Sonar lets you make HTML5 apps without knowing code. And this fun Star Trek app shows what it can do.
The game is based on the idea that red-shirted crew members have low life expectancy
When designers look into how to make an app they often recoil in terror from the technically intimidating iOS and Android development languages. To help creatives out, Sonar Design are building what they call 'the world's first HTML5 platform for content creators'.
"We believe that creators shouldn't have to spend their time porting content and struggling with the broken App Store model," they argue on their homepage. "We believe that creators should be able to create and publish without having to rely on developers and IT resources."
By 'creators' they're primarily talking about the marketing industry, and by 'content' they're mainly looking at fun, lightweight online experiences rather than anything too serious. And to showcase just what the platform can offer, they've created a HTML5 app and infographic themed on Star Trek.
It's all based on the idea that crew members wearing red shirts are most likely to bite the dust. Because stats are a favourite pastime for sci fi-fans everwhere, the web app and infographic both detail the facts behind red shirt deaths.
Red shirt casualties are explained in an infographic
For example, in the first season, only 26 per cent of deaths were red shirts, but that changed to 90 per cent by the third season.
With the Redshirt Phenomenon infographic provides lots of in-depth trivia about the phenomenon, the choose-your-own-adventure Redshirt Challenge app tests what your survival chances would be as a Star Trek crew member.
Combining data on red-shirt deaths with artwork created in-house, it's a great example of what this intriguing new platform is capable of. And as Sonar Design's Russ Somers explains: "The app's optimized for mobile, but because it's an HTML5 web app built on the Sonar platform, it'll run on any phone, tablet, laptop, or other device."
Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.
