Tech Tip: Twine

For my storybook this semester, I chose to created an interactive fiction story. To do this I used a piece of software called Twine. Twine is a really cool program that helps you create interactive stories without a huge programming background. I wanted to go ahead and do a quick tech tip over the software and how to get started with it. If you've never read an interactive story before, you might check out this developer. They are one of the prominent IF companies out there right now.

You don't need a huge programming background to get started with Twine, but there are a couple of things you should know. First, Twine exports to a custom html page that the story passage runs on. You'll need to be able to upload and link to custom pages to use it. Second, Twine uses a scripting language called Harlowe. If you've used a scripting language before, it's pretty easy to get into Harlowe. If you haven't, it'll take a little extra work. Here's a link to a manual on the Harlow language for reference. If you've got those two things down, you've got everything you need to be successful with Twine.

The first step in getting started with Twine is downloading it here. For my project, I used Twine 2, the latest version available at the time. There are download links at the top right of the page. Click the appropriate link for your operating system and open the downloaded file.

Twine Download Link

The executable will run through a quick installation. Afterwards open up Twine, and you'll get a page similar to the one below (minus the stories). You can click the green button on the right to start a new story. Twine will run through a quick tutorial for your first story showing you how to get started writing.

Twine Starting Page

Once you've finished up the story, you can export it to html, by clicking the menu button in the bottom left and selecting publish to file. You'll then be given a dialog box to save the html page.

Publish Story

That's all there is to it. Of course, this is a very light intro to Twine, and I didn't go into detail on everything. There is a more detailed guide to getting started with Twine here. That should help fill in most of the gaps as you go. Really, the best thing you can do is jump in and go for it.

Tech Tip: Automotivator

I pulled the quote from a set of inspirational running quotes on the Medical Daily site, and the image is pull from justcuteanimals.com. I thought this quote was really appropriate at this time of the semester.

Image Source
Quote Source

Tech Tip: Pinterest

I wanted to do a quick tech tip, and I've been hesitant to get onto Pinterest, but I'm finally doing it for this post. I have to say, I kind of like pinterest. I haven't used it before, (I tend to avoid social media sites.) but it's really intuitive, and it was easy for me to find some really cool pictures. It also seems like it will be a really useful place to keep track of images I use for blog posts and their sources. I might even start using it for other projects as well.

Link to Pinterest board:
https://www.pinterest.com/bonner5171/indian-epics-portfolio/

Tech Tip: OUCreate Website

For this tech tip, I wanted to briefly go over the process for creating an OUCreate site and some of the benefits.

OUCreate sites are really useful for more advanced users. The content management system on the back-end gives the user almost complete control of the website. You can do FTP, build your site from scratch, or upload a CMS stack like WordPress. You can even do things like create emails, connect aliases, and build a database. Basically, if you'd want to do it as a web developer, you probably can.

All that being said, most beginners won't really need most of what OUCreate offers. However, even if you don't really need it. The basic version is completely free, and it's pretty simple to set up a blog site. I'll go over the process for creating a new site below.


To get started visit: http://create.ou.edu/

You'll come to a login page. Enter your OU 4x4 and password to login.

OUCreate Login Prompt

Next, the site will ask you to choose either a subdomain or custom domain. Domains cost $12/year (a pretty good deal), but subdomains are free. If you're not sure, choose a subdomain. You can always add on a custom domain later. To continue, enter your domain name and continue through the menu agreeing to any prompts that come up.

That's it! You now have own little section of the internet to do whatever you want with. You'll be emailed shortly with login info for the default admin account. Make sure you keep that stored somewhere safely; it's really important.

From now on, you can access the back-end for the website by logging in through create.ou.edu. Upon login you'll be brought to a page like this:

OUCreate Content Management System

For most of the stuff in here. If you need to use it, you'll probably know how. But, I'll go over some of the important stuff:

The Files Section -- This is where you can manually edit the file structure of your site. If you're creating your site from scratch, this is a really useful section.

The Web Apps Sections -- Click this link to go to a list of apps that can be auto-installed. Some big ones include WordPress, Known, and Drupal.

The Domains Sections -- This is where you can go to add new domains like I mentioned earlier.

That's a pretty brief intro to OUCreate. The rest of the interface is pretty intuitive, and I definitely recommend exploring the various sections. If you're having trouble, you can always check out the documentation linked under "Support" at the top of the page.

Tech Tip: SoundCloud Embedded

Just doing a quick tech tip with SoundCloud here. I haven't messed with the website much prior to this, but it's pretty cool. I'll have to look into it some more after this.

I was looking through the tracks thinking of what I wanted to post, and I thought of this song. I think it's very fitting at this time of year.

This one's for Bowie.

Tech Tip: Google Website

I've got a google site! Here's a link to it. It wasn't too difficult to set up, but it's still pretty bare. I'll be adding to it over the next few weeks for my storybook, though.

The one issue I've notice with google sites is the inability to do much custom HTML and very limited scripting capabilities. This is a little annoying for me because I'm trying to do an interactive storybook. However, I think I can get around this by using a separate host for the interactive sections.

Cat Meme
made on LOLBuilder

Tech Tip: Cheezburger

I had a little time before class today, so I figured I'd do a quick tech tip. What better to do on a Monday morning than make a meme at cheezburger.com. I thought this was appropriate:

Monday Mornings
Made by me on lolbuilder

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

I just added a weather widget to my blog! It seemed like a great time to do it. Since February is right around the corner, I figure that we're about due for another freak blizzard. The widget itself is pretty basic, but the actual site is extremely thorough with every graph, figure, or data point you'd possibly want. If you want to get one for yourself, you can learn how here.