IF Reader Interaction Response

Throughout this semester’s study of electronic literature I have time and time again been brought to a place where I must open my mind to new and sometimes (more often than not) frustrating fashions of literature. Although I consider myself a very open-minded person to begin with, as my previous responses have shown I have found it incredibly difficult to derive any sense of pleasure or enjoyment from the e-poetry we have studied thus far. Not surprisingly the same sentiment is shared in regards to my dealings with our newest venture in digital literature: Interactive Fiction (“IF” for short). Albeit an interesting concept when first speculated upon, IF has presently come to be in my opinion a gross hybrid of the novel and video gaming which instead of being thought provoking or even slightly entertaining is in fact a waste of time and energy on the part of the interactor.

Characteristic of most IF is the idea that the interactor is the one writing the story so to speak. This view is observed by the way in which the reader of IF types in commands to progress throughout the story. This however is the very fallacy of the idea in that the story or plot of the piece has already been predetermined by the author. Even though it may seem like the reader has control over which decisions are made throughout the story, any direction has already been pre thought and manufactured by the writer, therefore making the sense of control one has a mere illusion. Furthermore, the fact that all possible commands one can input into a work are already in preexistence and cannot be manipulated to do other than that which has already been programmed. For example, if one wishes to jump and therefore types “jump” into the input bar, yet the program does not recognize the verb “jump” it is as if one has been transported to a world where jumping does not exist. This is a great hindrance to all works of IF in that not everything about them is interactive.

In this way, works of Interactive Fiction fall into a paradigm of duality; they are neither novel nor game, yet claim to house attributes associated with both the written word and cyber gaming. This in turn becomes yet another way in which pieces of IF lose their popularity and appeal. Who really wants to read a story where instead of merely turning pages and allowing the imagination to fill in the blanks, one has to actively type and quite possibly read the same set of dialogue three or four times (even more in most cases) in order to progress throughout the plot? And on the opposite side of the field, what gamer would in their right mind wish to play something where they do not have some representation of the story (other than sheer words)? Although rhetorical in nature, these questions are asked in order to provoke the natural response of: “No one would wish to partake in these activities!”

Apart from (and in addition to) this undefined nature IF, it is also extremely exasperating to understand much of the plots in IF as they do not on most occasions flow in a cohesive manner but are generated somewhat randomly. One example of this haphazard characteristic exists in the creation of the Brother’s Chaps (the duo of Mike and Matt Chapman) “Thy Dungeonman.” Listed under the games section of their website: http://www.homestarrunner.com/, this particular work of IF serves as an extension of their vast flash animation website. It also works as an excellent example of just how ridiculous works of Interactive Fiction can be. This accomplished by its satirical wit interjected throughout the programming of the story.

In the title screen of the game, there is a text-graphic (an image comprised of text) and a message reading “Click to enter Yon Dungeon.” (See below)





After clicking, the viewer is welcomed by a message indicating that obvious directions of travel are either “NORTH, SOUTH or DENNIS.” This is just one example of the tongue-in-cheek nature present throughout the work as it is absolute silliness to suggest that Dennis (who happens to be a person)is a navigable direction.







However, this is not the only use of humor within the story as is evident by the repetitive (and sometimes inappropriate) use of Old English words such as “Ye”, “Yon” and “Thee.” (See screenshots) Uses of such words do support the setting of the story (that the interactor is a medieval person trapped in a dungeon) yet also add an element of humor to the work.
Progressing throughout the work (which consists of only four “rooms” or environments of interactivity) the authors take full advantage of the fact that the actions inputted by the interactor are totally and completely under their control. When a command is given that is not recognized by the program there displays a message reading as such: “That does not computeth: type HELP is thou needs of it.” (see below) Although poorly written (the “is” should be an “if”) the message continues in the vain of sarcastic wit as it models on the common phrase found in IF of “Sorry, I didn’t recognize that verb.” In this way the Brother’s Chaps seek to jab at IF and its oftentimes enraging inability to recognize common commands such as jump, smell or grab. This subtle prod at the regularly employed mechanics of IF continues all through the work, as is seen when the interactor types the command “dance.” Instead of disallowing this action, the programmers yet again interject their love of nonsensical humor by having the output display the message: “Thou shaketh it a little, and it feeleth alright.”



Another way “Thy Dungeonman” brings to light the sheer ludicrousness of Interactive Fiction is found within the first room, where there is a flask. After trying to “get ye flask” the response informs one that it is “firmly bolted to a wall which is bolted to the dungeon which is probably bolted to a castle. Never you mind.”(see below)



Furthermore, if the reader attempts repeatedly to acquire the flask, on the third go round it comes off the wall, but also brings the rest of the building down on top of the protagonist, thereby ending the game. (see below)



This is of course a reference to the frustrating aspect of IF in which the interactor may try all options and even type the same command in multiple times in a fruitless effort to solve a puzzle. Of course, given their flair for the preposterous, the writers of the story have programmed the flask (and its acquirement) to be a booby trap, leaving the interactor all the more frustrated for attempting to achieve their goal.



And this is perhaps where the greatest defining factor of Interactive Fiction (and electronic literature as a whole) is found. Whereas the other forms which IF claims to hold in common with (that of the novel and the video game) often have a concrete plot, intriguing ideas and a moderate to great amount of entertainment potential, IF more often than not fails in these departments and in so doing generates an experience which is neither enlightening, imaginative or enjoyable. The Brother’s Chap’s “Thy Dungeonman” provides an accurate summary as to what IF is in that it seeks to poke fun at most (if not all) of the tenants of the interactive genre. Although the appeal may be held by some individuals on the basis that it is a work in progress and needs time to be perfected, I stand convinced that it will never replace the written word. IF is in many cases difficult to navigate, frustrating to figure out and hard to enjoy. Given these facts it is obvious that IF will not advance but will instead either remain as it is (with slight modifications) or fade away into the sea of trends, useful only to those individuals wishing to express themselves in an unintelligible and unentertaining manner.

PowerPoint Software/Writer Response "Summer Winter"

In my e-poem, “Summer Winter” (shown below) I experimented with Power-Point and software in attempts to create a work that was both easy to follow and somewhat layered in meaning. While forming my poem, I sought to utilize the animation features of Power-Point in order to add an element of symbiociation so often found within other works of electronic literature. Though not a masterpiece when compared to other works I have been introduced to over the course of the semester, “Summer Winter” does convey my feelings towards the two respective seasons in a succinct yet dynamic manner.

Basically, the intention I had when writing “Summer Winter” was to convey to the reader (or in this case, the viewer) my attitude towards the summer and winter seasons. I am inclined toward the warmer of the two, as is clearly seen by the lines of my poem, where all aspects of summer are cast in a positive view and my own personal longing for summer days is felt. Conversely, my opinions on winter as a bleak and un-enjoyable time are duly noted in the way that the winter half of the poem is construed as one of negativity. Both stanzas have a somewhat mirroring effect which serves to juxtapose the ideas contained within the lines. Take for example the second line from the summer stanza: “The feel of a Frisbee within my grasp” and the winter counterpart: “A snowball smacks me upside the head.” In the summer lines, a sense of pleasure is found in the catching of the Frisbee. In the winter lines however, the reader can most likely empathize with the unpleasant feeling of having a snowball chucked at one’s head. This is exactly the contrast I wished to show throughout the entirety of the e-poem.

Another way I attempted to employ the animation effect of the Power-Point software so as to convey the central idea of the poem was the way I chose to animate the texts of both stanzas. In the summer lines, I wished to encapsulate the fleeting presence of summer which so often comes and goes without give one enough time to enjoy its company. So, just like the symbolic sound of the ice cream man’s van in summertime, which fades in and out of existence quicker than one can ask mom for some loose change, I chose to have the lines of the summer stanza fade in and out in an easy, relaxed manner (see above). For this reason, on all the summer lines, I modified them to exhibit a “compress” entrance and a “stretchy” exit. In a like manner and in keeping with the contrasting nature of the poem, I wanted the lines of the winter stanza to embody the lingering nature the winter seasons seem to have. Just as the cold, dreary days of winter seem to drag on and on and on one after the other, without an end in sight, the words of the winter stanza take an unnecessary amount of time to drop from the sky and then drop off the face of the poem. To accomplish this effect I selected the “swish” effect for all the winter lines, causing them to take a much longer time to appear in their entirety. My hope for this was to awaken a sense of frustration in the viewer; a frustration akin to the one I feel when dealing with the cruelty of winter. In this way, I was able to manipulate the animation properties of the Power-Point software so as to create an atmosphere of love and hate within my e-poem towards the seasons of summer and winter.

Throughout my interaction with the Power-Point software (which I have only used previously for presentations) I found the animation options easy to find and use. They added a depth to my poem that would not have been present were it written on paper. Being able to use pictures was also a meaningful aspect to my e-poem as it allowed a visual presentation of the contrast I sought to display throughout the work. The picture I chose to incorporate into the summer part of the poem included two of my friends playing Ultimate Frisbee, one of the most memorable and enjoyable activities I participate in during summer. For the winter half of the poem, I selected a picture of my friend sitting alone in the snow. This was to further demonstrate the lonely and melancholy feeling winter so often drags along with it. I quite liked being able to employ pictures so as to drive home the main ideals of the poem. Furthermore, I found Power-Point a very easy program to use when it came to animating the text and inserting pictures.

Using Power-Point to construct my poem was not all joy and laughter though. I found it quite tedious to have to keep clicking the preview button so as to survey what I had done so far and what needed correction. This was especially irritating when it came time to deal with objects at the end of the poem because I would have to watch the preceding fifty-or-so seconds before getting to the part I wished to inspect. A fast forward or rewind tool would have been most helpful for the editing process of the e-poem. Also, I can’t help thinking that it would have been easier to develop the poem over a series of slides but as I could not figure out how to get the slides to play in succession I opted to construct the entire work on a single slide. Although this was a somewhat irksome task, the final product proves that it is not impossible and in fact quite rewarding to create e-poetry. Besides the constant clicking and mind-numbing repetition I sometimes experienced during the construction of my e-poem I ultimately enjoyed thinking about, modifying, and finishing “Summer Winter.”