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The Architect of Forking Paths: Developing Key Writing Strategies for Interactive Writers

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The Architect of Forking Paths: Developing Key Writing Strategies for Interactive Writers The Architect of Forking Paths: Developing key writing strategies for interactive writers PhD Thesis Benjamin Philip Carey Creative Writing and Literary Studies Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Associate Professor Susan Carson Mr Craig Bolland 2018 Keywords Interactive storytelling, interactive author, writing strategies, interactive narrative, narrative structure, creative writing The Architect of Forking Paths i Ben Carey Abstract ‘The Architect of Forking Paths’ examines the creative writing process involved in producing interactive narratives. Stories that feature interaction offer a substantially different reading experience because the reader influences the order, and often the outcome, of the story. This heightened level of participation adds another dimension to the process of conceptualising and writing such narratives. ‘The Architect of Forking Paths’ is a practice-led project that investigates this writing process using a number of research methods including creative writing, interviews with practitioners, content/textual analysis, and reflective practice. The creative component of this thesis is a 50,000 word interactive novel titled Ouroboros. The exegesis contributes to theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of creative writing research by investigating the writing process involved in creating interactive narratives and proposing a group of writing strategies for authors. Currently, there is a substantial amount of scholarly analysis and reader response data on reader interaction, but very little on the author and the interactive writing process, which means that there is limited practical knowledge that creative writers can draw on to produce interactive narratives. This project addresses this gap in knowledge by collecting and analysing different forms of data (content/textual analysis, interviews, creative practice) as a basis for the development of a number of potential writing strategies for interactive writers. The Architect of Forking Paths ii Ben Carey Table of contents Keywords .................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii List of figures ............................................................................................................................ iv Definitions.................................................................................................................................. v Statement of original authorship .............................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ viii Link to creative work ................................................................................................................ ix Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Literature review .................................................................................................... 11 The author is dead (a long time ago) ................................................................................... 12 A new hope (the building blocks of narrative) .................................................................... 16 The reader strikes back ........................................................................................................ 18 Return of the author ............................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 2: Theory and methodology ....................................................................................... 27 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 33 Content and textual analysis ............................................................................................ 33 Interviews ......................................................................................................................... 34 Creative and reflective practice ....................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: Content/textual analysis ......................................................................................... 37 Branching narratives ............................................................................................................ 39 Hypertext fiction .................................................................................................................. 48 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 4: Interview findings .................................................................................................. 57 Chapter 5: Potential writing strategies ..................................................................................... 75 Chapter 6: Reflective practice .................................................................................................. 93 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 121 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 129 Scholarly and creative works ............................................................................................. 129 Computer and console games ............................................................................................ 138 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 139 The Architect of Forking Paths iii Ben Carey List of figures Figure 1 – Visual map of Luminous airplanes ........................................................................ 53 Figure 2 – Index of Luminous airplanes .................................................................................. 54 Figure 3 – The iterative day in Groundhog day ....................................................................... 96 Figure 4 – The iterative day in Ouroboros .............................................................................. 97 Figure 5 – Conceptual map of cyclical labyrinth ..................................................................... 99 Figure 6 – Structural map of Ouroboros (9,000 word prototype) ......................................... 105 Figure 7 – Structural map of Ouroboros (20,000 word prototype) ....................................... 109 Figure 8 – Pre-variable tomorrow segments .......................................................................... 111 Figure 9 – Post-variable tomorrow segments ........................................................................ 112 Figure 10 – Twine default text layout .................................................................................... 114 Figure 11 – Twine text layout after CSS formatting .............................................................. 114 Figure 12 – Conceptual map of PEREM ............................................................................... 116 Figure 13 – Structural map of Ouroboros (final version) ...................................................... 118 The Architect of Forking Paths iv Ben Carey Definitions Agency: The ability to take meaningful action and see the results of those choices. Branching narrative: A type of interactive narrative that bifurcates at each decision point, creating new paths and alternative endings. For example: Choose Your Own Adventure novels. Co-authorship/Co-participation: The author and reader working together to produce a story. The term can be misleading because it implies an equal workload between the author and the reader. Hypertext fiction: A form of IDN that combines creative text and non-linear computer browsing: the reader is presented with a section of text containing links which they navigate to other sections of text. IDN (interactive digital storytelling): A type of interactive storytelling that is exclusive to digital platforms. For example: IF and hypertext. In this type of storytelling the production of an aesthetically rewarding story is a goal in itself. IF (interactive fiction): A form of IDN where the reader interacts with the story through text commands. For example: Adventure and Zork. Also known as text adventure games and text- based games. Interactive/Interaction: The ability to make decisions that directly alter the progression or outcome of a narrative. The Architect of Forking Paths v Ben Carey Interactive Storytelling: An umbrella term that describes anything that combines interactive and narrative elements. For example: Choose Your Own Adventure novels, Dungeons & Dragons, hypertext fiction, videogames. Locative literature: A form of storytelling that uses mobile devices to tell stories in physical locations, which are commonly the setting for the narrative. Narrative games: Games that feature an overarching story, but ultimately the player pursues a specific goal associated
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