In this linking assignment, I’m going to make connections and analyze differences between the reflections my classmate, Ping Cao, and I did for Task 5 – Twine Task.

In more general terms, as observed in my first linking analysis with Vera, I noticed that Ping’s aesthetics and user experience are nicely done and more advanced than mine. I find this inspiring because it gives me ideas about how to improve my blog space. I am indeed a creative and very detailed designer but given that I found UBC Blogs to be not as comfortable as other platforms I close down to its capacities. Ping uses headings and color-coding in creative and pleasant ways and, as Vera, includes images and emojis that lighten up the seriousness of doing a reflection for a graduate program. I also appreciate how she made her Twine more accessible through itch.io. All these extra-mile efforts are admirable and make me think about the value of engaging with peers for growth and benchmarking, something I also encounter in my professional experience as a musician, producer, and multimedia artist.

While reading Ping’s reflection I experienced a lot of empathy because I see she (also) struggled while getting around and working with Twine. This was indeed a task that required a first step of learning how to use the program. It is not a complicated program, but the initial process of learning it does require time and effort – just like when we first learn how to play an instrument. It was very interesting to experience emotional release through empathy while reading Ping’s reflections and this made think about how, as human, we appreciate not feeling alone in our difficulties and challenges.

When I saw Ping’s screenshot of her Twine structure, it became apparent that she had followed a very different approach while designing her game. While mine looked more like a tree built on a linear sequence, hers looked like a net of interconnected possibility. In effect, after playing her game I was able to appreciate that Ping had created an experience in which the user has much more freedom to explore different possibilities; while mine (the Beatles story) consisted of a one-possibility infolding of events. However, it is interesting to note that the freedom created in Ping’s game is, to some extent, illusory as all the possibilities are already pre-determined. That being said, I believe her design affords higher levels of curiosity and engagement and displays more efficiently the multidimensional aspect of hyperlinks. As mentioned in the beginning of this analysis, I value how exposure to my peer’s work inspires me and activates my creativity. For example, now I imagine it could have been interesting to make my Twine story about the different possibilities of what would have happened to the Beatles if they reunited in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s in relation to the political and artistic contexts of each decade.