COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY:

What is it really good for, besides creating what is 'unreal' in epic fantasy films? What about testing the long-term durability of architecture before construction begins, or rebuilding missing bone tissue to repair the skull of an accident victim?

The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993) are believable because they have been skillfully incorporated into the realistic context of the film. If the context is real, then so are the dinosaurs. The flat 'characters' that once inhabited interactive games have become 3D renderings of people and monsters, moving through realistic rooms/landscapes, with shadows and lens flare.

Many people play computer games, or use interactive software like PhotoShop or Lightwave. How many users have experienced the sensation of having 'crossed-over' into a zone of fluent response with their computer? There’s an ambiguous point of amalgamation in interactivity when the user begins to respond in real time with the software, experiencing an actual sense of physical and mental cohesion with the machine.

In 3D games in which the first-person “I” player/author can switch identities during the game, most regular players will prefer and identify with only one of the characters. A relationship develops between characters and the audience, drawing them into the story. Make your heroes more human and they will have more impact, as they will be perceived as being more 'real'.

The creator of role-playing game Septerra Core, Brian Babendererde, argued with the publishers Viacom that the main character Maya, who dies at the end of the game, shouldn’t be brought back from the dead for a sequel; “It’s epic, it’s drama, it’s reality. People don’t live forever like iconic characters. People die in real life”.

Because interactivity can draw on so many different media, 'scriptwriting' for multimedia involves planning procedures with no specific, formal doctrine of practice, adding totally new dimensions to the composition process. Since the range of content is potentially infinite, clearly guiding the user through the multimedia is the primary challenge for the writers and artists.

Presenting information as a replacement for a real experience is a very delicate artificial construct, but people need choices and the rewards of information freedom are worthwhile and much needed. The potential is infinite; try to understand what’s possible within a budget, without preconceptions of purpose.

SIMPLICITY is key - find out how much the client can spend, then decide on the top priorities that need to be completed first.

In producing an interface an adaptable multimedia writer or designer can be involved variously:

• Contributing to the Design Documents

• Inventing Design Strategy

• Expanding the Scope of a Project

• Developing Marketing Ideas

• Development of Electronic Promo Kits

• Researching Educational References

• R & D of Navigation Principles

• Designing for ”User-Friendliness”

• Technical Manuals for Service Providers

• Product Testing of Target Audiences

• Product Image and other considerations

• Production of © Materials/Legal issues

With a new delight we can use all those ancient languages and all that knowledge to further inform what we need to communicate interactively. We can write words, sample texts, make music, create links, draw maps, play games, photograph life, record reality in every form, build web-sites for every country, acquire knowledge and project any idea at any time, globally.

In the context of interactive multimedia, CONTENT IS ACTIVITY, not just information delivery.