As a back up I can use a phone to take photos & film videos on.

2 Hardware Laptop I will need a laptop to complete all my work for my project on.

Essential - Without a laptop I cannot access the programs I need to complete my work.

3 Media Storage

Memory Stick / Hard Drive

A memory stick or hard drive will be needed to back-up and store my files.

Important - It is vital that I do back-up my work to ensure that I don’t lose anything.

4 Hardware Headphones Headphones areneeded so that users can hear the sounds in my project.

Essential -

5 Software Adobe Flash CS6

Adobe Flash is the main program I will use to complete my project in.

Essential - Adobe Flash is the main program I am using to complete my work, without it the project will not happen.

6 Software Adobe Illustrator CS6

Adobe Illustrator will be used to edit text and fonts for my project.

Important - Adobe Illustrator is my preferred program to edit fonts on however other programs such are available.

7 Software Adobe Photoshop CS6

Adobe Photoshop will be used to make and edit my photographs.

Important - Adobe Photoshop is my preferred program to edit photos on however other programs are available.

8 Software Adobe Premiere CS6

Adobe Premiere will be used to edit my video footage.

Important - Adobe Premiere is my preferred program to edit video on however other programs are available.

Without headphones no sound will be able to be heard.

Project in relation tothe industry

In the future I would like to get into interactive design. Within my project an interactive developer is a very important job role as the whole piece is highly interactive and immersive.

“Interactive developers frequently need a range of skills so that they can effectively combine graphics, audio, and video elements into a coherent whole that engages users. Along with creating and combining these various elements, the developers will program the application’s interactive aspects.” - (Linkedin.com, 2015).

As well as allowing me to explore my interest of interactive design, my completed interactive narrative ‘Girl Online’ will be a good addition to my portfolio and will help me build a strong collection of work for the future.

Project Manager

UX Designer

Animator

Graphic Designer

Art DirectorUI Developer

Media Planner

Director

Editor

CinemtographerSound Producer

App Designer

Coder

Interactive DeveloperStory Editor

Development of ideaTypography

My UnderwoodMain Font

Colour Scheme

Sub Font

I am going to use a simple muted colour palette to reflect the genre of my piece. The main colours I will use are going to be blue, greens and greys.

Gerogia

#73BAB0

#558E85#6CBAAE

#8BD2C9

#231F20

I am going to use just two fonts within my project. I have chosen fonts that are simplistic and easy-to-read, ones that suit the tone of my project.

Mock ‘n’ Feel:

Sample Frame Style

There will be a high level of interactivity incorporated into my project; this means there will be a lot of new learning in store for me. I will have to teach myself, using online tutorials, some advanced coding in order to complete my project to a high standard.

During the development of Girl Online I hope to develop my skills of Adobe Flash, Photoshop and Premier. I am very keen to advance my knowledge of Adobe Flash, as knowledge of this program will be particularly useful for me to have for the future.

‘Girl Online’ will be combination of photographs and video that I will take myself and royalty free images sourced from the web. I will piece these together to create a collage effect.

Sound

New Learning

Within my project there will be lots of sound effects and some narration to help set the scene. All sounds will be collected or voiced by myself.

MarketingTo market my piece I have decided to create a logo, online banner and social media campaign. As my project will be published online I feel these three forms of advertising will be best suited to market my product.

Logo & Favicon

Banner

I have created a logo to advertise my product. The logo will be used on all promotional pieces and doc-uments to help brand and represent Girl Online.

To go along with my logo I have also produced a simple favicon that can be used as a website or bookmark icon.

I have also created an online banner. The banner will be put online on already established popular websites to catch user interest and promote Girl Online.

Social Media Campaign

I have set up a Facebook and Twitter page for Girl Online. These pages will help spread the word and generate interest. The public will be able to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ the pages to show their support. This way I will be able to build up an online following for my project.

Professional Quality

Ethical IssuesDuring the development of my project the only interaction with people will

occur during user testing, where I will carry out a questionnaire and focus group. The questionnaire will

be on an anonymous basis and candidates will be able to pull out of the focus group at any time, meaning that my project carries a low ethical

risk.

I will ensure professional quality all throughout the creation of Girl Online.

To do this I will make detailed and comprehensive plans within the initial design stage. “If you fail to plan properly, it is likely that something will go wrong that will jeopardize both the quality of your results and user confidence in using you again.” (Allen, J. and Chudley, J, 2012: p79). Constructing detailed plans will help my project to run smoothly and save time, as I will have a clear idea of what I need to produce.

During the development stage I will make sure that all images I source are of a high quality and standard. That text is legible and appropriate, and that video is coherent. I will also make sure that my frames are consistent to the style of my project, and that all my coding is working correctly.

User testing will help me to ensure quality; users previewing Girl Online will point out any mistakes or imperfections within my project that I may have missed. This will help me to create a high quality product.

BibliographyFigure 1. Arts Council, 2011. Arts Audience Profile. [Online]. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2015] Available from: http://www.artscoun-cil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/arts_audience_insight_2011.pdf

Figure 2. vg247.com, 2013. Telltale Game Screenshots. [Online]. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2015] Available from: http://ww-w.vg247.com/2013/07/06/non-walking-dead-tell-tale-games-going-for-99c-on-itunes-this-weekend/

Arts Audiences: Insight. (2011). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/arts_audi-ence_insight_2011.pdf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]

Dinehart, S. 2008. "Defining Interactive Narrative Design 2 – The Narrative Design Explorer™". [online] Available at: Nar-rativedesign.org

Linkedin.com, (2015). Interactive Developer Jobs | LinkedIn. [online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/job/interac-tive-developer-jobs/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]

Ghose, T. (2013). 30% of Teens Meet Online 'Friends' Offline: Study. [online] LiveScience.com. Available at: http://www.lives-cience.com/26231-teens-meet-online-friends-offline.html [Ac-cessed 9 Jan. 2015].

Allen, J. and Chudley, J. (2012). Smashing UX design. Chiches-ter: Wiley