Interactive Text Production Hypertext Adventures

The ancestors of today's multi-million-dollar blockbuster video games did not need more than a black screen and a few thousand lines of text to create whole worlds. Recently, with the availability of easy to use tools such as Twine (http://www.auntiepixelante.com/twine/), this forgotten way of telling stories has seen a renaissance - using only text and a few clickable choices, authors have created a wide variety of texts spanning all possible styles and genres – with no need to do any actual programming. After a quick look at past, present and future of non-linear storytelling in computer games, students will attempt to create interactive narratives of their own. Students will get together in groups and create projects of their own, be it a creative text or a gamification of learning content, or something completely different. Using the works-in-progress as case studies, we will try to pinpoint the specific issues present in non-linear texts and find methods of dealing with them effectively, while learning about co-writing larger texts in the process. Interest in and/or experience with (creative) writing and video games are likely to be helpful, but not a requirement. Teamwork and reliability are requirements, though, since the majority of the work will be done in groups! Anglistik - Sprachpraxis Credit requirements will include active and regular participation and writing texts both individually and as part of a group project. Universität Siegen WiSe 2015/16 M.A. Hilpisch Kai M.A