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DMS 463/563: Interactive Fiction (Spring 2008)

INSTRUCTORS: Josephine Anstey, Adam Liszkiewicz
LOCATION: 232 CFA
TIME: 11:00 AM – 12:50 PM, Mondays and Wednesdays
OFFICE HOURS: Anstey (F, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM); Liszkiewicz (T, 2:00 – 3:00 PM)
E-MAIL: jranstey@buffalo.edu; Josephine.Anstey@gmail.com; Liszkiewicz@gmail.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Science Fiction ("The Veldt", Neuromancer, the Holodeck) has promised us fully immersive interactive narrative for decades. In the 1980s and 90s, hype about artificial intelligence and virtual reality; the eagerly awaited marriage between video gaming and Hollywood; and (and perhaps less dramatically!) hypertext, suggested the promise was about to be fulfilled. In 1993, Kelso, Weybrauch and Bates wrote breathlessly:

"You find yourself immersed in a fantasy world with exciting characters and the possibility of many adventures. Although you control your own direction by choosing each action you make, you are confident that your experience will be good, because a master interactive story-teller subty controls your destiny." "Dramatic presence." Presence 2:1-15

But killer interactive fiction has not emerged.

Story been a driver/colonizer of both literary forms (poetry, drama, the novel) and mass media (print, radio, film, TV), but is it failing to conquer the interactive and procedural realm of the computer? This course will examine interactive narrative in theory and practise, asking questions such as:

We have experiments in interactive narrative, but do we have an art form yet? We have dramatic and technical theories of interactive narrative, but what have they produced? Can computer fiction fulfill utopian dreams for text without closure, without linearity, without central authority? Are games and story incompatible - or contrariwise - are there already good stories in existing games? Are Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMORG) the amateur dramatic clubs of our time? What is the state of the art for intelligent agents and virtual characters? We have graphics engines, and physics engines, but is the quest for a narrative engine doomed to fail? What is the relationship between interactive narrative: and participatory theater; and reality TV?

COURSE WEBSITE: http://www.josephineanstey.com/Teaching/InteractiveFiction

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: There will be presentations, four hand-ins (one every six classes), and a final. Students should be prepared to discuss readings on the day they are listed; articles listed next to a date should be read by that date. On occasion, students will also be required to bring to class examples, or links to examples, of specific types of interactive projects (eg. Hypertext, games, poetry, etc.). Additional readings will be assigned to graduate students. Grades will be determined according to the following:

• First Hand-In: brainstorming for interactive project and theoretical paper (10 points).
• Second Hand-In: storyboard of project and outline of paper (10 points each, 20 total).
• Third Hand-In: first working version of project and first complete draft of paper (10 points each, 20 total).
• Fourth Hand-In: second version of project and second draft of paper (10 points each, 20 total).
• Final: choose project OR paper and produce third and final version (15 points).
• Participation and attendance, including examples and presentation (15 points).

ADDITIONAL GRADUATE REQUIREMENT: Throughout the semester, you will construct a network of reading based first on First Person, the books on course reserve, or other assigned texts and their citations, and then on books, articles, etc. that cite these books. The readings should serve as the research basis for your own future work. Finally, you can use this foundation to construct a broader list of cites using the bibliographies in the books and articles you've read. For each entry, you will write 1-2 sentences outlining the argument and its relevance to your own project. Minimum of 10 entries.

Though students will not be expected to report formally on their readings, we do expect you to integrate one of the readings into the discussions of each theory class.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

• Shelley Jackson, Patchwork Girl (all students)
• Noah Waldrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan, First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game (graduate students only)

ON COURSE RESERVE:

• "Hyper/Text/Theory," George P. Landow, 1994
• "Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in CyberSpace," Janet Murray, 1997
• "Cybertext:Perspectives on Ergodic Literature," Espen Aarseth, 1997
• "Hypertext 2.0," George P. Landow, 1997
• "Narrative as Virtual Reality" Marie-Laure Ryan, 2001
• "Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print," J. David Bolter, 2001
• "Eloquent Images: Word and Image in the Age of New Media, Mary Hocks and Michelle Kendrick, eds, 2003
• "Digital Media Revisited," edited volume, 2003
• "Narrative Across Media: The Languages of Storytelling," Marie-Laure Ryan, ed, 2004
• "First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game," Noah Wardrip Fruin and Pat Harrigan, eds, 2004
• "Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling," Chris Crawford, 2004
• "Interactive Storytelling: Techniques for 21st Century Fiction," Andrew Glassner, 2005

COURSE SCHEDULE:

First Cycle

Second Cycle

Third Cycle

Fourth Cycle

Perlin's thesis is that "believable" animation will heighten agency in interactive fiction, what techniques are you using to heightne agency in your work? - write a paragraph for Wed

- Marc Cavazza and Charles, F., "Dialogue Generation in Character-based Interactive Storytelling." (http://www-scm.tees.ac.uk/users/f.charles/publications/conferences/2005/AIIDE05CavazzaM.pdf)
Alexes S, M, T, Bob, Andrews C & D, James T & D, Varun

Interactive Fiction in Games - students bring examples

Epilogue

Deadline for Final Project Hand-in: Wednesday, May 8th

UNIVERSITY STATEMENTS:

DISABILITIES: If you have a disability (physical, learning or psychological) which may make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, and/or requires accomodations such as recruiting note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645 2608, and also your instructor during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and will review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accomodations.

PLAGARISM is literary theft and a betrayal of trust. The term is derived from the Latin word for kidnapper and refers to the act of signing one's own name to words, phrases, or ideas which are the literary property of another. Plagiarism comes in many forms, all to be avoided: outright copying, or paraphrase, or a mosaic or disguised use of words and phrases from an unacknowledged source. ?To avoid plagiarism, make it your habit to put quotation marks around words or phrases, or to isolate and indent longer passages, that you are using from someone else's writing. And be sure to cite the source, in a footnote or endnote, or within parentheses in the text. The penalties for plagiarism can be severe: from an F for the particular assignment, to an F for the course, to referral of the case to the Dean of Undegraduate Education for administrative judgement. If you are unsure about how to use and document sources, please consult your instructor.

WEAPONS AS PROPS: If you are planning a student production which involves using any prop which could be interpreted to be a weapon [toy gun, BB gun, knife, etc.] And you are planning to shoot on the UB campus or any other public place, you must obtain written permission from Campus Security or the equivalent authority before you shoot. If you do not you will face serious problems including possible expulsion from the university.