Monday 16th January 2006 at 7pm
For the next assignment, take a story you have written or are about to write, and imagine you are inputting your story.
Detailed notes on the interface
Entry:
- Enter the site either by clicking on Gothamberg title or on a name.
- Names can be reorganized alphabetically
- 955px x 600px size for applet and page
- A login entry? (I now think yes, together with a cookie for login)
Read:
- On entering you see the entire building
- The background of the applet changes according to the time of day on the person’s computer. (Chuck will pass this from the first page?)
- As you mouse over the building, different story titles appear (with excerpts?)
- When you click a story title, it opens the story, filling the screen as needed, but never all of the screen, also other linked story titles appear in red.
- When you mouse-over on author’s name, other stories by the same author appear, newest above the author, oldest below (?). When you click on the author’s name, the story titles ‘stick’ so you can more easily select them?
- When you mouse over a story, common phrases appear in green, when you mouseover the phrase, other stories with that phrase appear above and below it. If you click on the phrase, the story titles ‘stick’ so you can more easily select them.
- When you mouse over a story, characters also appear in blue, when you mouse over them, other stories with those characters appear above/below them, as above.
- Perhaps only three stories are visible at one time, the story you are currently reading and the two previous that you read. The later two are behind the building.
- The only other buttons are: search and write
- Perhaps the latest stories are those that are displayed on top, with older receding. Perhaps there is a way to show popularity by amount of time people spend with one story? Perhaps there is a way to ‘turn’ the building, so you see stories from layers beneath?
- Stories with an excess amount of swear words are sent automatically to the back, to a ‘blue’ zone. Perhaps a text file with a list of the words and amounts? Can suspicious stories be sent to Marek?
- When you click on ‘Search’, something like Wordpress search engine, which then displays the story titles on the building, perhaps with ‘excerpts’ as you mouse over each…? Or…. Do we have explicit options for searching by name, title, author, phrase, location, etc., meaning when you click on ‘search’, these words appear, you can then click on each to get a list? (I don’t like this, narrative flow is the main thing for me, and this doesn’t help).
Write:
- When you click the button ‘write’ you get taken to these screens.
- The sequence only goes forwards: Link screen, Location screen, Title screen, Character screen, Write Screen, (and then the same again) Character screen, Link screen, Location screen, Title screen… (as people may not choose characters, or may have added new ones, etc).
Login:
- There is a login and password, which is how you start a ‘write’ session. The login is people’s email. They are given the option to have emails sent to them if there is a new story connected to theirs. (something like “Please choose a login, if you wish to receive an email when someone connects their story to yours, please use your email as the login, which we will keep secret�? or something less wordy).
- Author names are separate from login, you can have as many unique ones as you like.
- Once you are logged in, a display opens up listing your previous stories, author names, and how many other stories are connected to yours, including “new�?. You can also edit any of your stories from this screen.
- This section can be outside the applet if we wish, made by Chuck and Marek…?
Link Screen:
- Select what stories to link to, visible are the titles of all stories you read in that session.
- Mousing over a title, you see the story or excerpt?
- Clicking on an X by the title selects that story to link to.
- You can search for stories also.. you type in anything(?), up pop story titles with that, with X on the ends so you can link to those. (We can also choose to search for… titles, phrases, authors, characters?)
Location Screen:
- Choose a place for your story. The cursor turns into a crosshair (?) the building is divided up into various spaces…. Perhaps the type of space it is appears next to the crosshair. Another idea is you just click somewhere and type/choose what type of space it is?
Title Screen:
- Choose a title for you story.
- You are not told to do this, but merely suggested (this is true of all these write screens, once you write the story, you get shown these screens again, eg. you may not have a title for a story until you have written it, but would be good to know this is coming)
Character Screen:
- Choose a character from a linked story
- and/or add a new character
Write Screen:
- Write the story
- Add the Author name (this may already be in the author box)
- Formatting? At least add Bold, Italic, maybe Url (opens in new window)
- Paragraph formatting? Left, Center, Middle and Justify (less essential)
Repeat Screens:
- The Link, Location, Title and Character screens follow again, in case you wish to change anything.
Bookmark:
- Bookmark/url of story… how does this look? Mostly concerned about people wanting to email their story to someone.