Thietmars Medeburu(n) und ‚mel prohibe‘: Neues zum Oikonym Magdeborn in direktem linguistischen Zugriff und über eine Meta-Deutung

The author proposes a new interpretation of the history of the name of the former Saxon village and historical burgward Magdeborn. First, the endings -/- of , as Thietmar von Merseburg writes in his chronicle of 1012/1018, get a new explanation as *-ow or *-own. Second, it seems that both a linguistic and extralinguistic analysis of the obviously false interpretation of the Old Sorbian place name quoted by the chronicler himself may show the history of the place name in a new light. It is guessed that the chronicler had misunderstood the narrative about the name of the castle. A detailed analysis is offered of two other cases – the persiflage of the Kyrie eleison by Slavs as ukrivolsa and the mysterious provincia Nice – in which Thietmar seems to approach certain facts and their narration with a similar lack of comprehension. In conclusion, it is assumed that an earlier form of the oikonym Magdeborn was a semantically plural term: *Medobori or *Medoborьje, meaning ‚honey pine forest(s)‘. The two basic hypotheses about the oldest history of the name enable to think of a development from a plural regional name to an adjectival oikonym derived from the first. A third hypothesis goes still further in assuming that the name *Medobori or *Medoborьje had been developed from *Medjiborьje/ *Medziborьje, ‚among pine forests‘

Connecting Narrative Worlds

Report on the 6th International Conference for Interactive Digital Storytelling: “Connecting Narrative Worlds”, Bahçeşehir University Istanbul, November 6-9, 201

Practicalities and Ideologies, (Re)-Considering the Interactive Digital Narrative Authoring Paradigm

In this paper, we discuss the hypothetical nature of authoring Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) and the formal authorial process for this medium. We explore the current state-of-the-Art in IDN authorial approaches and consider the perspective of a traditional and technologically naïve author. We propose a combination of meta-narrative and autonomous agent approaches in a quest to democratize IDN authoring to a wider, less technically oriented audience. In doing so, we ask fundamental questions with regards to how the user experience can be expressed within the authorial process. We also, as part of this discussion, reflect on the nature of authoring IDNs and the author him/herself

Interactive Narrative Design beyond the Secret Art Status: A Method to Verify Design Conventions for Interactive Narrative

In recent years, game narrative has emerged as an area for novel game concepts and as a strategy to distinguish a particular title. However, innovation in this area comes primarily from indie companies and individual efforts by noted designers. There is a lack of trained specialists ready to produce interactive narrative experiences. Many existing practitioners are self-trained and often rely on intuition in their design practice. A key element missing from the effort towards a more sustained development and improved professional training is a set of design conventions that fulfill a role comparable to cinematic conventions like continuity editing or montage. Therefore, our research focuses on identifying, verifying and collecting such design strategies. We describe an empirical method to verify candidate design conventions through the evaluation of user reaction to A/B prototypes, which improves upon the trial-and-error process of old

INDCOR white paper 1: A shared vocabulary for IDN (Interactive Digital Narratives)

COST Action 18230 INDCOR (Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representations) is an interdisciplinary network of researchers and practitioners intended to further the use of interactive digital narratives (IDN1) to represent highly complex topics. IDN possess crucial advantages in this regard, but more knowledge is needed to realize these advantages in broad usage by media producers and the general public. The lack of a shared vocabulary is a crucial obstacle on the path to a generalized, accessible body of IDN knowledge. This white paper frames the situation from the perspective of INDCOR and describes the creation of an online encyclopedia as a means to overcome this issue. Two similar and successful projects (The Living Handbook of Narratology and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) serve as examples for this effort, showing how community-authored encyclopedias can provide high-quality content. The authors introduce a taxonomy based on an overarching analytical framework (SPP model) as the foundational element of the encyclopedia, and detail editorial procedures for the project, including a peer-review process, designed to assure high academic quality and relevance of encyclopedia entries. Also, a sample entry provides guidance for authors

INDCOR white paper on the Design of Complexity IDNs

This white paper was written by the members of the Work Group focusing on design practices of the COST Action 18230 - Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representation (INDCOR, WG1). It presents an overview of Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) design for complexity representations through IDN workflows and methodologies, IDN authoring tools and applications. It provides definitions of the central elements of the IDN alongside its best practices, designs and methods. Finally, it describes complexity as a feature of IDN, with related examples. In summary, this white paper serves as an orienting map for the field of IDN design, understanding where we are in the contemporary panorama while charting the grounds of their promising futures

INDCOR White Paper 2: Interactive Narrative Design for Representing Complexity

This white paper was written by the members of the Work Group focusing on design practices of the COST Action 18230 - Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representation (INDCOR, WG1). It presents an overview of Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) design for complexity representations through IDN workflows and methodologies, IDN authoring tools and applications. It provides definitions of the central elements of the IDN alongside its best practices, designs and methods. Finally, it describes complexity as a feature of IDN, with related examples. In summary, this white paper serves as an orienting map for the field of IDN design, understanding where we are in the contemporary panorama while charting the grounds of their promising futures.Comment: 11 pages, This whitepaper was produced by members of the COST Action 18230 - Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representation (INDCOR - https://indcor.eu

Footprints of palaeocurrents in sedimentary sequences of the Cenozoic across the Maurice Ewing Bank

High-resolution seismic reflection data across the Maurice Ewing Bank, the easternmost section of the Falkland/ Malvinas Plateau in the SW South Atlantic, is integrated with information from Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 36, Sites 327, 329, and 330 and Leg 71 Site 511. Five seismic units were identified ranging in age from the middle Jurassic to Quaternary and are interpreted with respect to the evolution of the oceanic circulation in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in response to tectonic and climatic events. Sedimentary sequences of late Cretaceous and early Paleogene include little and restricted evidence of current activity, attributable to shallow/ intermediate-depth connections between the developing South Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. In contrast, sedimentary sequences of the late Eocene/Oligocene and Neogene reveal a history of strong current-related erosion and deposition. These features are identified in specific water-depth ranges and interpreted to document proto-Upper and -Lower Circumpolar Deep Waters to have shaped the bank since the Oligocene. The Maurice Ewing Bank bathymetric high thus has been acting as a barrier for the deep and bottom water masses flowing within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current since its establishment at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. This study provides evidence for a multi-layered ocean already in the Paleocene/early Eocene