On April 11, at 5:00PM Pacific Time, all the passwords come down and the first box-narrative ever produced, Bxx: HAUNTED, will be available to The World. Check us out at http://bxxweb.com
First, from everyone at Bxx, a huge thank all our pre-Launch registrants for their patience with the current site. Your feedback and suggestions have been invaluable, and you guys have really helped us track down the bugs in the machine.
Despite
the technical issues, the Twitter feedback and emails we’ve received indicate
that you’re having a good time burrowing into our nasty little pile’o’narrative. According to our stats, about 18% of you
guys have spent an hour or more exploring Bxx: Haunted.
Second,
we’ve decided that Bxx: HAUNTED will remain 100% free to anyone who wants to
explore it.
Third,
we’ve added some very cool upgrades to our interface controls which will soon be
available (April 11) by toggling your dashboard into ADVANCED MODE:
- Set Viewer Default Size - Oh my gosh, these
viewers are opening too big/small for my teeny-tiny/monster-ass monitor
and I keep having to manually adjust them after they open! Gaaah!
Gaaaahhh! Every nerve-cell
in my carpal tunnel has torn open a mouth and is shrieking in agony! Wait… what’s this button marked “SIZE?” Oh, hey, look… now all my monitors are
opening as big or as small as I want!
Cool!
- Default AutoPlay - Oh my gosh, every
time I select a clip, I’ve got to click “Play” to get it started! Gaaah! Gaaaahhh! The sheer stress and redundancy of the excess
clicking is eating a hole in my stomach-lining! Wait… what’s this button marked “AUTOPLAY?” Oh, hey, look… now all my viewers
automatically start playing as soon as I open them! Cool!
- Improved Timeline Interface - Oh my gosh, this
timeline won’t behave! Why can’t I
just enter a day, an hour and a segment number? Gaaah! Gaaaahhh! Massive carbuncles are erupting all over
my body! Oh, hey, look… they
fixed that! And even though the
slider doesn’t work (yet) on my tablet’s touch-screen interface, I can control
it by entering the info in the fields above it! Cool!
- Twitter Feed – Man, I just
found an awesome clip that totally
explains who stole the coroner’s report, but I have to leave Bxx to lay claim
to the find and lord it over all my tweeps! Gaaah! Gaaaahhh! I’m having a gran-mal seizure! Oh, hey, look… a Twitter feed right
there on my Haunted dash running a stream of Tweets hashtagged #bxx. Cool!
- Stack – Oh my gosh, I’ve got all these
damn monitors open and they’re all over the screen. I can’t see the video or get to the
controls! Gaaah! Gaaaahhh! Steaming cerebral fluid is leaking from
my ears! Wait… what’s this
button marked “STACK?” Oh, hey,
look… it just stacked all my viewers nice and neat down the right side of
my monitor screen! Cool!
- Overlap - Oh my gosh, now I’ve got all these damn monitors stacked up and I’ve got to scroll down into the Ninth Ring of Hell to see the one on the bottom! Gaaah! Gaaaahhh! My eyeballs are bleeding! Wait… what’s this button marked “OVERLAP?” Oh, hey, look… it just overlapped them lust like mama does with my French toast and all I have to do is click on their headers to bring the picture up to the top! Cool!
And,
by very, very popular demand…
- SyncStart - once you’ve opened
multiple viewers and lined them up all pretty-like using the Stack or
Overlap buttons, you will be able to simultaneously
start them all with one lovely
little button. Ta-da!
Keep in mind, SyncStart
only synchronizes the initiation of multiple
clips. Maintaining synchronous video
play is dependent on a variety of factors beyond our control, primarily your
internet connection, your system configuration and the vagaries of your ISP’s
performance at any given time.
Now
onto the coolest news of all..
Since
the pre-launch, we’ve been slaving over final touches on the transmedia
component of the Bxx experience—hours
of hand-held video and dozens of digital
stills captured by our cast during the investigation, audio files featuring EVPs,
diaries, journals, newspaper clippings, police reports, autopsy findings,
videotaped interrogations...
You
get the idea.
If
you’ve checked out the BACKGROUND section, you’ve even had a taste of the
material and how it deepens the overall Bxx experience. For instance, the incident logs have helped
some of you find some pretty dramatic incidents.
Once
the passwords come down and we go public, this enhanced content will be locked
to Guests. Their access will be strictly
limited to the clips on the Dashboard and a few files in the BACKGROUND
section. Nor will they be
able to activate any of the Advanced
Mode controls outlined above.
Once
registered, however the freshly-minted Bxxr will receive instant access to the
MY EVIDENCE file and the Advanced Mode controls. However, much of the enhanced content will remain
locked, and may only be accessed by
opening specific clips.
For
instance, if registered Bxxrs view a clip that features, say, a character
discussing a document, they will receive on-screen notifications that they have
“unlocked” the video and it’s been copied to their MY EVIDENCE file.
(Incidentally,
Did I mention Bxx registration will be free?
I did? Sorry…)
If you decide to join us, you may find the concept of experiencing the first non-linear narrative a little odd. Daunting, even. Like a toddler who's no longer being spoon-fed, the best way to deal with it is to play with your food. Get messy with it. Gobble it up. Choke on it and spit it out. Rub it in your hair. Throw it at your brother, Frankie. Spill it on the cat. In almost no time, you'll get the hang of it.
Just remember, there is NO WRONG WAY to experience a box-narrative. Just pick a moment, find a scene and take it from there. Backward, forward or sideways—it's all good. All that said, the box-narrative isn't once-size-fits-all. Some people just don't connect with it. And that's good, too.
But beware, those that do connect with it do so in a big way, so don't open the Bxx unless you're prepared for a whole new kind of addiction. And all this giddy fun, by the way, is completely free. You don't even have to deal with banners, pop-ups, roll-ins, roll-outs or any other damn -in thing advertising booshwah.
We
only ask one favor in return:
Tell
your friends.
Twitter
it, Facebook it, embed it, shout it from the highest roof-tops.
Bxx:
HAUNTED is, in many ways, a crude prototype.
We
have plans. Big plans. Lots more stories; bigger, better and more
complex; captured by more cameras in HD.
Plus, we’ve learned gobs about
the technical hurdles incumbent in capturing a drama in the box-narrative
format, and look forward to tackling each and every one the next time
around.
But
the only way we’ll be able to raise the budget necessary to put wheels on Bxx
is to demonstrate to the bankers that we can deliver eyeballs. And as you know, Bxx is not a big Hollywood
studio.
Bxx
isn’t even a small Hollywood studio.
We’re
just a dozen or so scrappy artists working in a garage in Pasadena.
So
please help us out. Be our P.R.
department. Send us eyeballs! Lots and lots and lots of pretty, juicy eyeballs.
Yum!
