Last week was my turn to work with a partner and present in Live Web. Seanita and I were assigned to use 2-way audio/video with the Flash Media Server. Our start was delayed due to some server issues, but when we met to brainstorm, several ideas came to mind. We decided to make a virtual version of the classic dating game tv show. Since neither of us had coding backgrounds, it was challenging, but we put in the hours to have a rough presentation ready, and Shawn was really supportive. We generated a contestant profile, as well as several web-pages using some PHP. There were screens for bachelors and audience members, as well as a voting mechanism that used AJAX to allow one bachelor to be selected by the audience. We decided the first bachelor to receive 50 votes would win the date. I put together a basic wireframe (pdf) of what the flow might look like in Omnigraffle. It was my first time using the tool, but it was smooth and perfect for what I was trying to represent. In the end, we needed more bandwidth or lower quality audio/video, a shared object to coordinate the audible element of the game, and more time overall to plan and execute. Overall, I got some confidence back in my ability to ad hoc code, rapid prototype, use a new tool, use flash, and work with a partner. Click to see the initial page for the game and an outline page.
Categories