Twisty Little Responses (Preface-Chp.1)

In relation to interactive fiction (IF), the “model” is representational of the physical environment and includes the components that make up that simulated world (characters, objects, player-character etc.). The “parser” processes the language entered into an IF work.

Montfort concludes, “In interactive fiction, the secret is locked away and a different sort of effort—a puzzle solving that manifests itself as actual writing—is needed to unlock it” (3). To enjoy IF, to unlock its puzzle and know its secret, a reader must interact with the work, engage it with responses, input actual language/writing to the system. The very nature of IF calls for this. This inherent secrecy surrounding IF has much in common with the “erotic.” Like a striptease, conventional-style literature titillates readers at a seductive and slow pace. Imagination is what gives reading life; with every line read, every page turned, the mind’s eye yearns for more but is at the mercy of the author and the (physical) book. IF reading, in particular, may change the idea of a literary striptease in that we (as readers/”writers”…essentially interactors) control what events/characters come into the story. We dictate the speed and order; while a paperback novel might leave the panties on until the very end, IF works may offer sneaky peeks of such unmentionables first.

Text adventure is a type of IF, but interactive fiction is not necessarily a text adventure. Text adventures emphasize the very idea of “adventure.” They are composed of crazy and unusual plots/characters etc. whereas IF works do not always require users to engage in otherworldly and unconventional situations. Some reject the term “interactive fiction” because of its umbrella-like quality. “Interactive” can encompass a broad range of definitions: a hip, catchy word; experimental; a trivial game etc. Some literary circles may scoff at the idea that their works be “played” as opposed to “read.” Likewise, others may prefer their works embody a term not associated with (those oh-so boring) printed bound pieces we call books.

IF works are similar to riddles in that both create a “world” that one is suppose to figure out. Both present different ways of thinking unlike other literary formats. "Riddlees” and interactors alike are required to examine a given work and must use contextual clues to discovery the answer/premise of the piece.

“A narrative is ‘the representation of real or fictive events and situations in a time sequence” (qtd. in Montfort 25). IFs are not narratives, but become narratives and can produce narratives when a person interacts with them. This is kind of like the "if-a-tree-falls-down-in-a-forest-and-no-one-is-there-to-see-it, does-it-still-make-a-sound?" idea. We know there is a noise out there, but to if you really want to yell "Timber!" one must be there to witness it. IFs come to life when a person is reading it; one can only get as much as s/he brings into it. This is, as Montfort states, a "potential narrative." When reading (any kind of literature), we use imagination, make our own assumptions. We make a narrative out of what unfolds before us.

Work Cited Montfort, Nick. Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.