Graphics and Design

In which we discover the Host's Policies regarding Web graphics, copyrights, and Web page design.

About HTML, Frames, and Java

As the Visitor to this page will no doubt notice, I love playing with visual elements to complement or enhance the written materials. When I started this game and Web page, however, I was extremely limited in Web space (1 Meg for my personal page, including Castle Falkenstein). To work around this, I planned on using mostly small graphics and backgrounds, and play with layout more than with images.

As time passed on, I was able to obtain more server space for my page and I started adding more graphics; I'm afraid I got a bit carried away. At one point, I even started to play with Java applets to create additional fancy elements, such as a pop-up lexicon. Then I decided it was time I reexamined my policies regarding visuals; here are the results of my cogitations.

The original principles behind HTML (hypertext mark-up language) were to allow the viewer control over the image, and to make this independent of specific browsers. This means that if you hate the colours, fonts, and backgrounds I use, you, the viewer, have the power to overwrite them and view this page in a scheme that won't hurt or offend your eyes. It also means you can use the browser of your own choice, you don't have to conform to my choice.

In the same spirit, I shouldn't force you to use a particular piece of hardware. You shouldn't have to use an immense or tiny monitor to read my page; you should be able to read it without straining your eyes on the monitor you picked and/or can afford. You shouldn't have to wait forever while this page loads, because of the speed of your modem and/or local connection (within reason); it behooves me not to garnish this page with so many graphics and sound files that it will take an unduly long time to load.

The logical conclusion is that if I want to stay true to these principles of software and hardware flexibility, I mustn't load my page with restrictive elements. For this reason, here are my pledges to the viewer:

I will keep my page compatible with text-only browsers by refraining from using frames, or setting graphics as titles.
I will not use Java; although I appreciate the aesthetics and functional results in other people's pages because I use a Java-compatible browser, I understand that not everyone chooses to do so.
I will try to keep my graphics small by using the most compressed version I can, and for JPEGs, a resolution of 30 dpi (dots per inch).
If I use a large graphic, such as on the character description pages, I will keep it to one per page, and limit the size of other elements (text, sound, etc.)
I will achieve most of my visual effects throught the use of backgrounds and layout.
I will limit my use of fonts to Times Roman for the general text, Harrington for Level 1 headings, and Sebastian for Level 2 headings. The entire page will still look pleasant if the viewer choose not to use the latter two.
I will not use musical plug-ins that load automatically. When I use any music, the files will be available as links the viewer can choose to listen to or ignore.

I normally compose my page the easy way (just between you and me, I'm very lazy), by using Netscape Composer. There are a number of formatting details that Netscape doesn't do to my satisfaction (modifying paragraph styles and widths, for example), so I use Notepad to finish the job. My own monitor is old and tiny, so when I can I try to look at the page on somebody else's computer, but I don't often have a chance. If you see pages that look bad on larger screens or in certain browsers, let me know (my e-mail address is on every page) and I will try to improve the situation.

The most complex items you should see in these pages are clickable maps, supported by all graphic browsers I know of. All the links they support will also be available in text form. Eventually, I hope to be able to offer all my pages in two forms: graphics-enhanced and text-only (in a few months).

Be forewarned that the promises I made above do not hold for any of the numerous external links contained in these pages. I cannot promise you that these won't lead to graphics-intensive, Java-enhanced, music-playing pages.

Copyright Matters

I can't say it enough: intellectual property rights and copyrights are very important to me, not because I'm afraid to get sued over a gaming page(!), but because I respect other people's work. I try to always give proper credit for the material obtained from other sources, be they text or graphics. When possible, I also try to put a link back to any page from which I obtained material. Should you discover any I have overlooked (or perhaps didn't have the original source information on when I included it), please let me know and once again I will correct the error.

Conversely, all material not otherwise attributed to external sources on this Web page is © Copyright 1998, 1999 Sophie Lagacé. The text of the story for the on-going play by e-mail (PBeM) game I run is the property of the specific players involved in any subsection, and myself.

Sources of Graphics

I get the backgrounds used on this page from three main sources, listed in order of frequency:

As for individual pictures, some of the best sources are from Impressionist and Pre-Raphaelite artists. Old photographs and daguerreotypes, as well as fairy art, are also useful in Castle Falkenstein. I recommend the following sources:

Feel free to suggest additional sources.

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