Week 5
Taking advantage of the much needed break from last week, we have 2 topics of discussion today. So with that, let us begin with electronic literature.
Everyone, at some point or another, has had some experience with electronic literature whether they know it or not. To put it simple, electronic literature is work created exclusively for digital devices on digital devices. This type of literature is basically online available on these devices due to the ways in which it was developed/coded specific for the digital platform, making it difficult and sometimes even impossible to print, since not everything is transferable. If we delve deeper, talking about hypertext in particular, you will be able to understand how such things are made for digital devices.
What is hypertext? Well this is hypertext to put it simply. By clicking on the linking word, you will be directed to more information. Often used with relating words, you would click highlighted/linked word, for example, click on this link here if you're looking to adopt a dog. With that information, hypertext is very commonly found online, when you click on facebook links, to view any website via an internet browser, or even when playing a game. It is how you navigate your way through the hypertext that determines the order in which you read or view (Pressman, 2007).
A game? What a perfect transition into our second topic of digital games. Often you find games with set storylines, no matter what you do, the end result is the same for everyone and you can happily claim that you've completed the game. But then what do you do? Just continue to replay the game again, only for the same result? Interactive games allow that sense of emergence, where your decisions have an impact of the final result and these types of games with this format is becoming more and more popular. Its the art of storytelling, through the form of gameplay. What it reminds of of is the Black Mirror movie 'Bandersnatch". Actually I'm not 100% sure, is it a movie? Is it a game? Or is it just another episode? I, personally, am a big fan of the Black Mirror franchise. I love the concept, and when the idea of "Bandersnacth" came out I was extremely interested and curious. I spent a couple days just clicking the different hypertexts/options to find all the alternative endings, even making my partner do it to see how his ending differed to mine. It is said to be the first-of-its-kind with the technology used to create it. It was definitely a first-of-its-kind experience for me, as I've never experienced anything like it before.
This is where the importance of Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (MDA) comes to play. Just like with "Bandersnatch", whatever category it falls in, it also provides the new way of looking at these digital games as it categorises their individual aspects. The Mechanics relate to specific components of the game regarding data representation and algorithms, the Dynamics describe the actions and experiences the player takes while the game is being played and the Aesthetics relate to how desirable the game is to the player when they interact with the game (Hunicke, LeBlanc & Zubec, 2004). This is what I need to take into consideration when creating my Twine game, however basic or complex.
References:
Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubec, R. (2004). MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. Retrieved from https://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
Pressman, J. (2007). Navigating Electronic Literature. Retrieved from http://newhorizons.eliterature.org/essay.php@id=14.html
Everyone, at some point or another, has had some experience with electronic literature whether they know it or not. To put it simple, electronic literature is work created exclusively for digital devices on digital devices. This type of literature is basically online available on these devices due to the ways in which it was developed/coded specific for the digital platform, making it difficult and sometimes even impossible to print, since not everything is transferable. If we delve deeper, talking about hypertext in particular, you will be able to understand how such things are made for digital devices.
What is hypertext? Well this is hypertext to put it simply. By clicking on the linking word, you will be directed to more information. Often used with relating words, you would click highlighted/linked word, for example, click on this link here if you're looking to adopt a dog. With that information, hypertext is very commonly found online, when you click on facebook links, to view any website via an internet browser, or even when playing a game. It is how you navigate your way through the hypertext that determines the order in which you read or view (Pressman, 2007).
A game? What a perfect transition into our second topic of digital games. Often you find games with set storylines, no matter what you do, the end result is the same for everyone and you can happily claim that you've completed the game. But then what do you do? Just continue to replay the game again, only for the same result? Interactive games allow that sense of emergence, where your decisions have an impact of the final result and these types of games with this format is becoming more and more popular. Its the art of storytelling, through the form of gameplay. What it reminds of of is the Black Mirror movie 'Bandersnatch". Actually I'm not 100% sure, is it a movie? Is it a game? Or is it just another episode? I, personally, am a big fan of the Black Mirror franchise. I love the concept, and when the idea of "Bandersnacth" came out I was extremely interested and curious. I spent a couple days just clicking the different hypertexts/options to find all the alternative endings, even making my partner do it to see how his ending differed to mine. It is said to be the first-of-its-kind with the technology used to create it. It was definitely a first-of-its-kind experience for me, as I've never experienced anything like it before.
This is where the importance of Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (MDA) comes to play. Just like with "Bandersnatch", whatever category it falls in, it also provides the new way of looking at these digital games as it categorises their individual aspects. The Mechanics relate to specific components of the game regarding data representation and algorithms, the Dynamics describe the actions and experiences the player takes while the game is being played and the Aesthetics relate to how desirable the game is to the player when they interact with the game (Hunicke, LeBlanc & Zubec, 2004). This is what I need to take into consideration when creating my Twine game, however basic or complex.
Ahh the dreaded Twine game I was oh so worried about. Only to find out that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. After this weeks class, and looking through the resources, I've found that it doesn't need to be all that complex. I'm sure, knowing myself, I will stumble onto some hickups that I will inevitably create for myself but with more of an open mind now, I am sure I will be able to use the resources to my advantage to create the basic Twine piece I need. I am now actually looking forward to creating my piece!
Overall, I've felt I have learned a lot between these 2 weeks. I can certainly feel my level of knowledge growing and solidifying. I would never have seen myself being exciting to create Twine games or even use hypertext within my own writing. Whereas, now I am looking forward to how this will help me develop as a digital creator.
References:
Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubec, R. (2004). MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. Retrieved from https://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf
Pressman, J. (2007). Navigating Electronic Literature. Retrieved from http://newhorizons.eliterature.org/essay.php@id=14.html
It is said to be the first-of-its-kind with the technology used to create it. It was definitely a first-of-its-kind experience for me, as I've never experienced anything like it before.
ReplyDeleteIn 1974 or so, they showed us a documentary about what the future would be like. It was way off. They werne’t proposeing fly8ng cars, but they did propose LCD windows that would darken at the twist of a kob. They also talked about movies where you could pick the proposed outcome. This was set in a cinema, so the audience got to vote on which way the movie would go. Of course, there was no way to determine who had voted for what, so the numbers could be faked and the movie just carry on the way the creators intended, but the thought was there and that counts, as they say.
(Who’s ‘they’? if ‘they’ are your parents, press 1. If ‘they’ are the super-powerful astral beings that control our lives for their own amusement, don’t press anything. They know what you want, they made you to want it…)
I think theymay have tried this in real life, too. It was certainly done on an episode of Futurama, where Calculon could either chase the killer or do his taxes, and apparently the audience voted for the the taxes.
But certainly ‘Bandersnatch’ would be the first to do it on a ‘one to one’ basis, where each viewer gets to choose an outcome.
At what point do the choices become sonumerous that the writer/creator is no longer telling a story, but just compiling a shopping list of alternatives for the reader/player to choose from? Isnt it good to know that the glass slipper fits, and Cinderella gets the Prince? There’s certainty in a controlled narrative. But certainty isn’t one of the Aesthetics, and maybe that’s a good thing.