Advanced Interactive Media/Creating an Interactive, Immersive, Multi-sensory, MultiMedia Project: A Student Log

Team leaders and other class members have encountered new problems and challenges while creating their group project. This chapter describes some of the activities and processes unique to interactive design.



A multimedia project, in any field – corporate, educational, private, or otherwise – is one of the hardest to define or manage. While a standard project, such as construction, have a set time, resources, cost and goals, all these points are interdependent and overlap in a multimedia project. This overlapping of the different project elements is precisely what makes it so hard to manage. In this chapter we will discuss a hypothetical project scenario, and walk it through from beginning to end. It is our goal to have you, the reader, come away with a healthy respect for this type of work, and to understand what goes into it.

To begin any project, it must first be mapped out. This includes identifying the client, the target audience or who the product is being made for, what type of multisensory experience will be created, project goals, costs, resources, manpower, and of course, the deadline or when it needs to be finished.

IN MULTI-MEDIA... “Quality" is difficult to define
One difficulty in the process of multimedia management and production that is rarely, if ever, addressed is the difficulty in defining “quality” in meaningful terms. When one begins to identify the obstacles concerning a given project, it is logical to begin by screening the list of tasks and procedures for “hang-ups” in reference to time, money, client relations, team work, communication, and the like. However, these are really all contingent upon the prior definition of quality. The project is only finished when it has passed the client’s vision of quality. This client-based, relative, subjectively defined standard of “quality” is difficult to establish. It must be devised anew for each new project, with each new client.

Authors Elaine England and Andy Finney have attempted to defining “quality” in their book Managing Multimedia: Project Management for Interactive Media. They write the following:

“Design quality for media projects = Content and treatment agreement.”

"Looking at the future of Interactive Multi-sensory Media" :Aiwink824.

The future of Interactive technology is already here and it is only going to get better. Today when have “ I-Phones” that allow friends to e-mail each other in real time, search for information, directions and get your pin point locations  with google maps. Right now the only way today’s technology interacts, is if you interact with it first. The best we can get now is  proactive interactivity, like video games with complex tasks or complex websites. Gamers are pushing the envelope with social gaming, playing each other over the internet. The future is mutual interactivity or  virtual reality with connections to the central nervous system. With people who are playing games to get away from reality this is the next best thing. Virtual reality might be able to give people in comas new life and help with medical research. Other examples are the "Nintendo  Wii" and militaries using simulators  to train soldiers.