My project proposal will deal with digitizing the maps of various mythological settings and turning them into an interactive learning experience. The storylines of various mythologies have been relevant in contemporary society, such examples include the storyline of Greek mythology in the popular video game series “God of War” and the storyline of Norse mythology being highlighted in the Marvel superhero comics and movies of Thor. My plan is to link those much popularized stories with an actual interactive digital map of that specific fictional landscape so that people can link those popular stories to the maps.
This is unique and interesting because as stated previously, only the stories of various mythologies have been popularized, and the actual setting/landscapes have taken a back seat. What I plan to do is to incorporate those stories with a digital map to enrich the learning experience so that these popularized storylines of mythology will go hand in hand with a visual representation of the setting/landscape these stories are taking place in.
The digital platform that I plan to use is creating a 3D representation of the landscape that can be manipulated by the user. Such “manipulations” of the map include rotating it around and zooming in, clicking on certain areas to bring zoom in and bring up pictures and information and videos about that certain place. To do this, a lot of tools be need to be utilized. I’ll need a program that can digitally recreate the map itself three-dimensionally with all of the landscapes. I remember one of our guest speakers had something very similar to this, where he had to hire people to recreate a 3D digital representation of the city of Seattle throughout different time periods so that he could illustrate the changes of the city throughout different time periods. I remember him saying that he hired people to use the computer AutoCAD to accomplish it. Also I plan to make the map interactive so that when users click on certain places on the map, they can view videos and/or texts that have to relate to that certain area in the more traditional mythology, and how it’s been translated into the contemporary use of it. Obviously with a technology heavy project, some coding will have to be involved to make the map interactive. I think it would most be utilized with the viewing of videos and texts when users click on certain places on the map. The platform that I would intend to release my project on would be a website so I would definitely need to utilize coding, which Tyler’s presentation touched lightly on, in order to make the website.
The source material to create my map will be taken from traditional mythology and I would need to gather that information digitally (websites, online databases, etc.) or physically through books. I plan to take into consideration the worded descriptions of the settings/landscapes in the traditional text and also the different interpretations of the settings/landscapes throughout time and make my own unique representation of it rather than just copying it.
My project will need a wide collaborative effort to make it succeed. I will need people to create the map through AutoCAD or some other computer program and I will need to collaborate with them on a very personal level in order to convey my idea and the intricate details that will be required to make the map as thorough as possible. I will also require the use of professional website designers to aid me in the process of creating my website with all of the intricate details that I have planned.
The rights and/or ethical issues that deal with my project are mainly using videos of the popular use of mythology (video game clips, movie clips, etc.) from major companies like Marvel who own the copyright to Thor, or Sony who owns the copyright to the “God of War” video game series, who have placed a copyright on their intellectual property. If warranted, these companies could come across my project and take legal action or shut down my project for using their copyrighted material. So if I were to go the route with including these clips from modern contemporary uses of mythology, there would also be the legal implications of using such clips. I remember in John’s presentation on copyright he mentioned the four major rules of fair use, and one of them included whether or not a person was using copyrighted material for profit. If I were to put advertisements on my website to make revenue, then I would probably not be in a good situation if these companies were to come across my website and see that I was using their copyrighted material to make profit.
Down the Rabbit Hole 