Hi all,

Here is a very tentative possible schedule for my part of the workgroup project (it's a personal project, too, and a part of my scholarship and pedagogy). Liz Bailey (from Cyberculture and Critical Theory) offered to help me with it. I'd also welcome help from any of you if you were interested.

Workgroup Project Schedule:

My part of the “Textualities” workgroup project (a suite of 5 complementary versions of textuality), with inter-group collaboration from Liz Bailey (if she has time and is still interested) and help from any other interested members of the textuality workgroup or other groups.

Project: Transforming Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 into a computer game (or “cybertext” in Aarseth’s terms) whose purpose is to allow students to change the significance, motivation, and potentially the outcome of events in this novel through their interpretative choices. Cf. my presentation at the “Literary and Technology” panel (and the accompanying dissertation chapter) for the rationale of this pedagogical project.

Gathering resources:
Beginning to learn Inform (an object-oriented programming language for making interactive fictions, i.e. text-based computer games). See Clay’s recent message to CWRL-full, titled “text-only games.”

Reading recent work on game design.
Game Design Rollings and Morris
Game Design and Architecture Rollings and Morris

Use the CWRL multimedia station for studying interface design of contemporary adventure games and interactive storytelling.

Over Xmas break
Begin learning Inform, reading game design materials, and playing games with a strong narrative component.

By end of January
Map game space of Crying of Lot 49, including its locations, puzzles, and NPC’s.

By end of February
Program one “level” of CL49 game

By end of March
Complete ½ “design document” of a larger, multimedia adventure game based on CL49

By end of April
Complete design document.
Draft an assignment in which students both explore the existing CL49 game and contribute to its further design in my “Literary Contests and Contexts” class.