A look back at my previous blog posts reveals that I am somewhat preoccupied with the role of narrative and interactivity in electronic literature, as well as how this relates in comparison to more ‘traditional’ print literature. In my first blog post, I expressed feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly endless possibilities of digital creation. Therefore, I grounded my understanding in something that is familiar to me: print literature. I found that throughout my blog posts, I seemed to screen the digital works we looked at through the eyes of someone who loves a good ole book and does not want to lose the value of a strong narrative. I recognized this desire for narrative in my fourth blog post when I did some early reflecting: “Mainly, I feel as though I often comment on how a work does not seem to have much of a narrative structure, or that I don’t feel compelled to continue exploring the work if it seems incoherent.” For example, I struggled with “Taroko Gorge” because I found the scrolling interface to be a distraction from the narrative.
With that being said, I would like to think that this preference for narrative over mechanics did not hinder my ability to appreciate other electronic works (although I want to be careful not to create a false dichotomy here; some works we looked at definitely had both a compelling narrative and an impressive digital display). I really enjoyed “HerStory” and The Whale Hunt, both of which played on ideas of database and user participation to tell their narratives. I think the important distinction for me in whether I enjoy a game is whether or not its interactive nature or interface distracts from the narrative. Throughout my blog posts, I remained interested in how readers or players—and in some cases there is no distinction—participate and remain engaged with a work. Three out of my five posts reflect this emphasis on interactivity. I noted my appreciation of the intuitive nature of “A Moment Ago,” and questioned the potential consequences of interactivity in Bury Me, My Love. A study of my posts makes it clear I hope for a complementary relationship between narrative and interactivity.
Viewing my blog posts together, I can see a progression of how comfortable I am in asserting my own ideas and opinions about the proposed topics. At the beginning of the semester, I mostly quoted from texts and did not give as much of my own original commentary. In my later blog posts, I began to engage more critically with the works and felt comfortable giving my own opinions. This is partly due to my growing familiarity with terminology in the digital world as well as the recognition that digital creation is closely tied with so many other areas of interest that I may feel more comfortable discussing. In the future, I think I will continue investigating interactivity and narrative, now armed with a much deeper understanding of these elements and the many ways they can manifest.