antistory

I remember reading a lot of R.L. Stine books when I was growing up. In particular, he had a series of his Goosebumps books where after each chapter the reader was faced with a decision about where the story would go. For example, it would give you the option to enter the forest and turn to page 16 or return to the playground and turn to page 10.

I remember these were the most frustrating books of his to read. Although he had written all the possible plot lines, ultimately the reader was in charge of the journey and the ending. These books blurred the line between books and videogames for me. When playing a videogame, if I made a decision that ended up killing me I would start again and avoid doing the same thing. I did the same thing with Stine's books, even though some of my peers considered it cheating and gave me hell for it. But if I had made a decision and in the next chapter something vile ended up happening I would return to the former chapter and choose the other option.  read more »

I had never thought that a video game could be considered a narrative structure before this class. I'm not a huge gamer, but when I was younger, my brother owned two video games that I actually enjoyed playing. One of them was Prince of Persia, and the other was Tomb Raider. I was never sure why exactly I was drawn to these two, but now that I think about it, it probably has to do with the story element of the games. Both Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia involve a plot that is advanced every time the gamer makes a decision. After reading Story and Discourse, I also made the connection that these games are actually antistories in the way they are created. In Tomb Raider, there are several different ways that Lara Croft can complete her adventure. Not all possible avenues are discovered by every gamer, which leaves an infinite number of ways for her story to end. By choosing to enter a certain room, the gamer rules out the possibility of advancing the plot in a different way by entering a different room.  read more »