2001
– A  REVIEW
The year 2001 was an iconic year to most
people, thanks to Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick’s efforts on the film of the
same name, and the excitement of last year seems to have seeped into the
website.
The year began with the usual fair of
content, stories and such, with interviews from top Star Wars authors heading the
bill. January passed
in much the same vein, with new ideas appearing within the many electronic pages of the
site. The site also received an overhaul – a new border and layout increased the
impact of the visuals.
February saw the
introduction of Mark Newbold Setnin Selects, the version
of the ‘George Lucas Selects’ from the official Star Wars website.
With the addition of stunning CGI graphics from the computer of Louis
Turfrey, they became an instant success and helped promote the
site’s sense of individuality. Although
is a Star Wars site, 99% of the stuff we create shies away from the official Star
Wars material. The Setnin Selects enhanced this.
March saw the full introduction of a new
Jonathan
Hicksstory arc for the
stories – the previous three months had seen the seeds of a possible invasion of the Setnin
Sector, ’s
own part of the galaxy, by the neighbouring Ki-Ki Sector. After half a dozen
build-up stories and a short novel, the arc began with a bang.
April and May saw the introduction of new
graphic software for Louis Turfrey, who increased his visuals
immensely for the gallery section, and the beginning of work to streamline the content.
Mark Newbold worked on the guides. Cutting
them into sections and making them easier to navigate, as were the timeline and fiction
lists. Now the viewing public could read the
fiction in chronological order, with all the stories and the timeline entries acting as
one long story.
June through to August saw more of the
same. New stories, increasing the drama of the Setnin/Ki-Ki War, appeared on the
site. New graphics for the Setnin Select and the final introduction of scanned
hand-drawn artwork helped improve the variety of work. Plans were to hit a story high in September with a huge story,
co-written by the
staff, about the continuing Ki-Ki/Setnin War.
September was a month of
tragedy, with the terrorist actions on the 11th shocking and grieving the
world. War became a reality, and the
staff discovered that their own stories, especially that of their huge planned story,
mirrored the events of the real world far too closely to be tasteful. An overhaul was
needed and additions to the site were put on hold.
October through to December was a time of reflection and
change. The
staff took a step back and reviewed their creations to make sure that everything hung
together well. It was noticed that there were too many plotlines and too many characters
involved with the Ki-Ki/Setnin War. After discussion in November, work began on
simplifying things to make the story more accessible. With changes to both the story arc
and the content of the site itself, things were ready to go again by December.
Then disaster struck. The main plot ideas and story drafts on Jonathan
Hicks computer were lost – the computer had broken down and the
data was inaccessible. The planned end of year/beginning of year story explosion was, once
again, placed on hold as the problem was addressed.
Now, with the data recovered and the story
once again taking form, the new year of
will continue in the way we’ve always wanted – original stories and artwork to
entertain and occupy the minds of those that enjoy our work.
Here’s to 2002!
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