PRY, while unlike most of the works we’ve looked at so far, contains components that we have attributed to digital literature since the beginning of the course. What first stood out to me was how Danny Cannizzaro and Samantha Gorman made use of interactivity. We have looked at some pieces where form mirrors content such as Bury Me, My Love and Her Story, but the mechanisms used in PRY serve a deeper metaphorical meaning to the work. The act of pinching open James’ eyes to see into his world provides a more intimate connection with the story than simply swiping or tapping could provide.
Furthermore, PRY is encyclopedic. As Gorman mentions in a talk, PRY utilizes a large database of videos to enrich the content of the narrative. This is similar to what we saw with Her Story, or maybe even the images used in The Whale Hunt. Yet, it somehow feels different. With PRY, the narrative isn’t centered on the video. It is instead just as important as the text and audio in the game. You are able to pick between opening his eyes which always leads to a video or going deeper into his consciousness which mostly provides stream of thought text. In between, you are always greeted with text that serves to further you along in the story.
PRY is also unique in that it allows you to return to the game at specific points in order to explore more of the game. A lot of the works we have looked at require you to start over from the beginning each time you engage with the piece. One thing I wondered was if the sparkling red diamonds on each chapter title depicted the amount of story that you’ve uncovered. Providing a clear indication of what is left to discover could compel the user to keep exploring the app, similar to how Her Story provided information about how many videos were viewed.
Overall, I think PRY is a fitting last work to study. It builds off of concepts we’ve seen before but manages to integrate everything together in a unique way. More importantly, it provides a great example of utilizing all of the affordances of digital literature. A work like PRY would not be possible in print literature, and any attempt to recreate it in print would not be as effective in portraying all that it does.