Mar
2020
You’re Telling Me Even THAT is Considered Literature??
Let’s start off with some real talk. Life is so damn weird right now. There is some much stronger language I would love to use but I promised myself I would remain calm. It’s incredible how in just a few short weeks, a collection of seemingly random letters and numbers (the new “he who must not be named”) has brought the entire world to its knees. It’s been a full week since my school shut down and moved to remote learning. I have not interacted with anyone outside of my home for seven days. I have been outside three times and only once did that involve speaking to someone, and I have forbade myself from watching the news lest it lead to yet another Earth shattering anxiety attack fueled by waiting for the other shoe to drop and feeling so completely helpless in this chaotic time. Simply put, life is a mess right now, but I am determined to move forward regardless.
So! This week’s readings.
The idea of digital narratives always seemed so lofty to me. This high level of narrative that encompasses tools and techniques that I could only dream of existing. This academic gold mine that exists somewhere behind a wall of code that I would never be able to understand let alone participate in. Enter the Punday reading. At first glance, it seemed to match my initial thoughts, but on further and closer inspection, one line stood out to me. To summarize, Punday argues that to play a video game is to interact with real rules while imaging a fictional world and a video game is a set of rules as well as a fictional world.
It took me a few attempts to fully understand it. Was Punday really arguing that, video games of all things, could be considered literature? To me, the two were completely separate. But then again, since beginning graduate school (and college in general if I’m being honest with myself) my preconceived ideas about literature and academics and just life as a whole have been shaken, stirred, and otherwise altered.
I had to marinate this concept for a bit. Could video games really be seen as a literature? I decided to further explore Punday’s writing, specifically regarding hyperlink texts. Once upon a time, my sister and I were avid players of an app game called Episodes that seemed to fit Punday’s models and analysis. I’m sure some remember playing it, if not seeing ads for it on all other social medias. I redownloaded the app and played it for a few hours. For academic reasons of course. Completely for research and nothing to do with the boredom that comes with social distancing and isolation…
Episodes is a pretty straight forward platform. It follows both temporal and choose your own adventure hyperlink stories. The reader/player is quickly orientated into the world and they interact with the story in a mostly linear fashion aside from a few key choices that alter the storyline according to the actions decided upon by the choice that was made. This creates a characterized audience that appears largely in control of the story line. However, in light of Punday’s findings, there is something to be said in the intrigue present in the story. While yes, Episode allows readers to take control of the plot line in making key choices, the choices are limited and, at times, primarily based on temporal hyperlinks. Additionally, one of the app’s main claims to fame (or infamy depending on your interactions and personal opinion) is that it allows readers to take on the role of designer and author. Readers are able to create their own stories and submit them to the app to be approved and released for other players to interact with it. While this opens the door to greater exploration for the readers as they can now take the proverbial wheel, it causes the reader positioning and experience to vary greatly depending on who is designing the interactive literature. The variability of hyperlink structure and style leads to mixed reviews on each of the “stories” available. I can’t help but wonder if it was this variability that eventually turned me off to the app however long ago. While I appreciate the app’s attempt to further its reach and tap into the imagination and inspiration of its users, I wonder if it would benefit from some stronger filtering and attempts to focus more so on the role of the author as designer, rather than just an author.
While this week gave me a welcome reprieve into a once forgotten and familiar platform, it also forced me to further question my understanding of literature. I was left with the (however uneasy) decision that Episodes and other video games do in fact fit into the category. Just as a reader is expected to be familiar enough with the genre or historical context of the written piece in order to best understand and interact with it, so too must the audience or player be familiar with the world in which they interact and “read” in a video game. So I guess yes, even THAT is considered literature.
Cynthia Davidson
March 25, 2020 at 9:08 pm (4 years ago)Do you consider all fiction literature, or just certain kinds of fiction? When I was coming up, there were many distinctions made between literature and pulp or popular fiction (often elitist and exclusionary) and I think that a lot of current critical studies, especially if based in feminism, try to break down those exclusions. So almost anything can be considered literature if it is interesting and relevant to theory. Theory has become central to providing a critical lens, and this is more important than a canonical hierarchy (for the feminist, Marxist, deconstructionist, affect theorist, etc.). Therefore, video games can be analyzed through a theoretical lens as well. New media theory especially gravitates to video games, as do narrative theorists who are fascinated by player agency’s role in constructing said narrative. Obviously, some games are “better” (more fun, more complex, more engaging, more culturally relevant, etc.) to the analyst (or the player). That being said, game theory is its own niche and there is a lot of excellent work done. You analysis of this game is astute, and I like the way that you critique the game and the app on a variety of levels using what you know about how new media texts make meaning.
Megan.Callahan@stonybrook.edu
March 27, 2020 at 8:37 pm (4 years ago)Growing up, I always thought of literature as “text studied in school.” To me, the difference was the venue where it was read. There was a distinction between literature and books that I liked to read outside of school. As I continued in my education, my definition of literature expanded to “texts that are read” but I was still primarily focused on the traditional printed text. It wasn’t until later in my undergrad, and now in my grad courses, that my lenses have expanded to include anything that could be read. But even with this expansion, it still blows my mind exactly how wide the literature definition can be. I am growing increasingly interested in media theory and how so many new advances in technology can alter the understanding of literary theory.