Blog Post #1
Defining Interactive Fiction & Subsequent Playthroughs
Hello, all! Since this is my first official blog post, I'm going to take a moment to quickly introduce myself. My name is Chloe Guerra. I'm a 20 year old Junior at UPJ who's majoring in Psychology and minoring in Art History. I'm really excited to be taking this class and cannot wait to learn more about and explore different mediums of interactive fiction.
Interactive fiction has a pretty self-explanatory name that gives people a hint of what it is really about. In my own words, I feel like interactive fiction is a body of literary work where the reader gets to impact the story and has an active role in the story-telling process. This is different from typical literary mediums where you simply read what the author has laid out in front of you without any decision making. Some examples of interactive fiction can be choose-your-own-adventure literary forms. That is how I was first made aware of this type of literary genre. I would read the Goosebump editions of interactive fiction. Another book I adored that showcased interactive fiction characteristics was Romeo And/Or Juliet by Ryan North. With both of these examples, you are simply given a story and then are given instructions to turn to certain pages to make a decision as if you are the character in the book. Instead of having one outcome or ending to a story, this gives readers the opportunity to experience the same story in many different ways. However, interactive fiction is not limited to the traditional physical book option.
Interactive fiction also has technological roots, making it an extremely diverse form of literature. Lots of online games have been developed, stemming from the '70s, where players use text commands to interact with fictional prose that paints the picture of settings, characters, and plots. This is another way interactive fiction expands the traditional idea of literature; by exploring with the different mediums that can be used to portray it. Colossal Cave Adventure (also known as Adventure or ADVENT) was one of the first interactive text adventure games developed in 1975, with the player being someone who explores a cave system that holds treasures and wealth. Zork is another popular interactive fiction game, which is split up into three different parts, set in the ruins of an ancient empire. [Play Zork here.] It is important to the genre of interactive fiction because it expanded upon the limited language users were able to use to successfully navigate their way through these types of literary games.
Watch Me Play Zork:
(To play videos, click on the large grey square and wait for the 'run flash' option to be available)
** Side Note: I got super lost in this (even while following a walkthrough, or set of directions that guide the player/reader through the game) so I apologize for how painful it is to watch me try and figure out anything after getting to the cellar **
Watch Me Play Adventure:Interactive fiction also has technological roots, making it an extremely diverse form of literature. Lots of online games have been developed, stemming from the '70s, where players use text commands to interact with fictional prose that paints the picture of settings, characters, and plots. This is another way interactive fiction expands the traditional idea of literature; by exploring with the different mediums that can be used to portray it. Colossal Cave Adventure (also known as Adventure or ADVENT) was one of the first interactive text adventure games developed in 1975, with the player being someone who explores a cave system that holds treasures and wealth. Zork is another popular interactive fiction game, which is split up into three different parts, set in the ruins of an ancient empire. [Play Zork here.] It is important to the genre of interactive fiction because it expanded upon the limited language users were able to use to successfully navigate their way through these types of literary games.
Watch Me Play Zork:
(To play videos, click on the large grey square and wait for the 'run flash' option to be available)
** Side Note: I got super lost in this (even while following a walkthrough, or set of directions that guide the player/reader through the game) so I apologize for how painful it is to watch me try and figure out anything after getting to the cellar **
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