Just got a few minutes between tomatoes and squash today to play this piece, but am beginning to feel a bit more comfortable in it. (YES. I DID read the manual finally.)
When I say "in it," that’s pretty much what I mean. It feels like I am in a maze but can see my position from an aerial view–a map that is provided that shows the different paths the story can take. Interactive fiction, the original text version such as the text adventure stories where you read a brief statement, type in an answer (or many) and are then sent to another text screen that displays another path in the story is similar and yet very different in the amount of involvement of the reader. In truth, interactive fiction is a form of relationship between the story and the reader in that a conversation is taking place, thus offering more intimacy despite the fact that the story is programmed to respond to only certain answers or words. There is no reader "input" per se in hyperlinked fiction, but he chooses the direction the story will take for him–in truth, for this single journey; future excursions will undoubtedly be different by accident or by choice.
Very interesting layout; I haven’t even gotten into the story yet. I’m still in the adolescent infatuation stage of looks alone. If possible, I’ll try to post an image.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology