Conversation!

[Kenneth Lu <kenlu@MIT.EDU>]

WHOA!

I was reading this paper by Andrew here on the list:

http://home.netcom.com/~apstern/interactivestory.net/papers/deeperconversations.html

And it immediately hit me as what I've been looking for!  He talks about
interactive art as being about having a "conversation" with the
audience.

Now, I'm someone who spends $100 on the phone bill a month chatting with
my friends, so I know how much I value conversation..

Thing is, my personal view is that art.. at least the kind _I_ want to
create, is about trying to connect with your audience and about trying
to emotionally and/or intellectually connect with them.  When I tell a
story, I think that, in the end, my primary goal is for someone to read
it and see parts in the story that they relate to.

This kind of connection, unfortunately, is difficult to achieve when I'm
the only one doing the talking.  There's no feedback.  I can't tailor my
art to specific members of the audience.. But with interactivity, maybe
I can!  Whether overtly or covertly, I may be able to make the story
change with player input in such a way that the player may be better at
understanding what I have to say.


Now, this is really high level and lofty-sounding and all, but that's
because I've never considered this line of thinking before on this.

Thanks, Andrew! :)  I'll certainly go think about this some more, and
tell you all what I think.  In the meantime, read Andrew's article, and
tell me what YOU think!

-ToastyKen

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| Kenneth Lu - kenlu@mit.edu - http://www.mit.edu/~kenlu/ |
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| "Life is far too important to be taken seriously."      |
|                                                         |
|                                          -- Oscar Wilde |
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