Interactive Fiction- Julia Danielson

It's interesting thinking about video games from an academic perspective. Although IF was created outside of an academic context, it's amazing to read how it's developed and matured into a more e-literature platform. I liked how Retteberg explains how much of the early works of IF were riddle and puzzle ridden, which is "a reasonable challenge" where "all the information necessary to solve a riddle is included in the text provided" (89). Furthermore, looking at NPCs was an entertaining section. Games can be very inconsistent in the sense that some interactions with NPC are captivating, meaningful, and hold depth while others are like "conversing via telegraph with a precocious chimpanzee who has worked out a compass and the possession of objects" (90). What determines the complexity of an NPC is ultimately the amount of vocabulary it's given. I love the type of games that can be sarcastic and witty when an irrelevant or unknown sentence is plugged in, makes the game very engaging! 

https://iplayif.com/?story=https%3A%2F%2Fifarchive.org%2Fif-archive%2Fgames%2Fzcode%2FSavoir-Faire.zblorb 

Retteberg repeatedly mentions Emily Short throughout chapter four and her contributions to interactive fiction.  I was intrigued to dive deeper into one of her works when Retteberg explains how Short emphasizes "character over plot, and conversation over puzzle solving" and uses "lusher and more precise than that of many other IF developers. Her works are played as games but she is first and foremost a storyteller" (100). I took a look at her 2002 game, Savoir-Faire. Compared to Zork, the game opens up with more of a story and context. The scenery is well established and you are placed into a beautiful garden in France. I knew the backstory, so finding money and treasure felt more purposeful. The game reminds you what room you're in, how many moves you made, and what your score is. I never got a point for scoring, but I'd imagine you'd get a point when you successfully open a door or a box or something. I think I mostly liked the aesthetics in this game of running around a French mansion and going through the gardens. I felt like I could really get lost in the game and play for a long time, just by the welcoming nature of the setting Short creates. The idea that Short "is not really designing games to be won or lost, but worlds to be experienced, interacted with, and understood" doesn't sound too rewarding, but is very captivating. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VR and Empathy Machine's

 What I really appreciated about Chris Milks Ted Talk was how he expanded upon the idea of film. he describes it as "the same now as it was then." But what Chris wanted to do was to use technology was to make stories that couldn't be made with current techniques. Each time he presents a new piece, people seem to have stronger and stronger emotional responses to it. I think this speaks to how powerful immersion is. The more immersive the piece is, the more invested the user becomes. I think this is what his goal was with the last project when he did clouds over Sidra. It was incredibly moving to see her entire environment. It was as real as it could be. He could have made a documentary on Sidra, but often times those can become movie-like. This project was the opposite of that. "You are sitting there with her... and because of that you feel her humanity in a deeper way." I think this piece captured that idea beautifully. It captures her world in such a way that e
Read more

VR and Empathy- Hannah S.

 I really appreciated the TED talk from Chris Milk about how VR creates empathy. I came into this with a very limited understanding of the capacity of VR. In my mind, it was for games and fun, but there was also uses like working with veterans who have PTSD. However, I did not realize the true scope of VR and how much it could accomplish. I thought his first project "The Wilderness Downtown" was shocking enough as it inserts where you grew up and takes you back to those roads and to your house. Having technology that can do that alone is mind boggling to me. However, "Clouds Over Sidra" went even farther and is able to place the viewer into someone else’s life, environment, and view. It is amazing to think of how much this could do, like in his example of being able to spread awareness to the people who are in control of the lives of many.  It is amazing considering I thought movies had gotten good at being able to suck you in and make you feel for the characters. B
Read more

Sharing Digital Texts - Cameron Whitney

Image
  Post Secret Ted Talk Post Secret Website Post Secret reminds me a little bit of the Yellow Arrow Project. It involves anonymity and sharing words with others. Thinking about this website and project warms my heart and simultaneously makes me feel like I could cry. It started with Frank Warren, a man who printed out 3,000 pre-addressed postcards in 2004 and randomly handed them out on the streets of Washington, D.C. He included instructions on one side and the other was blank. The instructions told the people who received the cards to “anonymously share an artful secret they’d never told anyone before.” Some people send in deep secrets and others send in funny ones. It is a beautiful form of digital literature as he posts them on the website so people can view new ones every Sunday. I’ve always wanted to send one in and I know that eventually, I will.
Read more