Now that we have learned a bit about HTML and CSS, as well as some of how to use Jekyll, we should start thinking about our final projects. For the next two weeks, we are going to look at some more creative uses for the technologies we have discussed. This week, we are going to talk about hypertext, the concept that first inspired the World Wide Web (which is what most of know as the Internet), and how this idea of a non-linear text explored by the reader instead of read straight through has served to inspire a variety of creative projects.
Some History
When we first learned about HTML, we glossed over the meaning of the language’s acronym, HyperText Markup Language. HTML was created to implement the theory of Hypertext, which was first described by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, though the idea most likely originates in Vannevar Bush’s famous 1945 essay, “As We May Think”.
Both Bush and Nelson were describing a system of text that exceeded linear writing as a means of handling information overload, the condition of having too much writing to possibly read in a lifetime. Nelson specifically describes a system, called hypertext, for better organizing information using connections defined by the author that mapped from one word in one text to a whole other text. He called these maps “links.” In 1989 at CERN, Tim Berners-Lee first developed a computer protocol to implement Bush and Nelson’s vision on a global scale. The protocol was named HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol); Berners-Lee described his project as the “World Wide Web,” which is the start of the Internet as we (mostly) know and use it today.
Hypertext, as a concept, is baked into what we have been doing in this class, though we don’t always think about it as such. Partly, this is because Bush, Nelson, and Berners-Lee had a much less linear model for reading in mind than how the web is often used. Increasingly, apps such as Facebook or TikTok or Twitter or Instagram, that provide us with a stream of uninterrupted content, attempt to keep us looking at one page (which generates ad revenue and valuable surveillance data), though the original vision of hypertext was one motivated by exploration. I click on an interesting looking link in an article I am reading and I’m off on another tangent.
This tangential mode of reading, distracted rather than linear, was also important (and remains so) to certain experimental writers in the 1990s. Micheal Joyce’s afternoon: a story, published in 1987, used the StorySpace to produce the first hypertext novel, which was distributed on floppy disk (and later CD-ROM). Joyce’s story, about a man who witnesses a car accident before later becoming convinced the accident involved his ex-wife and son, changes each time the reader “reads” through the text; the story further comments on the nature of memory through this ever-changing narrative. Several important postmodern hypertext novels were produced using StorySpace after the publication of Joyce’s text.
For the remainder of this chapter, I want us to think about how we can use hypertext for these artistic potentials, instead of thinking about it primarily as a business communication medium, something the web is increasingly becoming.
Wikipedia as Hypertext
One of the most common experiences of hypertext, as it was intended by Bush and Nelson, might be falling into a “Wiki rabbit hole”. Wikipedia defines the concept as:
The wiki rabbit hole is the learning pathway which a reader travels by navigating from topic to topic while browsing Wikipedia and other wikis. Other names for the concept include wiki black hole[1] and wikihole.[2] The metaphor of a hole comes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which Alice begins an adventure by following the White Rabbit into his burrow.
Essentially, it is the process of going to Wikipedia to find information on a topic, clicking a link to another article and realizing, often an hour or more later, that you have no idea why you are reading an encyclopedia article about pineapples.
This phenomenon is a pure example of Nelson’s original notion of hypertext, which was to organize knowledge in a way that encouraged non-linear association amongst ideas instead of linear comprehension of a single topic. By clicking through the various links of Wikipedia, we construct our own narrative. Rather than be guided through a text by an author, something we do when we read a novel, we guide ourselves through a collection of texts.
Hypertext Games
Guiding ourselves through a story, something Michael Joyce was also doing with afternoon: a story, is also of interest to a lot of indie game developers. Hypertext games allow creators to explore a variety of topics not normally discussed in gaming.
Sometimes also called interactive fiction, hypertext-based games have become increasingly popular, especially in indie game circles. Here are some examples of games that use hypertext to create a variety of experiences, from scary to tragic to cute:
More examples can be found on itch.io’s list of popular games.
A game such as Depression Quest, which draws on classic RPG tropes and mechanics to explore someone experiencing clinical depression, can let users explore topics beyond traditional gaming narratives.
Twine
All of the above games were made use Twine, a program that makes it simple to create interactive fiction and games. Twine is built around HTML and CSS. It makes creating interactive games easy.
Here’s a quick video overview of using Twine to create interactive fiction:
Here’s another helpful tutorial for designing Twine games that is specifically geared toward English Majors.
Why Twine?
The final project in this class asks you to create a website or other internet artifact that responds to some of the principles we have explored in class. Twine is an easy way to create an interactive game that can meet a variety of needs for a variety of audiences. Exploring more about Twine would be a good way to think about something to make for the final project.