ENGLIT 0522 INTERACTIVE FICTION AS LITERATURE. Dr. Patrick Scott Belk, Biddle Hall 225, Office Hours: 10:00 AM-12:20 PM TTh,

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1 ENGLIT 0522 INTERACTIVE FICTION AS LITERATURE Dr. Patrick Scott Belk, Biddle Hall 225, Office Hours: 10:00 AM-12:20 PM TTh, DESCRIPTION Students in this course examine digital, text-based, and turn-driven narratives as immersive and interactive cultural products, and further this study by reading several works of digital interactive narratives from 1975 to the present. In addition to studying interactive fiction (IF) in its historical context, students create original interactive works. PRÉCIS Interactive fiction, abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form have been around since the middle of the 1970s (ADVENT, 1975), and can be understood as literary narratives, either in the form of Interactive narratives or Interactive narrations. These works can also be understood as a form of video game, either in the form of an adventure game or role-playing game. In common usage, the term refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game where the entire interface can be text-only (such as Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork). Graphical text adventure games, where the text is accompanied by graphics (still images, animations, or video) still fall under the text adventure category, however, if the main way to interact with the game is by typing text (such as Adventureland and Beyond Zork). Users of the term IF further distinguish between interactive fiction, known as Puzzle-free and which focuses on narrative, and text adventures that focus on puzzles. For the purposes of this course, we will be using the following working definition for this relatively broad category of games developed between 1975 and the present: WORKING DEFINITION: IF is defined as a text-driven and turn-based narrative that takes input from a reader or player (or what is sometimes called either an interactor or a player-character) and responds with some degree of intelligence. The narrative advances as result of the interaction between the playercharacter (who typically occupies a space within the fictional world) and the work of fiction itself. The narrative typically has multiple conclusions and ends at a natural ending point---as a result of the playercharacter s input or the decision of the player-character to terminate the progress through the story.

2 This definition can also be used to refer to non-digital versions of literary works that are not read in a linear fashion, known as gamebooks, where the reader is instead given choices at different points in the text; these decisions determine the flow and outcome of the story. The most famous example of this form of printed fiction is the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. In this course, we will be reading (together in class) several of such books, including Edward Packard s The Cave of Time (1979), one of the first of such books (the first of which, entitled Sugarcane Island, was also written by Packard, and published in 1976). REQUIRED TEXTS Nick Montfort, Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction (2003) Will Crowther, Colossal Cave Adventure (1975): Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, and Tim Anderson, Zork (1977): Scott Adams, Adventureland (1982): Steve Meretzky, The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy (1984): Brian Moriarty, Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor (1987): PARTICIPATION (20%) This class requires your active participation in a way in which your other classes may not. It is not a lecture class but one in which you will collaboratively participate in a team-style gaming lab, engage with ideas, and develop individual narratives in conversation. You must prepare for class by reading the assigned material from our textbook, Nick Montfort s Twisty Little Passages (2003), but the majority of our classtime will be spent actually playing these games and discussing our progress through them. It requires each student to keep track of their own progress each day---using what I am terming a Gaming Journal (discussed in more detail below)---entries from which will be shared with other students at the end of each class. Your successful progress through complex games such as Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork, Beyond Zork, etc. may take more time than you would at first anticipate. In fact, some of these games can be downright frustrating. A quick walk-through (using one of the many online cheat sheets now available) will not allow you to engage closely enough with the reading to understand it. I suggest that you avoid resorting to a cheat sheet until you have had a chance to experiment and explore the game on your own. By keeping a detailed Gaming Journal, we will be able to develop our own walk-throughs over time, and enjoy the process of learning to beat these games without help. Please make the effort to be reflective about your part in class discussions. It is important to behave respectfully towards each other. Class participation will significantly contribute to your grade. GAMING JOURNAL (20%) There is a required 100-word typed (long paragraph), written response to each day s gaming session, which we will share through the Google Doc located here: These responses will serve as an ongoing journal of our experiences in the class; here we will map out the areas as we explore them, and record a detailed list of items, objects, and non-player characters encountered. We will keep track of all our decisions made: whether those decisions successfully advance the player-character, or (for example) lead to the player-character s death. Be sure to include the commands used (such as LOOK, OPEN, TAKE, GO, etc.). In these responses, you must also record your reactions to the games assigned, include an explanation and short discussion of key concepts, and list questions and key terms that pertain to them. These responses will help provide a basis for end-of-class discussion, and be saved before you leave at the end of each class. GAME PRESENTATIONS (20%) Each student will choose 2 days this semester to prepare a presentation on any MS - DOS game available at the Internet Library. The sign-up sheet will be circulated in class. Sign up for any 2 days of your choice. If you are not in class on the day the sign-up sheet is circulated, I can assign one for you. On this day, you will be responsible for preparing a short presentation of materials and conducting an informal walk-through of the game (20 minutes). Be prepared to pose/address questions and present topics relevant to the reading

3 of your choice of game for the benefit of the class. Your choices are open, and the MS - DOS games library may be Consult with me outside of class if you have questions, or have trouble getting started. READING QUIZZES (20%) Short quizzes will be given occasionally to ensure that students are keeping up with the assigned readings. You should be prepared for a quiz, delivered at the start of class, on all reading assignments on the day that the reading is listed. Reading quizzes will not receive letter grades or comments; grades will be determined by students having completed them on time, and they are due on the day assigned. No exceptions. Together the reading quizzes will comprise 20% of your final grade for the course. GRADES Your grade for this class will break down as follows: Gaming Journal Entries 20% Game Presentations 20% Reading Quizzes 20% Final Project (Twine) 20% Attendance, Discussion, Participation 20% OTHER POLICIES Attendance is required. More than three absences and you risk having your grade lowered. If you need to schedule appointments make sure that they do not take place during class time. Be punctual at the beginning of class, and do not make plans to leave before class ends. Plagiarism is an extremely serious offence and will not be excused. Be sure that you see the distinction between collaboration with and the kind of help with writing which involves someone else doing work for you. To present the language or ideas of others as if they are your own is plagiarism and this applies to Internet sources as well. If you have a disability for which you are requesting an accommodation, you should contact Counselling Services, G10 Student Union, (814) , as early as possible in the term. The Office of Health & Wellness Services will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2018 WEEK 1 01/08: Introduction to the course: Syllabus, Assignments, Readings 01/10: WATCH IN-CLASS Get Lamp (2010) 01/12: WATCH IN-CLASS Get Lamp (2010) WEEK 2 01/15: NO CLASS (Dr. Martin Luther King s Birthday) 01/17: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure 01/19: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure READ Montfort, Chapter 1 WEEK 3 01/22: WORKSHOP IF game development 01/24: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure 01/26: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure

4 WEEK 4 01/29: WORKSHOP IF game development 01/31: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure 02/02: PLAY Colossal Cave Adventure READ Montfort, Chapter 2 WEEK 5 02/05: NO CLASS (Getting started with Zork) 02/07: PLAY Zork 02/09: PLAY Zork WEEK 6 02/12: WORKSHOP IF game development 02/14: PLAY Zork 02/16: PLAY Zork READ Montfort, Chapter 3 WEEK 7 02/19: WORKSHOP IF game development 02/21: PLAY Zork 02/23: PLAY Zork WEEK 8 02/26: WORKSHOP IF game development 02/28: PLAY Adventureland 03/02: PLAY Adventureland READ Montfort, Chapter 4 WEEK 9 03/05: NO CLASS (Spring Recess) 03/07: NO CLASS (Spring Recess) 03/09: NO CLASS (Spring Recess) WEEK 10 03/12: WORKSHOP IF game development 03/14: PLAY The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy 03/16: PLAY The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy READ Montfort, Chapter 5 WEEK 11 03/19: WORKSHOP IF game development 03/21: PLAY Beyond Zork 03/23: PLAY Beyond Zork WEEK 12 03/26: WORKSHOP Final Project development (For the final 4 weeks of the semester, students will devote a majority of their class time to working on final projects - and discussing them in class - before finally uploading them to the Pitt servers.)

5 03/28: WORKSHOP Final Project development 03/30: WORKSHOP Final Project development READ Montfort, Chapter 6 WEEK 13 04/02: NO CLASS (Continue working on projects) 04/04: WORKSHOP Final Project development 04/06: WORKSHOP Final Project development WEEK 14 04/09: WORKSHOP Final Project development 04/11: WORKSHOP Final Project development 04/13: WORKSHOP Final Project development READ Montfort, Chapters 7-8 WEEK 15 04/16: WORKSHOP Final Project development 04/18: WORKSHOP Final Project development 04/20: STUDENT PRESENTATIONS OF FINAL PROJECTS Although it need not be finished, your final digital project should be far enough along that students will have a decent sense of where the finished product is heading. WEEK 16 04/27: FINAL PROJECTS DUE In addition to uploading your final digital projects to your Pitt server space (AFS), submit a final version as an attachment to belk@pitt.edu. Be sure to ZIP file folders. Final projects (both submission formats) are due by 5 PM.