Selecting Motion Paths

Why are we creating segments of paths and overlapping paths in the first place? Because what we are trying to achieve is what was available to eLearning developers using Macromedia Authorware 25+ years ago: the ability to start and stop an object at any point on a pre-determined path.

What this meant was that I could, for example, SMOOTHLY move a image of a box moving along an assembly line using a slider control, from one end to the other and back (or stop anywhere along the way). I could SMOOTHLY pan a panoramic image of the Manhattan Island skyline using a slider control, again from left to right and back or anywhere in between. Based on a user-entered number, the box or the panorama could instantly "jump" to that position on the path, whether it was the start point, end point, or somewhere in between, And it wasn't just straight paths. It was paths with an infinite number of segments (straight or curved), or paths that were completely free-form. Paths that shared the same start and end point, so that I could essentially have an object that looked like it was running rings around another object.

I could ALSO have the learner click on the box, and move it along the SAME path, from end to end or anywhere in between. Based on where the learner "let go," I could have the course respond based on the location on the path where the box was dropped, and launch a new exercise, provide additional information, and so on.

Oh, and did I mention it wasn't just static images that could be moved along a predetermined path? It was animations (GIF or SWF, for example) inserted into the same Display Icon.