Interactive (last assessment 2023) Notes

In this section, we will explore the various practical techniques that producers use to create interactive media products. This section is designed to improve your understanding of various techniques and the meaning conveyed through these techniques across websites, mobile apps, video games and other interactive products.

The term ‘interactive media’ encompasses a wide range of media products. Before we explore the most common forms of interactive media, it is worth summarising the key areas of technique you will be studying:

• Interactive Features – As the term suggests, this refers to any feature of a media product that the user has control over, e.g. pressing a button, typing a word, swiping a screen
• Usability/Playability – This term refers to how easy it is for a user to interact with a media product, i.e. Is the content easy to navigate? Are the controls easy to use and remember?
• Mise en Scène – A term more commonly associated with audio / moving image media that refers to the arrangement of characters and objects within the frame, e.g. for video games, it is important to consider: how characters are framed; what characters are wearing; what angle characters are facing; how characters pose; which objects surround them; which objects (if any) are they holding; what the main point of emphasis is, etc.   
• Sound Design – Programming sound effects into interactive media products can be more complex, particularly when the actions of the user affect the sound they hear
• User Interface (UI) – This refers to the various ways in which users can communicate with a computer system.The goal of UI is for the operator to have an appropriate level of control over the machine they use. More information can be found in the following video.

A website is essentially useful data that is stored on a set of related web pages served from a single web domain. Websites are one of the dominating forms of interactive media as they are created for businesses, charities, hobbies and other media products.

Interactive Features

• Home Page – The main, and often first, page users see when they visit a website. This is designed to help users access specific pages within a website. Without a home page, websites would be incredibly difficult to navigate.
• Image Gallery – An interactive feature of websites which allows producers to group images in a way that is visually pleasing and accessible for the user. Forms of presentation could include a grid of thumbnail images or a slideshow of images to scroll through.
• Menu Bar – A long, thin section of text usually situated towards the top of a web page. It contains usable links to categorised subsections of the website. Menu bars are usually displayed horizontally, although they can also be vertical.
• Comment Threads – Certain media websites (particularly vlogger sites, newspaper websites and e-magazines) will have sections at the bottom of the page where users can type in their thoughts and opinions on certain features of the website. Most business websites include this feature so customers can write queries or feedback.
• Social Media Icons – Small, hyperlinked images which allow users to access the official social media pages relating to the subject or creator of the website. Most media websites have icons for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

User Interface

• Screen – For traditional personal computers, this is referred to as a monitor. Screens were originally designed to present information to the user in a pictorial form. Since the mid 2000s, users can now control the information they see by tapping and swiping the screen itself.  
• Touchscreen – Since the mid 2000s, touchscreen phones have become more and more common. Touchscreen is, quite simply, a display device which enables users to operate a machine by touching areas of the screen. Certain touchscreens can be operated only using a pen or stylus.
• Mouse – A piece of hardware, connected to a computer, which can be moved by the user across a surface, giving them smooth control of navigation through a computer system. A mouse also enables the user to select functions and scroll through a page.
• Keyboard – A piece of hardware, connected to a computer, consisting of a series of buttons. It can be used to insert letters, numbers and symbols into computer or it can be used to trigger a particular function, e.g. Print Screen, Volume Control.
• Graphics Pad – A piece of input, connected to a computer, which allows users to sketch images onto a contact-sensitive tile using a pen or stylus. The image will simultaneously be inserted into the computer.
• Web Browser – A software application that can be used to access information on the Internet. Key examples include Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari.

Usability

• Hyperlink – A link on a web which takes the user to another web page, video or file. Hyperlinks are usually displayed in bold, italics, underlining or a different colour in order to make them clear to the user.
• ‘Above the Fold’ – This term refers to content on a website the user can see without having to scroll down. The rule allows users to access the most important information on a website with as little hassle as possible.
• Search Function – Every web browser, and most websites, have search bars built in to them. These allow the user to type a topic in and quickly find online information relevant to that topic.
• Site Map – A list of all the pages featured within a website, often used by designers during the planning process of a website. Site maps are also used so that individual pages can be easily identified through search engines.

Interactive Features

• Navigation Screens – The vast majority of games and mobile apps have menu pages which allow users to navigate their way through different levels, settings and modes of gameplay
• Functions – Not to be confused with actions, this term refers to what the player/user has to physically do in order to succeed at a game, e.g. pressing buttons on a controller, swiping the phone screen, performing the correct motions on Wii Sports
• Levels – Most video games are structured through individual levels. As the player progresses further through each level, the game usually becomes more difficult. This is an effective way of structuring content in a video game.

User Interface

• Screen – For most video games, the screen acts as a way of visually presenting the game’s information in pictorial form. Certain games, particularly those designed for Android, rely on a touchscreen device, i.e. tapping and swiping the screen are the main functions of the gameplay
• Interaction – Video games are, by their very nature, interactive. In recent years, types of gameplay such as MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) allow users to communicate with one another through headsets and comment sections, adding another layer of interaction.
• Graphics – Sections of imagery and text that appear on the screen – these can be selected by the user to access information or trophies, trinkets and power-ups within the gameplay
• Buttons – The majority of video game consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch) come with controllers containing buttons. The pressing of these buttons is the main function of the gameplay.
• Avatar – An icon or a figure acting as a visual representation of the user playing a video game. The user is able to alter the appearance of the icon to suit them and navigate the world of the video game through this character’s perspective.

Usability/Playability

• Accessibility – It is important that the main function of an app or the gameplay of a video game is easy for the user to access. This is usually achieved through a well-structured, visually clear set of menu pages that are easy to navigate.
• Controls – Video game creators are constantly working to make video game controls as user-friendly as possible. When users perform a function, the speed and accuracy with which the game responds to this is a measure of how effective the controls are.
• Rules – These give a sense of structure and order to video games and mobile apps. For some games (Copter, Temple Run, Candy Crush) the rules are incredibly simple. For open world games (Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2), there will be a much more complex set of rules.
• Challenge – Every game contains an element of challenge. Once again, the complexity of the challenge depends on the game, e.g. for a mobile game such as Flappy Bird, the only challenge is to avoid objects and fly as far as possible. For games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, there are hundreds and hundreds of challenges woven into the narrative of the gameplay.

Mise en Scène and Lighting

• Graphics – The quality and definition of images in an interactive media product. Video game creators are constantly working to make graphics in video games look as realistic and lifelike as possible. Research images from recent video games such as Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey to get a sense of how far graphics have come
• Sprites – These are individual graphics designed to have a life of their own within a larger scene. They are often found in 2D games. See the video on the following page to learn more about Sprites
• Character Models – This simply refers to the design of a character on a video game, e.g. Costume, Hair, Make-up, Body Shape, Gestures, Body Language
• 3D Environments – When multiple layers of animation are formed in order to create a three-dimensional gaming environment. This makes the world of the game detailed, realistic and expansive
• Textures – This refers to the graphical design layered over 3D models in order to give everything in the game a sense of detail. Detailed texture makes the appearance of the game more realistic and exciting.
• Lighting Scheme – The use of lighting in a video game tends to have the same internal logic as lighting in a film or television show. It should establish an appropriate mood and it should convey information, e.g. the time of day, the nearest source of diegetic light – Read the following article for more information on lighting schemes:https://80.lv/articles/learning-lighting-for-video-games/

Colour

• Not only do colours convey tone through the popular meanings associated with them (red makes you think of blood, love and passion), but striking colours also serve to direct players towards certain characters and objects. For example, in Temple Run, the game’s central colour palette is made up of faded blues, browns and swamp greens. Therefore, the intensely bright yellow coins jump out of the screen.

Sound

• Soundtracks – Work in a similar way to film or television soundtracks. In simple mobile games, there is usually one short soundtrack that plays on loop throughout the gameplay. For multilevel, narrative games, the soundtrack will change based on what action is happening onscreen.
• Sound effects – As with film and television, many games have ambient noise which plays on loop to help establish a sense of location, e.g. a game set in the jungle will have wildlife noises playing throughout. This is yet another element of gaming that adds to a sense of realism and authenticity.
• Sounds triggered by game events – Unlike with audio / moving image media, the function of the user will often trigger sound effects, e.g. the protagonist punching a villain, collecting a special trophy, shooting a gun

The vast majority of interactive media techniques can be covered through the study of websites, video games and mobile apps. However, it is worth considering how all these techniques can be applied to the following products:

• Interactive Advertisements
• E-magazines
• Mobile Apps
• Museum Experiences
• Online Training Courses