Task 5:
Twine Task
Access my Twine: Monday at the Office
I enjoyed this task. It was my first time working with Twine, and I noticed that my approach to story writing was different due to the type of story I was writing (choose-your-own-adventure) and the tool I was using to tell it (Twine).
When it came time to draft my fiction game, I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired or creative. I knew I wanted to begin with a general outline that contained several different paths and that I wanted my story to center around an office setting, so I used Copilot to draft my outline using the following prompt: “Create an outline for a choose-your-own-adventure story set in an office with a missing lunch.” View the full response from Copilot HERE.
I thought it would be best to draft my entire story and all the various paths separately in Word, then cut and paste the finished product into Twine. However, having never used Twine before, I downloaded Twine after Copilot generated my outline and started experimenting. Instead of returning to Word to write the story, I did all my drafting and editing in Twine. I found this easier because there was a visual representation of all the connections and links as they were being created. I didn’t work linearly, as I had done in previous story and game writing experiences, but I did a lot of jumping back and forth between the various story pathways.
Task 5 offered a great activity to highlight hypertext. My fictional game was reminiscent of a printed story in structure and objective; however, introducing hypertext that allows the reader to actively choose how to progress changing their relationship to the text and their overall experience. As Bolter (2001) acknowledges, hypertext doesn’t replace traditional print but relies on it while altering it. In some ways, I can see how hypertext, allowing for fluid exploration between ideas and text, may more accurately reflect the human thought process. However, I can also agree with the arguments that traditional printed text is more natural based on how it can be interacted with (Bolter, 2001).
Reflecting on hypertext, I couldn’t help but consider how overwhelming all the options and connections can sometimes feel. There is something comforting about a body of work with a definitive beginning and end. A sense of completion or finality, even if it is false and there is more to explore. In most instances, exploring every link or all facets of a topic is impossible, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like all links should be explored or something might get missed. I recall a similar feeling reading choose-your-own-adventure books as a child. I often wondered which was the “right” ending to the story and if I had selected the “correct” options when, in reality, a correct option or singular story path was nonexistent and never intended.
References
Bolter, J. D. (2001). Hypertext and the remediation of print. In Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410600110
Hi Quinn –
I really connected with your reflection on Task 5, especially the final paragraph, because it reminded me of my own experience as a grade school student reading Choose Your Own Adventure books. I also find comfort in reading a book from beginning to end, knowing that the story will unfold linearly and that I won’t miss anything..
Reading your last paragraph made me think about how I feel when I play The Witcher 3. The Witcher 3 is highly narrative-driven, with a complex storyline in which your decisions as Geralt influence the plot, character interactions, and available choices. I often wonder whether I am missing something in the game due to a path I have taken.
Your assessment of how overwhelming all the hyperlinks can feel is valid. The sheer volume of information available today is staggering. Unless I focus my attention, I struggle to process the information I have gathered, constantly wondering what I might be missing. This illustrates how technology has transformed information-seeking behaviour. As a middle school student, my research process was straightforward—I consulted the World Book Encyclopedia, followed references to related entries, or sought guidance from the school librarian, who would direct me via the Dewey Decimal System to a specific yet small section of books. Today, when my 15-year-old son conducts research, he enters a topic into Google and is confronted with thousands of results. It is easy to see how students can feel overwhelmed.