Contemplating the scope of my project... 1. Puzzle matrix: make printable version with clues only. Spending time on making this aspect interactive is detrimental to project completion as it may take away time better spent on developing characters and animation.
I have spent time developing answer matrix, while useful, not really exciting. See answer matrix below (based on original clues). This involves looping through a series of scripts to create movie clips on the fly. Each set of 5 horizontal lines resides on its own level (see forum posting in references at page bottom).
This does little more than allow a user to turn an "X" or "O" on or off. No value for recording or checking answers.
2. Animated items: Introduce cast before game start. Allow user to move items to see how they respond to touch, dragging, and dropping.
3. Interface: Space to drag and drop items will be the majority of the screen. Draggable items will be small and possibly non-animated at puzzle view. As decisions are made, record and display house properties in a text field. This will also serve as a method of checking for correct answers.
4. Record time from game start to game end (successful completion). This allows users to compete against each other.
5. After puzzle completion, zoom in on each house and show person and pet singing to favorite song, background will be slideshow of favorite vacation spot.
6. Think about instructions and help documentation.
What kind of tool will I use?
Flash software, actionscript books, and help forums.
Mitch Kapor - Design Manifesto (software design)
Mitch Kapor manifests about software design. What would he say now, possibly ten years later, with the internet so ingrained in our culture? Web and interaction design requires so many dimensions from it's producers: usability standards, information architecture, graphic design, multi-language programming. . . . I think that the day for "software design" respect has come. Of course, I'm still hard pressed to see one single locale where one can learn all of the skills involved, but I think that the culture of acceptance for "software designers" is coming about.
