Current timeline views (Gantt or others) are based on dates, so Oct-Dec 2025 for example.
It would be nice if we can make similar overviews for non datetime-dependent items. For example, if we make a video then we might plot the shoots on a timeline, showing this as a timeline.
Similar for small games, if they exist of several chapters of different lengths then showing them on a gantt / timeline would be way nicer than a list.
Has something like this been considered already, or is it not on the radar?
How do you imagine the size/positioning of the items would be displayed for items which do not have date/datetime fields? Are you saying that for the following items:
Chapter
Length
A
3
B
4
C
2
D
5
you would want to have bars of width 3,4,2 and 5, sequenced to show them as dependent on each other?
FWIW I suspect it’s possible to achieve something visually similar using a report view.
It kind of depends on the exact implementation. If it would be an alternative visual for a gantt view, then I would expect that every entity needs Start / Finish or Start / Duration. Where you can move the bars around and re-scale them just like you do with a timeline based gantt view.
However, in the case of an ordering-view, it would be closer to your example. Where the location in the database determines its order, and the size would be determined by a field like Length.
In my mind the first option made most sense. As you can keep the Gantt view largely the same, but change the horizontal indicators based on the field that determines the start/end of the entity. (so if start/end is determined by %, then the horizontal bar will show percentages. If its determined by time (be it hh:mm:ss or only ss), then it would show a time-bar.
I am not sure how the start and end would be determined. My immediate thought would be to base it on the highest and lowest value in the entities, but that could be annoying if you want to extend the timeline.
With additional fields, for example for who will work on a section, what the assets are attached to it etc etc
In this case a timeline / gantt could provide a visual aid (and options to drag/top/rescale the items) in a way that is more visual and more representative than a table or list could be.
In this case I used start% and end%, but again this could be time based instead if we want to map it to a video instead.
Here is an example of a whiteboard that we are using now as a timeline. A big part would be the dynamic editing, a report only shows the overview, but this is also for creative processes. The whiteboard is a good setup for simple things, but it lacks any filtering or fixed structure.
In this situation, we have a narrative game, with acts for the major parts of the game
Inside the acts are sections, which is how we divide the act into sort of levels
These sections are then defined by landmarks (these will be specific gameplay elements) which are our final cut-up.
In this view, we would define the full project as 0-100%, and separate it into acts. We then further refine it with sections and landmarks. In this case, you have a timeline with grouped data, you can add, remove, scale, or re-order entitities, but in the end it would always be 100% (of the group it is in).
In this case, we would add additional info to say a section with emotion or gameplay intensity. Right now we make this new rows, but these could be colors, or additional fielts shown inside of a card
I’m sure that the image makes sense to you, but I’m afraid that I am unable to interpret it. I don’t see what is telling me anything about timing (which is what I think of when talking about a ‘timeline’).
Is the shape (height? width?) of each white square suppose to indicate the relative duration of that part of the storyline?
Out of interest, are there tools on the market which do already support the kind of view you are looking for?
Correct. In this case the width indicates the relative contribution of an act/sequence/scene to the overall story.
Right now I use movie terminology as its the easiest to explain, but this could work for things like a workshop setup, where we have an 8 hour period, with different topics (instead of acts) which have tasks (instead of sequences), where we show how the day is setup on a timeline.
Great. I think I get what you’re asking for. Glad we clarified.
For what it’s worth, I’m not sure the title of the topic is necessarily the best description of what you’re after (I think people may think of staggered rows, when talking of ‘gantt’ charts) but I also don’t know what might be better(!)
