THE STORY AND THE MASTER

Interactive Fiction Continues
Who is the master of the interactive story, is it the creator or the player? First and foremost, what is interactive fiction? Interactive fiction (IF) is said to be a computer –mediated narrative resembling a very finely –grained “Choose Your Own Adventure” story. By Dennis G. Jerz.
Who is Dennis G. Jerz?
He is known as an English professor before heading for new media. he enjoy playing text adventure games, while playing, he studied and tries to know much about these games, he has been really successful with them because he has learned a lot and knows so much about text adventure games. He is an Associate Professor in New media and journalism in Seton Hill University, Greens burg, Pennsylvania. His recent scholarly interest is weblogs, interactive fiction, technology in literature and web usability and design. Creating games and even giving lectures about games, cyber world and intaractive fictions.
He also explained that putting long stretches of narrative prose into the mouth of the interactive fiction narrator will not turn a great puzzle-fest into even a passable story. The interactive fiction player is supposed to live the story. I’m highlighting “is suppose”, does that mean the player is not? I really disagree with him there, I would say, the players is meant and is living the story, the player brings the story to life.
He went further to say that “interactive fiction requires the text-analysis skills of a literary scholar and the relentless puzzle-solving drive of a computer hacker. People tend to love it or hate it. Those who hate is some times say it makes them think too much”. Do they also know that it let them make the decisions? Those who like it feel in charge and in control of what are going on. They are the masters.

Example is Inanimate Alice, this interactive story is inanimate until the player gives it a life. If this is the case, then the author of a game is not the master, however, the player is. Without a player, interactive stories such as inanimate Alice will remain inanimate. Another example is The breathing wall. Not until a player have the power to click and move things around, noting really happens. The creator has made it available to his audience, but it’s left for the audience to control the game. I stand strongly that the player of these games are the masters, they are the one who decides on either to move on or to quit. If it happens that the players find the game boring and irrelevant, then there is no point on playing the game, and that will be the end of the game.

I will advice those who are interesting with games and interactive stories to read more about Dennis Jerz. even thou i desagree with him about the story and the master, I see him as a man who had interest in new media and took it forward. He not only educates students, he has read wild and also create his own games. “he is a role model”.


References
Dennis G. Jerz (2009). [online]. Last updated 14 September 2009 at
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/

Jerz’s Literacy Weblog (2009). [online]. Last updated 30 November 2009 at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/

Inanimatealice. (2005). [online]at http://www.inanimatealice.com/

The breading wall (2004. [online]at http://www.thebreathingwall.com/