“The ideal of finding mutations of comics online which couldn’t be reproduced on paper drove a lot of my early forays and this is still one of the holy grails for a lot of us with a more experimental bent. With luck, this first generation of mad scientists will soon be passing the torch to the next one.”
–Scott McCloud (http://www.scottmccloud.com/)
What is the target of discovery?
The work of the comic artist is not just to draw pictures, but to skillfully manipulate the sequence of pictures, while encouraging a manipulation of imagination from reader to reader. The comic artist influences the use of imagination with the comic strip by forcing the reader to fill in the story. While staying within the structure of comics, can the experience of a multimedia comic become more personal and interactive in comparison to a printed comic?
While keeping true to the structure of comics, can the story and experience of a comic become more interactive and immersive by existing in a variety of digital forms?
Project Description
The project allows the user to read, view, and interact with characters from the cartoon world of Fuz. In Fuz: The End, the user is invited to enter into Fuz's cartoon world through a CVD (Comic Versatile Disc). The CVD contains 12 digital comic pages, 3 interactive experiences made with a 3D game engine, and 9-10 minutes of 3D animation. The cartoon characters and storylines flow and connect through all the forms (digital comic, 3D animation, and 3D gaming).
Fuz: The End is based on the idea of having characters and stories exist in more than one form. The multitude of production types allows for different styles to be explored while still remaining true to a set of characters and overall storyline. The user can experience the full story interactively and in color through the CVD and computer. The CVD will have instructions on its use, and most of the interaction will take place using the keyboard and mouse.
Conceptual Explanation
Although we may not realize it, this project may alter the ways we approach comics, the communication between man and machine, and how we think about objective reality. Comics are not solely about the frames themselves and their contents, but more so about what our minds fill between the frames. While reading a comic, our minds supply in the blanks as we pass from frame to frame. Our minds try to make sense of the successive images we see in comics; the gaps that our minds fill act as closure to the story, and the form encourages imagination. In terms of a comic's layout, frames and what is not shown are often the most important elements.
The work of the comic artist is not just to draw pictures, but to adeptly manipulate the sequence of pictures in order to manipulate the reader's imagination. The comic artist encourages the use of imagination with the comic strip by forcing the reader to fill in the story.
In this respect the project takes the notions of interacting, using one’s imagination, and creating a comic strip to propel the reader into the world of the comic character. In Fuz: The End, the user dictates the pace and interactivity of the comic story through pre-programmed settings.
Comics have elements of images and text whose sequence conveys information or produces an aesthetic response in the viewer.
Our project deals with the boundaries of knowledge and expression in the fields of comics and multimedia production. With the movement of comics to the digital domain and the web, the future of comics is uncertain. By blending comics, flash, and 3D in an intensive multimedia production, we plan to create an engaging experience that might offer a bright future for not only comics, but flash, 3D, and multimedia as well.
The multimedia comic production takes the comic reader and entertains him/her, exercises his imagination, and reflects on the purpose of a comic character. Via this project, comic characters are leaping off the pages and onto our screens where people are able to look, think, touch, and interact with a comic unlike before.
The way to join comics, flash, and 3D is through multimedia productions. Multimedia creates the opportunity to mix and match the strengths and allures of each discipline to create innovation.
Social Justification
Comics have become an integral part of society, portraying unconscious social behavior to readers. Comics are an outlet to sometimes stereotypical roles in society, and play on how groups of people are seen in society. Comics often are an unconscious role in our lives and yet often reflects an element of emotional response, whether it be a positive or negative. There is a certain element of make believe fueling the reader's imagination, which becomes the driving force behind why people read comics.
There is a social behavior associated with any type of artistic expression and medium. In one way or another, comics have contributed entertainment to our lives as children, adolescents, and even as adults. By experimenting with the comic form, our group has decided to enhance the comic book reader's experience and get him to a new level of immersion.
By incorporating interactivity, the reader is encapsulated into the comic world. The reader gets involved by seeing and interacting on both a physical and mental level. Through interactive immersion there is a transition from traditional comic art towards digital, interactive comic art.
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