Elit Description Exercise

The first step towards analyzing a work of electronic literature is to describe it and to think about how it is structured. Since electronic literature covers such a wide terrain, it is difficult to create a template for this process, but the questions here are designed to lead you through this process.

What is it, how do you access it, what is the tech platform? (Digital Story, Game, Interactive Narrative, Hypertext, Procedural Poetry, Visual Novel, Intermedia Performance, VR/AR or Mixed Reality, Web/Mobile or Location-Based Project, Escape Rooms, Podcast, Mixed Media …) e.g. “Marble Spring is a hypertext work.”

What is the visual design? (Text only, moving text, text and images, video, 3D graphics, screens, diagrams, maps: colors, style, graphic choices, UI elements: give a detailed example of a typical part).

What is the audio design?

What can you do? How do you navigate/move through the elit space? What happens without your input? What is the user interface U/I? What is the effect of your action?

What is the role of the reader/player? What are you thinking as you read/play? What about agency?

What is the content? Is there a story? Is it poetic? How is the content delivered? What is the role of the reader/player?

What about affect? Does it appeal to emotions, reason, aesthetic sense, gut reactions?

How is it structured? Does it have a beginning, middle and end? Are there levels? Is it a web/rhizome? Is it replayable?

Analysis. Jumping off from your description of this Electronic Literature work make an argument about its meaning, message, impact, purpose. What does it mean, explore? How does the form of the game change or make the meaning? How does it handle your experience, agency, immersion, role as reader/player? Use details to support your argument. Relate your argument to one of the readings we have done.

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