l

r
Gi
e
n
i
l
On

by

HANNAH EMERY

Project Planning
And Management
6CTA1010

Statement of Intent
Project idea
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.

Target Audience
Creative Arts Audiences:
I have identified two types of audience that my piece targets.

Fun, Fashion & Friends

/ 18% of English Adults

My piece will target the Fun,

They are aged 16 - 34 and the
main character in my story is
group will be the most likely
story.

Fashion & Friends demographic.

majority are females. As the
a 17 year-old girl I feel this
to engage and connect with the

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 (artsaudiences.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.

AURA DIAGRAM
Residency: Living at
home / shared house
Employment: Student /
Part-time work
Listens to: Radio one,
favourite artists:
Arianna Grande, Little
Mix, Jesse J, Beyonce.
Owns: Smart Phone, Laptop,
Camera. Is up to date with
technology.

Age: 14 - 24
Gender: Female
Shops at: Topshop, ASOS
New Look, Primark.
Fashion conscious
Limited Budget
Watches: TV Programs,
12+ Hours a Week (X Factor,
Eastenders, Geordie Shore.)
Youtube videos.
Goes out: Three times a week,
typically shopping/cinema/
dinner with friends.

Family and Community Focused

/ 11% of English Adults

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 networking 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.

Mood Board

Fig1. Arts Audience (2011)

Key Industry Players

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.

Youtube
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
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
Dreaming methods (est. 1999) is a website established by Andy
Campbell, the One to One development Trusts Director of Digital 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.

Rival Companies
Telltale Games
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 scenarios and options they can pick from to influence the narrative.
Fig2. Telltale Games (2013)

Quicksand Playground
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.

The Hollow Documentary Team

The 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.

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

Theories and Ideas

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 its an on-going and current issue
within todays 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.

User Testing
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 opinions 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.

Gantt Chart
Week:
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)

10

11

12

PRAIS Form
Item
Number

Asset /
Resource
Type

Asset /
Resource
Name

Function /
Contribution

Value /
Alternative

I will need a
camera to take
photos and film
video for my
piece.
I will need a
laptop to
complete all my
work for my
project on.

Preferred - As a
back up I can use
a phone to take
photos & film
videos on.
Essential Without a laptop
I cannot access
the programs I
need to complete
my work.
Important - It is
vital that I do
back-up my work
to ensure that I
dont lose
anything.
Essential Without
headphones no
sound will be able
to be heard.

Hardware

Camera

Hardware

Laptop

Media
Storage

Memory
Stick /
Hard Drive

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

Hardware

Headphones

Headphones are
needed so that
users can hear
the sounds in
my project.

Software

Adobe
Flash CS6

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

Software

Adobe
Illustrator
CS6

Software

Adobe
Photoshop
CS6

Software

Adobe
Premiere
CS6

Essential Adobe Flash is

the main program
I am using to
complete my
work, without it
the project will
not happen.
Adobe
Important Illustrator will Adobe
be used to edit
Illustrator is my
text and fonts
preferred
for my project.
program to edit
fonts on however
other programs
such are
available.
Adobe Photoshop Important will be used to
Adobe Photoshop
make and edit
is my preferred
my photographs. program to edit
photos on
however other
programs are
available.
Adobe Premiere
Important will be used to
Adobe Premiere
edit my video
is my preferred
footage.
program to edit
video on however
other programs
are available.

Project in relation to
the industry
Editor

Coder
Director
Graphic Designer
UX Designer

Media Planner
UI Developer
Story Editor

Interactive Developer

Project Manager

Art Director
Sound Producer

Cinemtographer
Animator
App Designer

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 applications 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.

Development of idea
Typography
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.

My Underwood
Gerogia

Main Font

Sub Font

Colour Scheme
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.

#8BD2C9
#73BAB0
#6CBAAE
#558E85
#231F20

Mock n Feel:

Sample Frame Style

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
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.

New Learning
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.

Marketing
To 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

I have created a logo to advertise
my product. The logo will be used
on all promotional pieces and documents 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.

Banner

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
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.

Ethical Issues
During 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.

Bibliography
Figure 1. Arts Council, 2011. Arts Audience Profile. [Online].
[Accessed 3 Jan. 2015] Available from: http://www.artscouncil.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://www.vg247.com/2013/07/06/non-walking-dead-telltale-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_audience_insight_2011.pdf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]
Dinehart, S. 2008. "Defining Interactive Narrative Design 2
The Narrative Design Explorer". [online] Available at: Narrativedesign.org
Linkedin.com, (2015). Interactive Developer Jobs | LinkedIn.
[online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/job/interactive-developer-jobs/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]
Ghose, T. (2013). 30% of Teens Meet Online 'Friends' Offline:
Study. [online] LiveScience.com. Available at: http://www.livescience.com/26231-teens-meet-online-friends-offline.html [Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
Allen, J. and Chudley, J. (2012). Smashing UX design. Chichester: Wiley