Dangerous Days - Online Graphic Novel

Project Start Date: October 6, 2004
Project Deadline: July 4, 2005

Project Statement

It is the purpose of this project to tackle the specific problems associated with distributing comics over the web by analyzing the current sentiments people have towards them, expounding on common issues that people may have, then addressing said issues to eventually create a system that allows people to experience comics quickly, easily, and in an enjoyable fashion. [top]

Target Audience

My own research into the types of people who indulge in reading comics on a relatively frequent basis, and are interested in webcomics indicates the following:

• All of them play video games, be it on a console or personal computer. They are therefore used to various forms of conventional and non-conventional navigation across a wide range of interfaces, having played a number of game-s in their lifetime

• All speak and read English fluently

• Those most open to the idea of going through webcomics fall within the 15 - 35 age range

• All of them have a broadband connection

• All of them are able to view Flash-based webpages

• The majority of the audience is PC based, with the rest falling into the MAC and LINUX categories

• Internet Browser usage varies from the standard Internet Explorer to third party software like Mozilla or Firebird. There seems to be an even balance of the two

• Most have indulged (or continue to) in a hardcopy comic collection

My audience therefore revolves around these sifted bits of data. I have conceived a primary and secondary audience, the specifics of which follow below. [top]

Primary Audience:

15-35 years of age [or 18 - 35, depending on the nature of material found in the comic], with some leeway on either end of that scale. A broadband connection is not an absolute must, but will come strongly recommended. Since none I interviewed lacked this facility, I am comfortable with moving forward making it a requisite at a further stage of this endeavour. The Macromedia Flash plug-in is a must, as that is what will be used to develop the comic. Finally, being able to read English is an imperative, until we reach a stage where we can have these comics translated into a wider range of languages that are accessible to those who do not speak or read English as a first language. [top]

Secondary Audience:

Unrestricted age limit, targeted at people who have never had any real experience with webcomics, or their hard-copy counterparts but are interested in it, and don't know where to start. They will have to have the same technical requirements in terms of hardware, but everything else (in terms of where to start and how to read) will be made available to them through quick, intuitive tutorials that accompany the comic itself. Again, being able to read English will be a must, for the time being. [top]

Design Strategy

Framework

This project rests on a base that revolves primarily around storytelling on the web. A vast number of options are available to anyone with the capacity or desire for telling stories to present their ideas to a global audience. Flash animations, Compact downloadable movies, fan fiction, and comic strips number amongst just a few of these options. My own intent lies in enhancing the experience users have with online comics, where I will address a number of problems people experience today while reading them. Possible solutions will subsequently be applied to said problems, eventually making the experience ­ more enjoyable than reading a hardcopy incarnation of the medium. There are a number of facets to this that lie within my scope, and there are an equal number that lie without. Creating an easily manipulable interface that allows users to move from one page to another, subtly integrating sound and motion to accentuate a given mood, adding a ‘Download to Disk' option that lets users save a fully loaded comic to their hard drive - these are tasks that can be accomplished given the amount of time available. Adding extra functionality - the ability to print their comics (based on a set template), the ability to customize language, the ability to create individual accounts for users, the ability to ‘remember' or ‘bookmark' pages to their user profile - these are things that temporarily lie outside the scope.

User tests over the past month and a half have revealed some strange things. People dont seem to care about music or sound, just the image. Somehow, not a single person I interviewed thought the test interface with music in it did anything fantastic for the experience as a whole.

Maybe I was just using the wrong music.

Sound seems to be a technical issue at the moment, but most people did not notice it's absence. The visual cues were strong and consistent enough to support the project on their own.

I will continue to look into efficient use of sound, however. I believe the more immersive the feedback, the better.

[top]

Choices

For the purposes of this project, I've opted to focus specifically on comics. Stories that have relied solely on text based material (e.g.: ‘The Plant', by Stephen King, released late 2000) have met with very limited success. This can be attributed to a general reluctance on the audience's behalf in reading vast amounts of text on a screen. Downloadable movies, while fairly engaging take a lot more effort to produce, and require substantial resources to maintain their presence online (bandwidth and server space being the two primary hurdles). Web comics - properly prepared - are compact, easy to navigate, and able to engage their audience in a short amount of time due to their inherent nature in combining text and image with an intuitive navigation interface. [top]

Nature

This project is primarily entertainment based. It has its roots in the comic industry, and is attempting to broaden its current audience on the web, as well as entice people who are familiar with hardcopy comics to try out something new. As a whole, it is meant to entertain people in a refreshing way that stays true to the actual world of comics, but makes full use of new venues in terms of interactivity that the internet provides. [top]

Direction

My intent focuses on coming up with strategies to use flash to add new efficient elements that contribute to and augment comics as a form of storytelling (i.e., ambient sound, navigating systems for comic pages, and so on) on the internet, and make it easily accessible to its audience, and easily distributable for its designers. As well, by allowing an artist to distribute their comic directly to his or her audience, it nullifies the need to spend untold amounts of money on printing and distribution costs. Any profits gained are funnelled directly to said artist. [top]

Deliverables for Local Application

The sole deliverable for the local application will be a prototype of the first few pages of a webcomic that will be distributed to a restricted audience composed of peers and graphic novel afficionados. The prototype will include the first draft of the optimized page navigation system,a prototype option to download chapters to disk, and will be presented in rich format – with interaction where necessary. Part of the intent behind this preliminary distribution on the local level is to gauge a reaction on the local level to the effort in an attempt to discern any further problems the prototype might have, and fix said problems for global distribution. [top]

Deliverables for Global Application

A completed, optimized version of the Local Application - the comic in refined form [in regards to filesize, load-speed, overall efficiency], with a preview chapter of the comic available for viewing.

In addition, advertising material will be included for express implementation on the 'net, as well as physical environments. 2 Banners and a poster promoting the Dangerous Days Online comic will accompany the project in it's final stages.