Zombie Run: A New Sort of Interactive Fiction?

April 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Recently, while talking to one of my friends about getting fit for the summer, I stumbled upon an interesting application. My friend, Jeremy, has constructed a workout plan centered around running. As the topic changed from workout strategies to music to get you pumped and ready, Jeremy told me that he doesn’t listen to music while he runs. Instead, he informed me about a cool new application that is designed like an interactive game, its called “Zombie Run.” After hearing from him a bit about how the app works and what it entails, I decided to do a bit of research of my own to learn more about the application. As I researched, I came across the official website and even a neat YouTube video that explains a bit more about this new app. I was also able to borrow my friends phone for a quick run and test the app for myself.

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Having seen the video and how the app works, I would like to pose a few questions to you and really challange the idea of interactive fiction. The way that “Zombie Run” is designed makes it an interactive story. Unlike games before it, the user does not interact with an interface to build the story. As the video shows, the distance run is what effects the story line and the users movements such as time and pace affect the overall plot of the story. I really thought it was neat how the application allows the user to build a base primary derived from the that users interaction.

Having said this, I also considered this course and, whether or not, we could classify this new app as a form of interactive fiction. I think that the fact that the user can interact with the story, alone, makes it interactive fiction. The only reason why I would even remotely consider that this is not interactive fiction is because the way the game is designed now, there are only a few set paths that the story can follow. Though the user interacts with the story line, the paths that it can follow have been programed that way and are actually already set. It is the users interactions with the story that unlocks the next level. Also the fact that the way the user interacts with the program is not through any real set interface.The user simply needs to run and this becomes the interaction. I personally feel that, thought the user does not physically interact with any sort of interface, this work still counts as interactive fiction because some sort of interaction is occurring with the story.

So I ask you my friends, what do you think? Do you think that “Zombie Run” could be considered interactive fiction? If so what elements make it so? If not, why?

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Passage and Gravitation: Game Life = Real Life

March 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

After speaking in class about the deeper meaning in such games like Gravitation and Passage, I had an idea to change my analysis paper topic from glitch art to this deeper analysis. However, I went to speak with Dr. Whalen in his office and decided that instead of changing my paper topic and all of my research over to this I would instead cover it in my blog post for the next checkpoint assignment, hence the following post was born.

I know that one other student has already written a post about Gravitation and Passage and the deeper meaning behind both; however, this post is not only designed to focus on the deeper meaning behind these two games but their real life applications.

In the game Passage the player must move around a maze and find treasure that helps to add to the game score. As in most games, the goal is to reach the highest score you can before time runs out or, in this game, you die. However, unlike most games, Passage has various elements that are not only important to the game but represent real life elements as well. For instance, in the game when you come upon a lady, you fall in love and she is with you until the very end of the game. This extra player comes as both a companion and a hindrance. As the sprite, you are no longer alone for the rest of your journey and, conversely, you have a life companion. However, your companion will not leave you and you can no longer fit into some the spaces that you would have been able to had you not met your companion. Also once you find her you are no longer able to move as fast. This is very much symbolic of real life. When you find a partner in life, you are no longer able to do some of the things that you would have been able to do before hand. Also, typically, you will be with that special someone until you die.

Passage, not only, serves as a game but also as a life lesson. Love is eternal and your partner is their until death. I also think it is an interesting quandary that throughout this game you and your partner age gradually. Like in real life, no one lives forever and your life is set to a limited time that no 0ne knows for sure. You, as the sprite, are encouraged to move through the maze while you still can. I feel this massage is also applicable to life; you must live your life to the fullest while you still have life. No matter what you choose, whether you choose a life of solitude or a life partner, the game always ends in death, much like real life, no one lives forever.

Just as much can be said of the game Passage, so too can be said of Gravitation. Gravitation also serves life lessons. The object of the game Gravitiaotin is a bit different of that in Passage. In Gravitation you are faced with a discision early on in the game. You can choose to play ball with a child and gain an energy boost that you need to reach the higher levels. you then use that energy to jump up to these levels and retreve stars that eventually fall back down tot he first level of the game. When you run out of energy, you climb back down to the first level and push the stars, that have now turned into ice blocks, into the fire. Once you have accomplished this you can choose to play with the child again and the cycle repeats. 

Much like Passage, you, as the sprite, are bound to the implications of your choice. You can either play with the child or you can choose not to. If you play with the child you get and energy boost that allows you to jump higher and collect more stars but, if you choose not to, you lead a very dull life. Much like real life, if you choose not to interact with anyone else you will lead a very dull, uninteresting life and you will not go very far at all. I feel that Gravitation serves not only as a fun game but also as reminder of life’s choices. You are encouraged to interact with the child, whom I took to be your child, and reach your full potential. Family is an important part of life and you have to interact with your family and grow those close bonds in order to make it in this crazy life. Gravitation is designed around this core moral, strong relationships are the key to a successful life.

It is true what they say, the best stories games are often more true to life than fiction.

 

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Shade: To Keep You In The Dark

March 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The following is my personal analysis of the interactive fiction game, Shade:

This week we were assigned to play the interactive fiction game, Shade. Shade is actually designed in a way that keeps the gamer in the dark, so to speak, until the very end when all is revieled.Though this may not work in other games, it is a true advantage to the tangled story line of this particular work because it matches the twisted shady plot. Shade is a much darker game than what I initially thought it would be. The gamer is automatically aware of an ominous dark element from the very beginning line of the game “Odd, how the light just makes your apartment gloomier.” Shade has three distinctly designed elements that make it unique, the first is the way the goal of the game is presented, the second, the tricky nature of the tasks list, and finally, the character’s misguided understanding of the situation.

Unlike many other games, in Shade the goal and plot is not explicitly stated or clearly laid out for the gamer before any action is taken. The gamer is really left to try to figure out what steps need to be taken and next and how exactly they choose to go about that action. Though it can be confusing for some to operate in a way that is not clearly explained before hand, in Shade, the gamer eventually learns that there are two distinct elements that are placed in the game to help the gamer through there quest. Both the plant and the travel book list help the gamer complete tasks and move forward in their quest. The type of the plant changes to indicate the player’s progress in the game and, as the player gets closer to the end, the plants become more and desert-esque, which also leads back into the main theme of the game. The travel book list, on the other hand, is more of a road map than it is a list. The list gives the player hints as to which task is to be completed next.

Another interesting element to the game Shade is the tricky, almost underhanded, way that the task list works. As I mentioned above, the list is designed to help the gamer decide where to go and what to do next. However, the part that really makes Shade stand out from other works like it is the fact that some task must be accomplished multiple times in order to actually be considered completed by the list and gain the ability to move forward in the game. Also, there are a few task that must be completed several different ways before they are achieved, such is the case with the search for the tickets. No matter where you check the tickets are never visible until you get to the third place you search and then you find them there, where ever the gamer chooses third place is. This small design element ties into the larger feeling of confusion that makes up the theme of the game.

The final part that makes Shade so very different from any other game is the character’s own cense of misguided understanding which in turn, shades the gamer’s understand. The character in the game seems very confused himself/herself. They do not seem to have any of their belongings together even though they have been planing this special trip for so long. Their small, one room apartment is shabby, disorganized, and a complete mess. Even their jumbled list is a mess, sitting among an even larger mess of a desk.The character does not even seem to know where they are or what is happening and all the confusion that the character feels is felt directly by the gamer as well. As the game progresses the gamer tries desperately to piece the story together until the very end.

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Creative Project: The Key To Dreams

March 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

My original idea was to give an old well known poem new life by creating an interactive poem like the one we viewed in class. Though I had originally wanted to do a project centered around the Young-Hea Chang interactive poem Dak0ta, I eventually settled on creating an interactive text/ choose your own adventure story, when I became aware that my original idea was not really possible given the time and the resources. None the less, I am very pleased with my finished product, The Key To Dreams.

Design: I designed the story in a way that each time the viewer clicks through the story they gain a bit more information than the last time. The viewer is encouraged to make different choices throughout the course of the story that will in the end effect the meaning of the story’s ending. The results of the progression of the story are entirely up to the whim of the viewer’s selections, however, the progression works best when the reader selects the first option the first time through and the second the second time through and so on. Any way the viewer chooses to click through the story they will still get a story but not as much information is revealed. Each time the story line progresses a little more.

Faults: Though I am very pleased of the finished product, I must admit that there were a few things that I probably would have done differently had I been able to figure out how to do so. The main change that I would have made was to completely eliminate the choice to select the rewind button on the side panel. I tried several times to do this using the help of w3schools, a few of my computer science friends, and even my suite mate. To no avail I did not figure out how to do this in time so the option remains available. I wanted to eliminate this option so that the viewer would be forced to click through the entire story again rather than simply rewind to select a different path.

Appearance: I thought long and hard about whether or not I should try to change the appearance of my story. In the end I decided against it because, in my case, the basic dark design color scheme really matched the dark nature of my story.  I decided to keep it as is but did experiment with different color palettes.

Reflection: I feel that through the creation of this project I have gained a better understand of the Twine program and gained a better appreciation for choose your own adventure stories in general. I am very proud of my project and I feel that it shows just how much hard work and time I put into creating it.

Now You Try: Here is my Creative Project. Please feel free to click through the story and make sure to post a comment back to this post and tell me what you think. Remember the story changes slightly each time you play it, so be sure to play it multiple times and make different choices with each session.

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iPhone 4$: Siri, Can You Balance My Checkbook?

February 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Recently I got an new phone to replace my old blackberry. Being the tech-geek that I am, it was easy for me to decide which phone I would buy next and, of course, I chose the iPhone 4s. As many of you know the iPhone is the number one cell phone in the world right now and the newest iPhone, 4s, comes complete with many new features including the iCloud and, most notably Siri, a personal assistant. I know that Jonah Butler has also written about the iPhone 4s and Siri earlier on in the semester but I would like to focus specifically on the functionality of Siri rather than the idea behind her.

Siri is so interesting because she is what many gadget reviews are calling “the first personal assistant that can actually understand what you mean rather than just hear what you say.” I must admit that this new functionality is groundbreaking.I personally have used Siri several times and it is easy to feel like she actually does understand what you are saying. Much like Jonah, I began to think back to Eliza and how many users actually felt like Eliza could understand and sympathize with them.

While it is clear that Siri is only a program, it can be very tricky to say that she does not have any sort of attachment to what is being said to her. I know that she understands the relationship that I share among different people in my contacts list. For instance, I told her that Paul and Lisa were my parents and she understands, now, that when I ask her to tell my parents I love them, she knows to send a text message to Paul and Lisa with my message. On the other hand, one can also tell that she is not capable of actual human-like thought. For example, when I tell her to tell my parents that I love them, her message says exactly what I said sending a message like “I love them.” and not “I love you.”In the grand scheme of things it is a minor problem and it is easy to see why Siri is causing such a big deal.

Siri has many other companies on the search to create other personal assistant like her, such as Iris, which is specific to the Droid phones. Though Iris is capable of performing many different tasks she is nothing close to the functionality that Siri possesses and I personally feel like it will be some time before other companies can create a program that is equal if not better than Siri. It is true that Siri is certainly helping Apple stay on top of the competition and she continues to help. In her first few months, she helped rake in a 98% increase in iPhone sales, equalling about 11.3 million dollars. After collecting a bit more research about Apple’s product sales, I can confidently say that Siri is a huge asset to not only to the Apple company but to iPhone 4s owners as well.

I have included the video below for more information about the iPhone 4s and Siri.

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Glitch Art

February 9, 2012 by 4 Comments

Last week, in class, we briefly discussed the glitch based electronic art form and how innovative people like the folks behind Jodi.org are creating new, interesting ways to represent this heavily electronic based genre. When I first visited jodi.org, I have to admit, it was a bit jaring at first. After trying the website out a few different times, it quickly became very fascinating to me. I love the idea that each time you enter the site you are immediately transported to a different experience than the times before.

This creative element instantly puts the user in a captivating predicament. You must figure out how exactly you are supposed to interact with each piece. The experience of  the user, many times, is dependent upon how they choose to interact with each piece adding yet another layer of complexity to this art form. It only makes the experience that more interesting to mention that in most cases there are no directions on how to interact and very few indications are given. Each piece is like a puzzel in which the builder is not aware of how many pieces they have, how they fit together or what they are supposed to be constructing.

Here is a piece of Glitch Art that was created by manipulating an image.

This is a classic Example of Glitch Art entitled Chroma.

 

This simple fact confuses some users who argue that because of the lack of instructions or indications on how to interact with these works it can not really be considered a valid genre of high art. Though some find it perplexing, this media form has even inspired a tangible art form that is also called glitch art. In this art form, artist use many different media techniques that are commonly connected to computer glitches to manipulate images or even embody a glitch in and of itself. As I looked more into this art form I found that many critics of high art were not as excepting of this particular art form as others.

In response to this I found a quote that Professor Whalen mentioned in class regarding this view, he said with a chuckle that, ” Yes, it is high art, in that is is created by people who understand it and is presented as a means in showing how smart they are.”  I agree with our professor. Though art, much like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder, I feel that no one can ignore all the intriguing complexities that Glitch based media has to offer. It seems that the rise in popularity of the glitch based art is only an indication that there are far more fans than critics of this interesting new genre.

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Colossal Cave Adventure: The Experience

January 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I chose to take this course because I was very interested in actually discovering what electronic literature actually was. After some intense Google searching, I came to realize that electronic literature was really any literary work that was created on a computer or electronic devise to be enjoyed on a computer or electronic devise. Having this information at the forefront of my mind, I came into this course with the assumption that I would probably be reading various texts on the computer. Much to my surprise, after the first class when Professor Whalen explained all that the course actually entailed, I happened to hear the word games mentioned in the course description. i thought to myself surely I misheard the professor no way would we be allowed to play games in an upper level English course like this. Just at the moment I happened to look at the syllabus and I read the words clearly GAMES. I could not believe it was true. This was going to be the best Literature class I had ever taken. I was sure of it.

When we were assigned our first game, Colossal Cave Adventure, I was so excited to be playing a game for homework that I began to fantasize about how the game would go. Later on that night I went online to read up on Colossal Cave Adventure before diving into the actual game. After reading several, not so stellar reviews, I was nervous and decided, maybe it was time that I check it out for myself instead of simply taking the opinions of several unknown others.

When I began the game, at first, I was confused about exactly how to phrase commands. I started the game a few different times and it seemed like each time I got a bit further and a bit further. Eventually I got so far that I was actually in the cave. I found that once inside the cave however, I seemed to be caught in some sort of loop involving me, an angry dwarf, and an axe. After about an hour of continuous play I decided to end the game. When I came back later on with renewed confidence, I fell prey to the vicious loop yet again. Though I was pleased with how far I had gotten I wanted to see how far others had gotten as well. I decided to turn to my trusty advisor, GOOGLE. While searching, I stumbled upon the video below. I thought it would be a great idea to add it to this post so that everyone could see it.

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Now that you know my experience with Colossal Cave Adventure, I would like to hear about yours. What was the Colossal Cave Adventure experience  like for you?

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