Blog 6: Reflection on Project 1

It was interesting to see the many different approaches and attempts to insert interactivity and non-linearity into narrative. Some of them are very creative and one can see the amount of effort and thinking that the groups had put in. Seeing and experiencing the different works raises some issues on my mind.

In every group projects, breaking texts into different fragments in which the reader can navigate in various orders, creating multiple choices for the readers, and allowing the reader to "fill in" the missing portions of the text to create their own version of the stories are discernible. However, in some of the presentations, I did not find the conclusion (or perhaps the conclusion that I made based on the limited information) satisfactory. In most cases, it left me in a confused and puzzled state before the group finally explains everything. It seems that our confusion were only cleared when the final linear version of the video is presented. This makes me think that is a linear version better and clearer than a non-linear version. Are the majority of the audiences feel more satisfied when they experience the linear version of the story, compared to the non-linear version?

It seems to me that in some of the projects, the multiple conclusions are actually illusions due to different amount of information one player obtained. This is because there is just one story. If one obtained 30% of the information and the other player obtained 60% of the information, then their conclusions of the story will be different. In this case, one may think that the objective is achieved, that is, to create multiple conclusions from the navigation of different lexias. It is no denying that these are creative attempts. However, perhaps one should ask whether the players are satisfied with the conclusions they make or the amount of information that they obtained. It seems that all of us were in a confusing state at the end of the game and were only satisfied when the whole story were presented to us in linear form at the end of the game. Imagine, if we were not given the whole story at the end of the game, will the player be satisfied with the outcome of the conclusion that he/she make? The decision that the reader make didn't really influence the outcome because it is only illusionary conclusions due to lack of information.

Jean Baudrillard wondered "What could be more seductive than the secret?" and J. Murray remarked that the "pleasure is in solving them, in learning the secret." I find these true. But, in these cases, we were not being given the chance to unveil the whole secret before the game ended and we were being asked to make our conclusions.

In some of the groups, I find it very interesting to see that the choices that we make can actually influence the outcome. I find these conclusions more real. In these cases, it's because there are actually multiple conclusions and paths of the story. In the Hotel California presentation, I actually found the beginning of the game very frustrating because we were killed everytime and need to restart the game. However, when we played the game a bit longer, I actually find the storyline very interesting.

Besides that, it is also intertsing to note how the audience reacted. I remembered that during the navigation of the Fighting Fantasy story, someone said that he doesn't really care whether the character dies or not and will always expose him to danger or risks so that the game will be more fun, but will actually care about the character if one have played long enough. We can see this in today's Hotel California's presentation. In the beginning, everone just chooses the most dangerous option and ended up being killed. After being killed a few times, then they realised that they are getting no where and that they have to make careful choices of not letting their character die. And this actually help and encourage the player to play on without making silliy decisions. Thus, it seems that understanding the behaviour of the audience is essential in creating an interactive narrative that will receive favourable responses.