Re: Content

[Joseph Breitreiter <joseph@the-one-song.org>]

WFreitag@aol.com (WFreitag@aol.com) wrote:
> Not necessarily. Linearity and the need for polish reinforce each other. If
> someone says "Come watch my presentation, I have something interesting to 
> show you," then I expect a polished presentation and I'll be impatient with 
> any unnecessary digressions, unclarity, or delays while the speaker stops to 
> think. But if I were to sit down for an impromptu conversation on the same 
> subject with the same person, I'd expect all those things. In fact, if the 
> person's conversation started getting too polished, I'd think "hey, why is 
> this guy lecturing me?"

Hello,
        While I've been following this discussion with some interest,
this particular bit caught my eye.  I believe, to a large degree, one
can substitute deeper immersion and more meaningful interaction for
polish.  For examples, one need only look so far as the innumerable
miserable Quake maps, sketchy Diablo clans, and tedious RPG fan fiction.
In each case, both the producers and consumers are willing to forfeit a
degree of polish for a greater level of personal immersion and the
ability to impose their own storylines on the simulation.
        Granted, no one is likely to whip out the wallet when presented
with the offer of a FFVII fanfic or long-winded EQ saga.  However, I do
think these nascent "emergent narratives" suggest a need for better
tools for the end user, to improve the quality of both their interactive
experience and their stories.  Essentially, to cast their usage of the
software as a cooperative storytelling effort between the author and
the end user.
        The more I reflect on Gordon Walton's comments at Phront3, the
more I am inclined to agree with his thinking on the importance of The
Sims, and (more importantly) Sims-inspired fan fiction.  In order to
have a viable collaboration between author and user, the end user needs
not simply the freedom, but the tools to shape and extend the narrative
in a meaningful way.
        To some degree, this is a challenge to engineers to build these
mechanisms.  At the same time, it is also a challenge to producers to
relax their grip on the reins, even if it means the end users scribbling
all over the software's wonderful polished content.

                Regards,
                Joseph B.


---
~ J. Joseph Breitreiter       ~
~ joseph@the-one-song.org     ~