Sharing Digi Text

 For my final I've firmly settled on the sizeable Twine project I began last semester. My intention was originally to create an escape room-esque experience of puzzling your way out of a nondescript area, but as I kept adding things more and more narrative elements started creeping in. I'd estimate that I'm 50-60% of the way done with my final vision, but if I can't complete that entirely in time I have the original 1.0 version as a backup. 

When creating it I kept being drawn more toward horror and a gothic style, with a fantasy world that isn't explained or even contextualized outside of what you learn. I've had a blast, but as the game gets bigger technical limitations are beginning to show- for the amount of necessary playtime, I might have to implement a save system (that will definitely be annoying to figure out). 

When looking for inspiration in old text or point-and-click games, things like Myst and Rogue come up right away, but from a technical standpoint games like Zork or Colossal Cave Adventure are probably closer. A key difference, however, is that I used simple keyword boxes to link cells, not a built-in navigation by using directions like in Zork or Cave Adventure. 

Sharing Digital Text

 I am using thing link for my final project because I think it's the software that I understand the most, having easy controls and aspects of the website is explained well. Also I do like that I can use Canva to produce the pages and then add text to each little picture or symbol to explore more of the story. Thinglink has a tool that can take photos directly from Canva to make it easier for the users, which I think is really cool. Everything about Thinglink is designed really easy and cool. My project is going to be a story about a troubled couple from the 60s, going back in time through the eyes of Bobby Summers. Rosemary Dollie sends a postcard to Bobby after a whole decade of not talking from their last meeting. And everything is different now. Rosemary is a mother in the suburbs and Bobby is a famous Journalist in New York City. It goes through Bobby's memories that starts to surface after reading her postcard while deciding if he wants to write back. I chose to write this story because I love creative writing and coming up with stories. I believe I will be able to explore about how different classes was a deciding factor in relationship and love. Also how love between people can be 'right person, wrong time' and have people come back together when things in their lives are more figured out. 

 

    

I am still working out a lot of what I am planning to do for my final but I do know I will be using ThinkLink. I want to use ThingLink because I have the most experience with it and it is not that confusing. I want to do a tour of my room in a My Body type way. Breaking down little aspects and the stories that go with them. I love how real My Body is and I want to bring the same energy to my final. The front page would lead to many different off shoots to create a narrative story. I am still working out if I want there to be a mystery element or not to lean into a fiction lens. I usually write from a personal narrative voice so combining that with visuals will be an interesting experiment in my own creativity. Every slide I want to create a story while also continuing the main theme. I might use Canva to design some pages and lay out the text. I am excited to see how the final version will look. 

Sharing Digital Text

(First, please ignore how messy my bookcase is, I haven't reorganized it and cleaned it up since Christmas break. Also ignore how I have an empty cube, when this was taken I had recently donated some of the books I don't need.)

I chose to do my final project on my bookcase. I'm using ThingLink to do a tour through it. My plan is to go through each section and pick either a book or a series to do a summary on and why I liked the book. I was inspired by the idea of what a past student did with her closet. I'm personally really excited to do this final project because talking about books is something I really enjoy. Reading is something I've loved doing ever since I was a kid and it's one of my favorite things to do. I'm very proud of my collection of books I've built up over the years and I love talking about it. Each section of my bookcase has its own genre or its organized by author if I have a lot of one. For example, I have a cube dedicated to just my fantasy series and another just for my favorite author. I'm looking forward to exploring ThingLink more and getting to know the platform better. I liked this platform the most when we used it during one of our play assignments. I find it easier to navigate than other platforms.  I'm looking forward to doing this project and I hope I can make the vision that I see in my head come to life. 

I have decided to use Twine to make my digital text for my final project. I have always enjyed choose your own adventure type stories, and have wanted to create one for a while. I also think Twine provides an interesting way to add history and context to a story, similarly to the way Wikipedia articles link to ones with pertinent information. This is the main reason I chose to use wine, because it is an aspect of the platform that is mostly impossible to do in a tradtional text, though it is possible to do a similar thing with footnotes. I have also decided to make a fantasy story, since it is the genre I have always been the most drawn to and a lot of my favortie gitial texts are fantasy video games such as Baldur's Gate, Skyrim, and God of War. I think fantasy works especially well with Twine since when introducing a character or important item, I can add a page explaining the history/background of it. Because of these inspirations, I aim to create a sort of RPG type story where the reader takes on the role of a character, and hopefully get immersed in the world. I am also interested in Twine's ability to code things into the story, though I have not looked into that aspect of the program that much yet.

Digital Texts

 For my final project, I have been contemplating using the platform, Bitsy, to create a piece of electronic literature, but recently, the concept of drawing out my own designs has been calling me, potentially using collage mixed in as well. I want to use poetry as an interactive form to incorporate into the game. I'll probably use ThingLink or Twine if I were to go with my second option and put in photos of my own work. 

I had trouble finding a specific game that emulates what I have in mind, especially because the games I did find were unable to access due to being outdated such as "Game, game, game, and game again". I particularly like the idea of the writing going over the artworkI found a video by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania . Where it discusses Twine, and how there is a cluster of coding, storytelling, and decision-making that goes into digital literature. I think decision-making is the important aspect of digital literature because catering to not only your interests, but how it might reflect and appeal to the audience. 

Sharing Digital Texts

 

    For my final project, I was inspired by the augmented reality Circle, which is based on the user interaction with various artifacts and personal belongings from four generations of women. The physical interaction with the objects highlights the women's stories and makes it more personable for the user, making the story more engaging. 

   I liked the idea of using personal belongings to tell someone's story. Focusing on multi-generational dynamics and how generations of women can have interconnected stories is intriguing to me. There's an old family photo I have of me, my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother - I'd like to use this photo as the basis of my project. Like Circle, I want to include the personal artifacts/photos from each generation of women in my family to tell my family's story of endurance. As a journalism student, I want to dig deeper, too; I'm interested in possibly including interviews with both my mom and grandmother about their lives, childhoods, and the struggles they faced as single moms. These can act as both audio and visual elements that would contribute to the interactive / semi-hypertextual collage I will create on Thinglink.