Laying Out Your Palace
Your palace starts off as an empty canvas (well... maybe not so empty if
you begin with one of the templates). Ultimately it can be as simple or as elaborate as
you wish.
Anyone can put in rooms and link them together. To make your palace
stand out, you need to structure it well. Think about:
- target audience (age groups/specific fan groups etc)
- general aims (informative/educational/entertainment etc)
- theme (single/multiple/none)
- content
Structure
The first question most people ask when visiting your palace will be, "What's it
all about?" or "What is the theme?". You may decide to dedicate yourself to
one theme or subject; or not at all.
Single theme
A single theme provides consistency throughout your whole palace. It targets specific
groups on palace and (depending on the subject you choose) can provide you with a loyal
visitor attendance. Naming your palace after your subject matter makes you easier to find.
However, a single theme may become too restrictive as your palace grows in size.
Examples of single themed palaces:
EMPIRE (Adults only)
Theme: New York City
The owners of Empire designed their palace to simulate a virtual tour through the streets
of New York City. It is geographically accurate (subways included)!
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
Theme: Gilligan's Island
This palace is devoted to the TV series that everyone knows (unless you've been stranded
on a desert island for all of your life). Gilligan's Island features scenic beach scenes
and games cleverly modified to suit the theme.
SASSLANDIA
Theme: Vikings
Sasslandia is a witty palace with prominent emphasis on vikings. The graphics are a mix of
photographs and cartoons.
Multiple or No themed palaces:
This gives you the greatest freedom to create and expand. However, this is where good
structuring is important otherwise, the palace will be just a collection of randomly
linked rooms.
Examples of multiple or No themed palaces:
AUBADE
Aubade is a combination of gags, games and scenic tours. It is divided into different
sections, each having its own distinctive look and subject. A clever navigation gate takes
people to different parts of the palace. Aubade is enjoyable because it has a mix of rooms
to chat in and rooms to explore and play in when no one is around.
DIGITAL EXPOSURE
If this palace had a theme at all, I suppose it would be photography. Every single
backdrop you see was created by the owner (from taking the original photograph to the
computer enhanced result). What you see is an extremely consistent palace in terms of
style and quality. Wandering through Digital Exposure is like walking through a surreal
world filled with lots of surprises. From a designer's point of view, it features some
very innovative palace designs and scripting ideas.
THE WILD AND CRAZY PALACE
This is a great palace featuring a mix of activities and rooms. You will be struck by the
sudden and inexplicable appearance of Steve Martin.
What I did on My Holidays...
At my own palace, The Library of Dreams,(outdated link Palace no longer exists) I chose the general theme of fantasy, then kept my options open by focusing on
different fantasy stories (books, legends, myths etc), By dividing my palace into two
distinctive sections - a chatting area and an exploration area, I was given the freedom to
use a wide range of backdrops and still remain within subject.
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Rooms with a View
Not every room needs to have a clever script. A palace consisting solely
of backgrounds is little more than a sideshow while a palace with elaborate animations and
scripts in every room commits the sin: Thou shalt not OVERKILL. As always, a combination
of simplicity and special effects make an interesting palace.
Here is a list of rooms you might want to include in your palace:
The Gate will be the most used room in your palace as it is the
first room people see when they enter your palace. Choose your gate picture wisely - it is
the first impression people get of your palace. Avoid cluttering up your gate with buttons
and labels - direct people to inner navigation rooms instead. If you wish to animate your
gate, make sure that the animation slices are small in terms of file size, otherwise some
visitors may crash while attempting to load the gate.
Some palaces place a neat navigation bar at the gate which provides
weblink information, announcements and links to navigation rooms. An example of this great
idea can be seen at Edge of Heaven.
Simple chat areas consist of, at the very least, a backdrop and
one or more doors. Add privacy to some conversation areas by including locks. Add music to
some rooms for atmosphere (see Music
& Sound for more information)
Navigation rooms direct people to places of interest and bring
structure to your palace. You may use a simple list, a virtual map or thumbnails. Using
the Label function in palace (done by creating new doors) kills two birds with one stone
and is easy to update. But I have had problems with labels (i.e.: doors getting corrupted)
due to inherent bugs in the palace program. Too many labels in one room is also unsightly.
Visit Brigadoon for some
great examples of navigation rooms using thumbnails.
Snazzy Special Effects
Navigation rooms can be enhanced with the use of
'mouse-overs'. The term mouse-over refers to a picture that changes when the mouse cursor
is placed over it. It is an impressive alternative to static buttons and labels. For great
mouse-over ideas, visit Digital Exposure for
some inspiration. The mouse-over script is available at the Script Barn.
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Tour Rooms give first time visitors a sneak peek to your palace.
These can be linked rooms that are already a part of your palace, or special rooms created
for a special occasion for e.g.: Halloween Tour, Christmas Tour etc.
Tour rooms can be linked simply with a symbol or label in one corner of
the room or they can be automated with more complicated scripts. Visit Ori's Palace Instructions for an example of an automated tour script.
Optional Extras...
Information Rooms are similar to Navigation Rooms. Extremely
handy for displaying weblink information, staff (wizard) details and for 1st time visitors
to find out more about your palace in general.
Visit the Digital Exposure for an example of an Information Room.
Links Rooms are absolutely essential in this time of palace
decline. With the future of palace being uncertain, and new users getting scarcer, you
need strong links with other palaces to survive. If you link to people, people will link
to you. Getting listed in a directory is important but not very effective at boosting
attendance. Direct linking brings more noticable results (especially if you manage to
score a link with a high population palace) as does becoming a member of a palacering.
Visit the Palace Links for more information on palacerings available.
Avatar Rooms can be a boon or a bane to your palace. Avatars
attract visitors to your palace thereby boosting attendance to your palace. The downside
is that people that come purely for avshopping tend to be interested in just the avs. So
the increased attendance doesn't always mean a rise in the number of chatters.
To run a successful avatar collection, you need a good avatar team. I
say 'team' because the work generated by a decent sized collection will be too much for
just one individual. (After all, palace is all about having fun, not just work)
Aim for quality not quantity. A large collection of poor edits is a
waste of time, space and effort.
Prop room backdrops should have simple layouts with clear navigation.
Avoid garish backgrounds which obliterate avatars. Most commonly used designs incorporate
a light coloured panel and a simple navigation panel over a scenic backdrop.
Index Choosing
your wizards
