Thursday 24 November 2011

Andrew Golden, a Visual Design student




Communication & Interaction module (which I should also mention stretches over two semesters). The novel I’ve gone for is Jules Verne’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
I guess I chose this because for one it’s a story that would benefit a visual accompaniment. Verne frequently describes the wonders of the sea as being visually arresting and indescribable through the medium of language, so I think some visual accompaniment would suit this book in particular.
It’s then a matter of what other ways to make the book interactive without interfering with how engrossed the reader is in the story, to somehow make the relationship between the source text and the next interactive elements more symbiotic than in current interactive literature.
One idea I had was based around the main character of 20,000 Leagues being a professor, and his avid habit of taking notes of what he sees under the seas. His notes on species could be an almost collectable thing, like collecting Pokemon whilst reading classic literature. It might also help flesh out story that is not explicitly explained in the text.
This is something else I feel interactive books should do. Instead of relying on cheap touch-screen motion-sensing gimmicks they should instead help flesh out the story and add details of the story not directly mentioned in the text, a feature maybe more geared towards the more curious fans of a novel.
On a mildly related side-note I found this pretty alternate covers to some of Verne’s literature, designed by Jim Tierney. Check out the video as well, because they’re covers that are intended to be more tangibly satisfying that your typical book cover.

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