The article on video games was super fun. The idea of these "walking simulators" is fascinating, and something I would be willing to try. I love video games, but I am bad at following along or getting into it if there is no real plot, or if it is hard and i keep getting killed, so this seems up my ally. I like the point made that "interaction makes the player feel like an active participant in the narrative's progression" because it is definitely true. I bet certain movies or books would have "hit differently" (for lack of a better term) if they were interactive, and we were actually making the choices. I like reading about how video games are solid rebuttals to the argument that literature is "suffering" in this digital age, and how some games could be considered literature themselves. What makes literature... literature?
I think something that makes a game a work of e-lit is if it has a deep plot with characters, setting, a story arc, etc. And what makes hypertext a game would be if it is "playable" with options and multiple (maybe) endings.
I explored the first work of interactive fiction called Colossal Cave Adventure!! In the book, Rettberg says that Will Crowther developed it in 1975-76 for his children to play when they visited him after his divorce. Crowther is from Cambridge MA (which is rad cause that's like 10mins from my hometown) and he was a caver who mapped a network in caves in Kentucky, making his game about exploring caves even more realistic. I won't get into him too much, as we all read about him in the book, but I find it cool that he found his own game "rudimentary." I played through a lot of it and it was honestly really fun. It was frustrating at first trying to figure out what to type, and I kept dying... but it was unlike games I have played before (other than Zork) (probably because of its age lol). Here's a pic of the first time I died:
I also have a hard time getting into video games that are really difficult or boring, so interactive fiction seems up my ally too! I liked how you described the difference between hypertext and interactive fiction. Games definitely feel more "playable" then hypertexts.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that these interactive texts are way more game like than hypertexts, however I do see the similarities at the same time. They are both very interactive and offer a cool perspective of literature. I didn't explore Colossal Cave Adventure, but I think based off of what you're saying I would have a field day! The whole idea of typing the right things, and interacting the right way to keep you alive sounds so fun!
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