Our effort is to constantly push the boundaries of what IMVU is and what it can become for our members and developers. Our goal is to see if we can utilize the many tools we currently have to re-envision what defines an IMVU product, and how our members relate to it. This work gave birth to the “Story Project”
This project has many objectives:
Explore ways to push our notions of what IMVU is, and can become.
Utilize existing tools, both IMVU and outside applications and services.
Play with the idea of a Developer created, proprietary product line.
Create products that tell a Story.
Make that Story Derive-able!
What we came up with is a seed of a project, something created for the sole purpose of allowing others to play and expand on a storyline. Using custom “character” avatars, unique themed homepages, and products that tie into those characters, we gave birth to the world of Ethyrial.
Matt coined it best when he described our project as "Products with a Protagonist". Our challenge was to use all the tools that are available to all our developers, without requesting new functionality from our software engineers. Everything I have done here is possible to achieve with only a little time and some outside-of-the-box thinking.
Creating Character Homepages
First I created unique homepages for my fictitious characters, in this case the feuding brothers Bree & Bane. Each uses the functionality built into a typical Homepage, including avatar shot, stickers, customizable html, and Buddies window. Each of the characters also receive and reply to messages.
The characters each also have their own "logos" which I used liberally throughout their many pages. I also took the opportunity to advertise related products, and include links to those products on the Homepages.
Creating Customized Catalog Pages
Now I am not suggesting that our current catalog isn't "lovely", but I wanted to explore how I could transform it to better support my storyline. To do this I created my own html page to insert into the catalog descriptions field. I am no html wiz, so I used Dreamweaver to create my page, then pasted the Source Code into the Edit Settings section of my Products page.
I also wanted to see if I could improve on the default catalog item icon by creating a more dynamic animated GIF of my story driven product. This did a better job of describing the product and added life to the catalog page.
I also made sure to include artistic shots of the product as well as a description that included more insights into the Story of the two characters I had created. There are also links to other core products and pages, including the character Homepages.
Writing a History As a means of communicating the relationship of my factiously characters and their products, I created a History html page. This gives just enough back story to link the characters together, describe their universe, and showcase how they all relate to each other.
There had been enough requests for Airships as a Scene type that we decided to center our story around these floating boats. The History describes how these relate to our two characters. Since these are Furniture scenes, they are completely derivable and decorate-able.
Creating Your Own Shop
Another opportunity we took was to create our own Story based SHOP. Since many of our themed items exist sprinkled around the IMVU catalog, we wanted to create a one-stop-shop style Hub, that would allow us to update the offerings, and continue to build on the story of these related items. Here you are linked to the catalog pages to purchase Stickers, Scenes, and Furniture, all branching off from the root Story.
We even went one step further and created real world t-shirts with the character logos on them through Cafepress.com
Creating a Trailer for
Our Story
Well, if we were going to test the potential for selling story driven content in IMVU we had to create our own Trailer. Using YouTube.com that couldn't have been easier.
Putting It All Together
I think it is important to note that all of this was created using and reusing only a few parts. By leveraging the potential of the web and available software, there is no end to the possibilities. Why be shackled to someone else's proprietary license when you could create your own? To create all you see here I used the following applications and tools:
I used Adobe Photoshop for all of the texture and sticker creation. The character avatars were created from existing catalog items. The Stickers were saved as PNG files, the animated graphics as GIF files.
I used Camtasia Studio to capture the screen animations from within the IMVU window. I loaded a "green screen" scene to grab footage I would later "cut out" for my Trailer video.
For video editing, I used Adobe After Effects to composite all of the titles and effects. I used Apple's iMovie to put it all together, and Apple's Garageband for the music track. If you don't have access to these programs don't fret, most of the applications I used well within their 30 day trial, and there are many free or shareware alternatives available to get you started. The fun of creating these products far outweighs any nervous-ness I might have when approaching an new application. If it does what I need it to do I plan to conquer just enough of it to get what I need done... so go out there and create something amazing!
In the end, our challenge is communicating to the members of IMVU that these stories are only powerful when others add to them. By making all of these Story items deriveble we open the opportunity for them to evolve. Whether existing products are re-textured, or new meshes are created, if each catalog item includes some additional piece to the story puzzle, then we have the chance to mold the shopping and virtual world experiences of our members, while sharing the creative process, and profits..
If you have any questions, you can reach me at don@imvu.com
