ENG 420 - Cybertexts:Interactive Media and the Future of Narrative

Institution:

DigiPen Institute of Technology

Subject:

Description:

Prerequisite(s): ENG 110 or ENG 150, Equivalent, or Permission of instructor Video games and other forms of interactive media are widely touted as the future of both popular entertainment and narrative storytelling. If video games and other interactive media are developing into art forms, then we can expect that these emerging narrative forms will be able to accommodate genres of storytelling that have existed since time immemorial, including romance, comedy, tragedy, epic, and romance. Yet the dynamics of nonlinear storytelling, the limits of current video game technology, and the constraints of the marketplace do not seem conducive to expanding the narrative elements of interactive media. This course traces the boundaries between narratives and games, and aims to identify areas of overlap that can lead to the development of new expressions of narrativity in interactive media. One central goal of the course is to grapple with the problem(s) posed by interactive narrative. Assigned readings examine the difference between traditional narrative texts and texts that require a higher degree of interactivity, collectively called cybertexts. The goal of the course is to identify what differences may exist, and to analyze the possibilities for adapting traditional narrative into interactive media. This class's central innovation requires students to actively adapt an element of traditional narrative into a cybertext. By the end of the class, students will have reached a conclusion, based on their reading and course work, as to whether cybertexts can effectively encompass traditional narrative genres, and if not, whether this is due to limitations of the form, or the limitations of technology.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.digipen.edu

Phone Number:

(425) 558-0299

Calendar System:

Semester

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