For this Digital Storytelling class, I had 2 required textbooks “Watchmen” and “100 Things Every Graphic Designer Should Know About People”. These books helped to shape my understanding of how to best tell a story. These books were of great benefit to my Superhero’s Journey Project by expanding both my understanding of design and my inspiration for what is possible.

The book “100 Things Every Graphic Designer Should Know About People” was a great insight into how design is seen. This book helped to shape my own design work through exploring several aspects of design. The insight into psychology, emotional influence, social and cultural considerations, cognitive load and information processing, and the power of storytelling was helpful in learning how to create a bigger impact with my work. Understanding these topics is truly a weapon to be wielded by the superhero in content creation.

The book “Watchmen” broke away from the traditional norm of superhero storytelling. This graphic novel not only used a unique color pallet and cinematic storyboard style graphics but also changed how the story was told. The deconstructed superhero stories within the book provided more depth to the overall story and a more interesting plot. I found this inspiring for my own work.

Another Graphic novel that I can draw inspiration from is “The Dark Knight Returns”. This graphic novel also has many conflicts and resolutions. I find that it also further proves the power of character stories within the story.

In 2020 life changed all over the world. People were forced to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart, not socially gather, and hand sanitizers were everywhere. Worse yet, some people lost their jobs and others were quarantined. Media on every channel was talking about the dangers of social interaction and yet talking about how it was ok to eat out at restaurants but “beware of your dirty landscaper because they might contaminate the gas pump handle”.

In all this chaos there was confrontation on both sides. In many cases people who refused to wear masks were violently attacked both verbally and physically. People were frustrated and needed an escape. Many people chose to self-quarantine out of fear and had little hope of escape from this nightmare.

Many people found refuge online using social media as an outlet where they could post videos, play games, communicate with others, and have a sense of social interaction. Others used this time to watch videos on “how to” subjects so that they could do arts and crafts, do home repairs, or learn an instrument. Online content became the place for commerce.

Among online commerce, people also flocked to Second Life. Here they found refuge with social interaction that felt more personable with the use of avatars in a 3D world. They could shop, learn, play games, and most importantly they could create. Second Life filled the gap of social interactions and became an ecommerce outlet for people to make money from home.

Here at Peninsula College in the Multimedia program we work in Second Life to build a world that people can explore. While exploring our island they also learn more about our program and the possibilities of what we can create. Our Self Care island is full of amazing 3D objects that students have created to help inspire others to begin their Hero’s Journey.

The side quest that I chose to do is a video animation in Adobe Photoshop. This was not a quick and easy side quest to complete, but in many ways, it was completely worth doing. The video animation is a map of Peninsula College that shows the trail for the Pirate Zombie Mud Run. I used a dot to follow the path showing the direction runners would travel and where to expect the zombie zones and obstacles. I used lighting, zoom, and audio to enhance interest and keep with the theme of this event.

I also took this opportunity to connect this fun event with educational purpose. Every aspect of this event was easily connected to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math). I felt it was important for the connection to be made as it gives more depth and reason for this fun-filled adventure. My hope is that this map will help runners become familiar with the path and keep in mind what all goes into creating these experiences.

My Goal is for the ASC and Peninsula College to be able to use this in future events to help gain interest in the event. The fun audio and graphics create a modern look and appeal that really brings the course to life before it even begins. Over all I expect this style of video animation map to help people feel more comfortable about navigating a 2 mile fun filled course, and to be more excited about it.

Immersion is an experience of being completely absorbed in your current activity. This is often called the “Flow State”. This can happen with playing games, working on a project, creating art, or even reading great graphic novels such as “Watchmen”.  I often find myself experiencing immersion when I am really interested in something that I am working on and have a clear view of how I plan to accomplish the project. When this happens, I can be in a state of flow for hours or even weeks with forced breaks for sleep.

Graphic novels are great for immersive storytelling as they provide both visual and text to draw in the reader to what the author is trying to portray. In many ways graphic novels are a mixture of movies and books as the images relate to the text adding depth to the experience. The images are also cinematic with different color schemes and compositions while providing a variety of shot angles such as close ups and wide-angle views. These images help narrate the story as much as the text.

My solution for creating immersion is to be aware of the target audience and the subject so that I can create responsive elements and environmental storytelling. In my videos I can also use audio to lead the viewer’s interest. I can also use this in the metaverse with the spaces that I create in the future. The metaverse is a virtual reality space such as Second Life where users can experience virtual worlds, create their own avatars, build their own spaces, and develop their own experiences.

The “Watchmen” revolutionized how superheroes were seen by deconstructing them and introducing the grim and gritty. Superheroes were no longer infallible but became humanized. “Watchmen” introduced a dark side to the superhero story by introducing ulterior motives for fighting crime while blurring the lines between good and evil. Furthermore, some of the superheroes even had a dark side.

Immediately after the release of “Watchmen” similar stories started appearing such as “The Dark Night Rises” as this storyline fit the mood of the times. Even today we have similar storytelling such as the series “The Boys” where superheroes are just in it for public image and money, while possessing a truly dark side. In this series I can see likeness between Billy Butcher and Rorschach as they are both dangerous sociopaths fond of violence.

The “Watchmen” not only changed the way we see superheroes but also changed the comic color pallet. Breaking away from the “normal” way of coloring superheroes, “Watchmen” were colored in secondary colors that were seldomly used before. This concept allowed colors to help set the mood and tell the story.

This new way of seeing superheroes can be related to by many people on their own journeys. This is because it shows people working toward goals on paths far from straight lines. We all have a sense of the direction we want to journey, but seldom is it a straight line. We all fall short sometimes. We all make wrong choices now and again. We all get knocked down at least once in our lifetime. The important thing is how we deal with it to stay on our path to reach our goal.

The future is here and it’s getting more advanced every day. The new gold rush is in the digital world and people are making money hand over fist. More and more people are on the internet doing everything. People flock to the internet to game, research, work, shop, and so much more. With ease of access getting faster and easier every year, it’s no wonder why people love spending time online.

With so many people online there has become a great need for digital entrepreneurs to satisfy the demands of the masses. This truly is the future of jobs, and they can be done from anywhere in the world so that you can get an internet signal and a power source. With all this opportunity, it really does pay to learn digital skills.

Personally, I am all for working in the digital world. It all starts with creating a website and deciding what product you want to sell. I am leaning towards photography, video, and audio such as music. I am also considering 3D mesh models, seamless textures, and graphic designs. Really, it’s just a matter of creating digital goods and setting up a storefront that can automate the process. It does sound easy, but this will take time to build and more skills to acquire. I do look forward to making this a reality soon.