Interactive Narrative - Javascript

Before I started this course I had no idea what 'Javascript' was, or what 'Programming' was but now I feel like i have learnt something new. I had only really had such basic knowledge of it from doing a few bits and pieces on Myspace. In the first week I learnt that 'Action Script' was different to 'JavaScript' and 'Java'. I also learnt Internet Explorer is not good to use when testing programming and that Firefox is better.

The Project

To take photographs of our favourite place in Nottingham.
As I don't have a favourite place in Nottingham yet, I got stuck for with ideas. However, after watching Jeunet and Caro's 'Delicatessen' I quickly became inspired by the DVDs menu sequence. It had a very 'french' feel about it from the warm colours used and the french items on the table. It was very user friendly and each object lead performed a particular command. I enjoyed this interractivity and wanted to create something similar for my interactive narrative project.

I took photographs of the 'French Living' resaurant/delicatessen in Nottingham. I explored every aspect of the place by taking photographs from all diffent angles, both wide and close-up. It was quite interesting seeing the photographs back because there were so many it seemed like I could put them all together and there would be a 3-Dimensional model of the restaurant! However went back to my original idea because I wanted the photographs to act as a journey through the resaurant.

First of all I had a few problems with re-sizing the photographs to the required pixel measurements. The 800 wide x 350 high made my photographs too rectangular when the objects in the photos were square. To resolve this problem I had to resize all the photographs to a size which would suit the photographs themselves which was 426 wide x 350 high.

I then found it quite easy & satisfying to link all the photographs together in Dreamweaver. I made one main wide angle photograph the 'home' where all the photographs eventually lead back to after exploring the menu, the sign, the plant pot, the food counter and the table and chairs. It was quite hard to add the different javascript codes because it all had to be put onto the right photographs. After a long struggle I resolved the problems, and everything worked, until the final critique when for some unknown reason none of the photographs linked up. This was quite annoying because I couldn't find out why it suddenly changed after it was all working fine. Eventually I managed to find a previously saved copy where everything linked up fine, so overall I was pleased with my interractive narrative project.

improve my project I would have liked to make the colours of the photographs warmer like the colours used in 'Delicatessen' so it appears to have more of a French feel to it. It may also look more pleasing if the I drew on top of the photographs so they had more of a handmade feel to them like the menu sequence in Delicatessen. I would also like to have some Freanch music accompanying the intrerractive narrative to make the French theme more noticable and believable.