ROAM

is a free, interactive video player that runs from your web browser. No installation necessary.

Browse Episodes

Try the official subreddit: reddit.com/r/roamplayer (coming soon)

Ways to Watch

1. Download an episode elsewhere on the web, then drag in the files at roamplayer.com
2. Visit roamplayer.com and enter the URL of an episode in the box at the bottom
3. Visit any hosted ROAM episode page, which will redirect you to roamplayer.com and play the video. How do I host my own episodes? (coming soon)

Build Your Own Episodes

Build an episode →

Scene Ending Types

Decision: Viewer is presented with a list of choices ("branches").

Redirect: Viewer is led to a new scene–no choices available. Useful when two different paths lead to the same place.

Story Features

• No signups, no installation. Everything happens right here.
• Decisions (scene ending)
• Can have blurred background, or not
• Redirects (scene ending) – could be based on user input, or not
• Multi-View Scenes (selectable angles/perspectives)
• Multi angle
• Multi plot
• "Moment" buttons (hidden buttons that take you to new scenes–position can be animated to accommodate moving shots). Once completed, these scenes can pick back up where you left off, or take you somewhere else.
• Viewer access levels (not technically secure, but useful in a pinch)

Player Features

• Drag and drop area for local files if you just want to use the player (add ?drop=true to any URL)
• Loop last 3 seconds (length adjustable)
• Half speed playback
• Fully responsive for all aspect ratios

Technical Notes

• File support: mp4, webm, ogv
• Browser support: Chrome, Firefox
• All videos preload
• Aside from using local files for the drag and drop feature, video must be hosted on same domain as js file
• Hosting recommendations: Hostgator allows adult sites. Don't use shared hosting because you'll probably get shut down. Linode too, but requires more setup. You can also host as a zip file and run the scenes locally. Recommendations for shooting on phone:
• Android/Iphone apps
• Steadicam
• Lapel mic
• Lighting
• Video conversion apps for non-HTML5 video formats–flv/avi/m4v/etc. (NOT TESTED, just found googling):
• http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/
• http://www.iskysoft.com/convert-flv/convert-flv-to-mp4-on-mac.html
• Multi-angles tip: you may want to use same audio for all versions (or not)
• Moments and decisions are set up differently because moments are scene-specific, whereas decisions don't have to be. They could be reused.
• Rewind button takes you to the start of current scene. If clicked twice (or within 1 second of scene start) will take you back to previous scene. If you're looping a later portion of the video, and single-click the rewind button, the looped section will stay the same. So you could, in theory, set a loop, then watch from the beginning, allowing the loop to begin automatically when you reach it
• Adding/subtracting from loop length (using arrows) affects the loop start time, not the end.
• Keyframes can either be disabled (not clickable) or hidden (clickable but not visible)

Limitations

• Multi-View sources must be same length
• Does not support non-HTML5 formats like FLV, AVI, mov, and m4v
• While it may be feasible, we don't recommend using the "moments" feature AND multiple sources during any given scene
• Scene uses first source by default
• Tip: you may want to give each alternate source a consistent audio track
• Moments and text overlays are screen-specific

Sample episode outline

Branching Sequence

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Parallel Sequence

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