Request for Comment...
Sep. 10th, 2006 11:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wolfwingsAnyone that reads Inverloch I'd especially like your input on this.
Hell, anyone working, reading, or coding the interface on a webcomic focussed on chapter-based stories oriented in portrait orientation is very likely to have valid input here.
I got hooked on Inverloch, but was severely disgusted with the interface for navigating the archives. In particular, the page ended up pixels too tall for me to click on the next button without scrolling the screen each time, so it made slogging through the archives very arduous. Not to mention, well, I'm running a widescreen laptop. One page at a time was annoying too, but the 'move-scroll-move-click' routine was getting old fast. (Yay for not having a wheel-mouse.)
So... I started writing my own interface. I just recently e-mailed the lady that writes and draws the comic, and maintains the website, but haven't heard back from her for better or ill for about half a week now when I told her about my work in case any of it was useful to her. At this point, I haven't heard back, and can verify through server-logs that she hasn't visited the 'demo page' I set up on my website either, so I'm guessing either it'll be a week or two before she gets back to me due to mail-volume, or my e-mail got caught in a spam-trap either automated or mental skimming over the e-mail and thinking it was an ad.
What's this have to do with LJ? Well, I'd like your input on the interface I made, and if you can think of anything obvious I could do to improve it? Or just in general does anyone have any comments on the work? None of the graphics are mine, all the HTML and Javascript is.
My alternate interface for Inverloch
The javascript 'engine' behind that interface
The Javascript is perhaps not the best though I've tested it as working on Safari, Konqourer, Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6, and Opera 9.
The CSS is not mine, nor are ANY graphics. They're all from Inverloch obviously. :-) I'm only to blame for the navigation code and javascript.
Note I specifically only have the first nine pages viewable as I'm locally-cashing those pages (the first 'act' in chapter 1) on my web-server to prevent polluting the server-access logs and referrer-logs for Inverloch. Navigation works all the way up to the latest pages posted as of today, it just will load 'bad' images.
Hell, anyone working, reading, or coding the interface on a webcomic focussed on chapter-based stories oriented in portrait orientation is very likely to have valid input here.
I got hooked on Inverloch, but was severely disgusted with the interface for navigating the archives. In particular, the page ended up pixels too tall for me to click on the next button without scrolling the screen each time, so it made slogging through the archives very arduous. Not to mention, well, I'm running a widescreen laptop. One page at a time was annoying too, but the 'move-scroll-move-click' routine was getting old fast. (Yay for not having a wheel-mouse.)
So... I started writing my own interface. I just recently e-mailed the lady that writes and draws the comic, and maintains the website, but haven't heard back from her for better or ill for about half a week now when I told her about my work in case any of it was useful to her. At this point, I haven't heard back, and can verify through server-logs that she hasn't visited the 'demo page' I set up on my website either, so I'm guessing either it'll be a week or two before she gets back to me due to mail-volume, or my e-mail got caught in a spam-trap either automated or mental skimming over the e-mail and thinking it was an ad.
What's this have to do with LJ? Well, I'd like your input on the interface I made, and if you can think of anything obvious I could do to improve it? Or just in general does anyone have any comments on the work? None of the graphics are mine, all the HTML and Javascript is.
My alternate interface for Inverloch
The javascript 'engine' behind that interface
The Javascript is perhaps not the best though I've tested it as working on Safari, Konqourer, Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer 6, and Opera 9.
The CSS is not mine, nor are ANY graphics. They're all from Inverloch obviously. :-) I'm only to blame for the navigation code and javascript.
Note I specifically only have the first nine pages viewable as I'm locally-cashing those pages (the first 'act' in chapter 1) on my web-server to prevent polluting the server-access logs and referrer-logs for Inverloch. Navigation works all the way up to the latest pages posted as of today, it just will load 'bad' images.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-11 05:41 am (UTC)Anyway, I'm also running a wide-screen, and my cursor did the same thing - missed the 'next' button. Fortunately for me, it lined up, so all I had to do was hit Page Down exactly twice and then click. So it wasn't very arduous for me.
I think your suggested interface is great. The Click-For-Next setup makes the comic indescribably easier to progress through, and the double-page format suits the comic-book-like style infinitely better. I wish I could do the entire archives that way.
I will add that it took me a few minutes of random, spastic clicking to determine exactly how to advance to the next comic. My saving grace was that I knew there had to be SOME way to get to the next image, buttons or no. On that note, my only suggestion would be to include the words "CLICK FOR NEXT" somewhere on the page so readers don't feel like they're playing a Resident Evil puzzle game. ^^;;
Other than that, I can offer no suggestions...it's a nice, user-friendly setup. If the Seraph Inn lady doesn't go for it, I'm sure SOMEBODY with a webcomic will...
Yeah...
Date: 2006-09-11 08:08 am (UTC)It's a very valid points though, is the little text-tag I put at the bottom of the page for now an improvement?
Re: Yeah...
Date: 2006-09-11 08:19 am (UTC)Off-line viewing.
Dump all your pages to a CD, with this HTML and Javascript file in the root directory, bam, you have your comic viewable off-line easilly. :-)