This book offers a clearly written and engaging introduction to the basics of interactive digital media. As our reliance on and daily usage of websites, mobile apps, kiosks, games, VR/AR and devices that respond to our commands has increased, the need for practitioners who understand these technologies is growing. Author Julia Griffey provides a valuable guide to the fundamentals of this field, offering best practices and common pitfalls throughout. The book also notes opportunities within the field of interactive digital media for professionals with different types of skills, and interviews with experienced practitioners offer practical wisdom for readers. Additional features of this book include: An overview of the history, evolution and impact of interactive media; A spotlight on the development process and contributing team members; Analysis of the components of interactive digital media and their design function (graphics, animation, audio, video, typography, color); An introduction to coding languages for interactive media; and A guide to usability in interactive media. Introduction to Interactive Digital Media will help both students and professionals understand the varied creative, technical, and collaborative skills needed in this exciting and emerging field.

The author discusses the existing theoretical approaches of semiotically informed research in HCI, what is useful and the limitations. He proposes a radical rethink to this approach through a re-evaluation of important semiotic concepts and applied semiotic methods. Using a semiotic model of interaction he explores this concept through several studies that help to develop his argument. He concludes that this semiotics of interaction is more appropriate than other versions because it focuses on the characteristics of interactive media as they are experienced and the way in which users make sense of them rather than thinking about interface design or usability issues.

From the birth of a media project idea to the implementation and maintenance of that project, this book provides the skills and know-how to master the process of managing interactive media projects. Managing Interactive Media Projects offers important insights and techniques for various approaches to the process of creating interactive media. It covers the ever-important steps of planning, documenting, writing, designing, implementing, testing, debugging and maintaining interactive media projects that range from web sites and online media to DVDs, CD-ROMs and Flash. Detailed breakdowns of key steps in developing interactive projects coupled with in-depth case studies and digital supplemental materials make it a valuable resource in today's creative market. Written in a cohesive yet easy to understand manner, this book will transform the daily drudgery of technical specifications and documentation into an easy-to-implement process that will help readers to surpass even their own expectations on their interactive media projects.

Written in a down to earth, non technical language which gives aspiring writers expert advice on how to break into this fast-growing field.

The evolution of story-telling is as old as the human race; from the beginning, when our ancestors first gathered around a campfire to share wondrous tales through oral traditions, to today, with information and stories being shared through waves and filling screens with words and images. Stories have always surrounded us, and united us in ways other disciplines can't. Storytelling for Interactive Digital Media and Video Games lays out the construct of the story, and how it can be manipulated by the storyteller through sound, video, lighting, graphics, and color. This book is the perfect guide to aspiring storytellers as it illustrates the different manner of how and why stories are told, and how to make them "interactive." Storytelling features heavy game development as a method of storytelling and delivery, and how to develop compelling plots, characters, settings, and actions inside a game. The concept of digital storytelling will be explored, and how this differs from previous incarnations of mediums for stories Key Features: Explores the necessary elements of a story (setting, character, events, sequence, and perspective) and how they affect the viewer of the story Discusses media and its role in storytelling, including images, art, sound, video, and animation Explores the effect of interactivity on the story, such as contest TV, web-based storytelling, kiosks, and games Shows the different types of story themes in gaming and how they are interwoven Describes how to make games engaging and rewarding intrinsically and extrinsically

Provides an analysis of virtual communities, explaining their lifecycle in terms of maturity-based models and workflows.

Movable books are an innovative area of children’s publishing. Commonly equated with spectacular pop-ups, movable books have a little-known history as interactive, narrative media. Since they are hybrid artifacts consisting of words, images and movable components, they cross the borders between story, toy, and game. Interactive Books is a historical and comparative study of early movable books in relation to the children who engage with them. Jacqueline Reid-Walsh focuses on the period movable books became connected with children from the mid-17th to the early-19th centuries. In particular, she examines turn-up books, paper doll books, and related hybrid experiments like toy theaters and paignion (or domestic play set) produced between 1650 and 1830. Despite being popular in their own time, these artifacts are little known today. This study draws attention to a gap in our knowledge of children’s print culture by showing how these artifacts are important in their own right. Reid-Walsh combines archival research with children’s literature studies, book history, and juvenilia studies. By examining commercially produced and homemade examples, she explores the interrelations among children, interactive media, and historical participatory culture. By drawing on both Enlightenment thinkers and contemporary digital media theorists Interactive Books enables us to think critically about children’s media texts paper and digital, past and present.