Gibbins, Nicholas

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Telling TalesHypertext Writing• Dr Nicholas Gibbins - nmg@ecs.soton.ac.uk• 2013-2014A Working DefinitionBy ‘hypertext’, I mean non-sequential writing - text that branches and allows choices to the reader, best read at an interactive screen. As popularly conceived, this is a series of text chunks connected by links which offer the reader different pathways.Nelson, T.H. (1981) Literary Machines, Sausalito, CA: Mindful Press.The Death of the AuthorBarthes, R.G. (1967) The Death of the Author. Aspen, no. 5-6. We know now that a text is not a line of words releasing a single ‘theological’ meaning (the ‘message’ of the Author-God) but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash.To give a text an Author is to impose a limit on that text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close the writing.Hypertext and the Death of the Author“It is tempting to see hypertext as realizing Barthes' utopian dreams of a writing liberated from the Author. The ability for each reader to add to, alter, or simply edit a hypertext opens possibilities of collective authorship that breaks down the idea of writing as originating from a single fixed source. Similarly, the ability to plot out unique patterns of reading, to move through a text in an aleatory, non-linear fashion, serves to highlight the importance of the reader in the “writing” of a text - each reading, even if it does not physically change the words - writes the text anew simply by re-arranging it, by placing different emphases that might subtly inflect its meanings.”Keep,C., McLaughlin, T. and Parmar, R. (1993-2000) The Electronic Labyrinth. http://elab.eserver.org/Forking Paths“In all fictional works, each time a man is confronted with several alternatives, he chooses one and eliminates the others; in the fiction of Ts’ui Pên, he chooses— simultaneously—all of them. He creates, in this way, diverse futures, diverse times which themselves also proliferate and fork. Here, then, is the explanation of the novel’s contradictions. Fang, let us say, has a secret; a stranger calls at his door; Fang resolves to kill him. Naturally, there are several possible outcomes: Fang can kill the intruder, the intruder can kill Fang, they both can escape, they both can die, and so forth. In the work of Ts’ui Pên, all possible outcomes occur; each one is the point of departure for other forkings.”Borges, J.L. (1941) The Garden of Forking Paths, Translated from Spanish by Yates, D.A.   Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addErgodic Literature• http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielygo/5391176827/Ergodic Literature“ Ergodic […] derives from the Greek words ergon and hodos, meaning "work" and "path." In ergodic literature, nontrivial effort is required to allow the reader to traverse the text. If ergodic literature is to make sense as a concept, there must also be nonergodic literature, where the effort to traverse the text is trivial, with no extranoematic responsibilities placed on the reader except (for example) eye movement and the periodic or arbitrary turning of pages. ”Aarseth, E. (1997) Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press.150 loose leaf pages- Pages are to be shuffled before readingComposition No. 1, Roman (1962)Saporta, M. (1963) Composition No. 1, Roman. Translated from French by Howard, R., New York: Simon and Schuster.  Structured as 155 chapters- Chapters 57-155 designated as ‘expendable’Two readings of the book:- Chapters 1-56 in order- All chapters, following the reading order given in the instructions: 73-1-2-116-3-…Hopscotch (1963)Cortázar, J. (1966) Hopscotch. Translated from Spanish by Rabassa, G. New York: Pantheon Books. Numbered double-page spreads- Story on verso pages- Explicit choices on recto pagesUn conte à votre façon (1967)Queneau, R. (1982) Un conte à votre façon, Paris: Kickshaws. 27 chapters, bound as pamphlets- Designated first chapter- 25 chapters, to be read in any order- Designated last chapterThe Unfortunates (1969)Johnson, B.S. (1969) The Unfortunates, London: Secker and Warburg. Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addStory, Narrative and TextStory, Narrative and TextNarrative theory identifies three levels in fiction:- Story: the content of a tale; the underlying events related in a tale (also referred to as fabula)- Narrative: a recounting of a story; the reorganisation of events by time or point-of-view (also referred to as plot)- Text: the signs (words, images) that are processed by the readerNon-linearity may be introduced at any or all of these levelsLowe, N.J. (2009) A Cognitive Model, In Reading Hypertext, Bernstein, M. and Greco, D. (eds),Watertown, MA: Eastgate SystemsStory versus Narrative: Citizen KaneStory versus Narrative: Citizen KaneStory versus Narrative: Citizen KaneStory versus Narrative: Citizen Kane• Psycho (1960) • Psycho (1998)Narrative versus Text: PsychoDrag picture to placeholder or click icon to addHypertext Fiction• http://www.flickr.com/photos/nealy-j/4579505879/Hypertext FictionA selection:- Michael Joyce (1987) - afternoon, a story- Stuart Moulthrop (1992) - Victory Garden- Geoff Ryman (1996) - 253"I want to say I may have seen my son die this morning.”Non-linear narrative with default path• Notecard-like lexias• No explicit anchors; all words are anchors• Built as demonstration of the hypertext authoring system Storyspaceafternoon, a story (1987)Joyce, M. (1990) afternoon, a story. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems.Follows a central character (Emily) and the interactions of those connected with her, set during Gulf War I.Multiple non-linear narratives with default paths• Anchors indicate branches to other narratives(initially hidden, but can be made explicit)• Provides a taxonomic overview mapVictory Garden (1992)Moulthrop, S. (1992) Victory Garden. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems.Descriptions of the 253 occupants (passengers plus driver) of a London Underground trainExtensive cross-referencing and footnotes support a non-linear narrative• Each description is 253 words long• Originally published on the Web253 (1996)Ryman, G. (1998) 253: the print remix. London: Flamingo.Hypertext FictionAcademic study concentrates on literary hypertext (c.f. literary fiction)- Typified by non-linear narratives, rather than non-linear storiesWhat about the hypertext equivalent of genre or popular fiction?Third person narrativeCoarse-grained, non-linear story- Multi-page lexias corresponding to episodes in Les’ life- Each episode concludes with an explicit choice for the readerLucky Les (1967)Hildick, E.W. (1967) Lucky Les: the adventures of a cat of five tales, Leicester: Brockhampton Press. Second person narrativeAgain, non-linear story- Single page lexias- Numbered pages with explicit choicesSee also interactivefiction (Colossal Cave/Advent, etc)Choose Your Own Adventure (1979-)Montgomery, R.A. (1979) Journey Under the Sea. New York: Bantam Books.Increasing sophistication – not a children’s book!- Lexias vary in size from a paragraph of a few sentences to several pages- Non-linear story, but with an additional narrative if lexias are read in order, rather than by following the directions in the lexiasLife’s Lottery (1999)Newman, K. (1999) Life’s Lottery, London: Simon and Schuster.Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addLudic Hypertext• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesrbowe/4001776922/Ludic NarrativeGame + Story … but what’s in a game?Different forms of play- Competition (agon)- Chance (alea)- Simulation (mimicry)- Disorientation (ilinx)Different types of play- Structured, explicit rules (ludus)- Unstructured, spontaneous (paidia)Caillois, R. (1961) Man, Play and Games. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.Combines CYOA-style second person narrative with Dungeons & Dragons-style rules- Non-linear story- Numbered paragraphs(more finely-grained narrative)- Mixture of explicitand random choices(aleatory reading)- External state(hit points, inventory, etc)Fighting Fantasy (1982-)Jackson, S. & Livingstone, I. (1982) The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Harmondsworth: Puffin.Two-player gamebook (agon)- Non-linear story- Split across two paired books (even/odd numbered lexia)- Shared state (keywords) and synchronisation- Mixture of explicitand random choices(aleatory reading)Duel Master (1986-7)Smith, M. & Thomson, J. (1987) Arena of Death. London: Armada Books. Second person narrative- Again, non-linear story- Simple rules- No aleatory aspectsMimicry aimed at a different demographic to that of other gamebooks!Being Elizabeth Bennet (2007)Campbell Webster, E. (2007) Being Elizabeth Bennet. London: Atlantic.Storytelling card game- Story assembled from random selection of text fragments (alea)- Aim is to improvise a narrative around the storyRules ensure well-formed stories- Card types limit which cards may be played nextIntegral competition (agon)- Play alternates between players (Life and Death)- Scores assigned to different card types for each playerDark Cults (1983)Rahman, K. (1983) Dark Cults. Theilman, MN: Dark House Publishing.Dark Cults (1983)Sculptural Hypertext: Card Shark• A Card Shark node (or card) contains some text, typically a brief, focused passage• Each card may also specify constraints on the context in which it may appear• Reader receives seven random cards, based on constraints chooses which card to visit next, repeats• Social Shark: collaborative, competitive reading- Readers take it in turns to play cards- Points awarded to readers for the playing of particular cardsBernstein, M. (2001) Card Shark and Thespis: exotic tools for hypertext narrative. Proceedings of the 12th ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia, pp 41-50..Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addHypertext Comics• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dolmansaxlil/5606944557/Early hypertext comics based on gamebooks- Dice Man 1-5 (1986)- You are Maggie Thatcher (1987)Typically second person narrative- Numbered frames/pages- Explicit choices in captions- Ludic elementsHypercomics (1986-)Talbot, B. et al, (1986) House of Death. Dice Man, no. 1, IPC Magazines. Implicit choices in alternate frames- Relies on left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading conventions- Spatial juxtaposition of frames on the printed page permits multiple reading pathsExamined by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics (1993)Carl (2001)McCloud, S. (2001) Choose Your Own Carl. http://www.scottmccloud.com/Visual grammar for linking:• Tabs for inter-page navigationMeanwhile (2010)Shiga, J. (2010) Meanwhile. New York: Amulet Books.an eventa sequenceof eventsa choicesimultaneouseventsJimmy Corrigan (2001)Ware, C. (2001) Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth, London: Jonathan Cape.Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addHypertext Poetry• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossap/4160004956/Hypertext PoetryRosenberg, J. (2005) Diagrams Series 6, #1.Drag picture to placeholder or click icon to addHypertext Drama• http://www.flickr.com/photos/slimjim/2169745303/Drama vs. HyperdramaTraditional drama:- presents the playwright’s (and director’s) preferred account (narrative) of a story- distinguishes between on-stage and off-stageHyperdrama:- allows the audience to follow different narratives (and to choose when to switch narratives)- continues action off-stageDeemer, C. (1999) The New Hyperdrama: How hypertext scripts are changing the parameters of dramatic storytelling.Additional narrative centred on minor characters in Hamlet• Non-ergodic, therefore not hyperdramaRosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1967)Stoppard, T. (1973) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. London: Faber and Faber.Courtroom drama by Ayn Rand, centred on a murder trial• Members of the audience are selected to form a jury• The jury’s verdict determines the ending of the play (ergodic)Night of January 16th (1935)Rand, A. (1936) Night of January 16th: a comedy-drama in three acts. New York: Longmans & Co.Czech experimental interactive film• First shown at Expo 67 in Montreal• Film is stopped at intervals and  audience is asked how they think the film should be continued• Audience votes on two options (red/green) with the majority determining the future path of the film (ergodic)Kinoautomat (1967)Činčera, R., Roháč, J. and Svitáček, V (1967) Kinoautomat: Človĕk a jeho dům. Play takes place in a large house• Actors perform simultaneously in up to nine different rooms• Spectators must choose which actor(s) they follow (ergodic)• Multiple narrativesTamara (1981)Krizanc, J. (1989) Tamara: A play. London: Methuen Drama.Film composed of four overlapping narratives• Filmed simultaneously as four continuous 90-minute takes• Screen divided into quarters, all four films projected at same time• Audience ‘choose’ which sub-film to watch (ergodic)Timecode (2000)Figgis, M. (2000) Timecode. Screen Gems (distributor).SummarySummaryNon-linearity is the essence of hypertext- Hypertext fiction may be non-linear in story, narrative or text- Non-linearity may equally apply to poetry, comics, film and dramaHypertext is also ergodic- Non-trivial effort typically manifests itself as choice- May also involve ludic elements

Telling Tales: Hypertext Writing

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