City of Heroes

Multiplayer Communities and Narrativity

On Friday, Zach brought up an interesting question to consider, with regards to the narrativity of Cathy's Book extending beyond the limits of cover-to-cover and incorporating peripherals (the evidence pack) and reader (or player?) involvement through a community. Does "open media" extend the breadth of narrative beyond the concrete text? For example, let's consider MMO/MUD communities. I'll use City of Heroes as an example. If any of you are unfamiliar with City of Heroes (CoH), the basic premise is a Massively Multiplayer roleplaying game set in a fictional metropolis (in Rhode Island, of all places) that also happens to be the boiling pot of superhuman activities. Players create a superhero and engage in a predefined, pre-programmed world with previously scripted, coded and incorporated storylines (saving banks from AI-controlled thugs, etc.)  read more »

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