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• 1 media/Video of disappearing text .mp4 2019-11-12T19:10:44-08:00 Part 1: Fading Words 16 plain 2019-11-19T16:50:32-08:00 At first glance the main poem is sweet and descriptive of a girl's days out riding with her sister in the open fields. With a simple click of the mouse, most of the words fade to black changing the mood completely and revealing different parts of the story. The poem represents the scariest and most alarming part of death, it is lurking in the shadows even if its not visible or happening around us specifically. Not only does the poem highlight a murder mystery, but it represents just how sudden and secret death can truly be. The mechanics of the peice play a huge part in the interactivity and relaying this message about death to the reader. As depicted in the screen cast to the right, the poem is a short and sweet story of a young girls happy riding days, but the true story about the horrifying murders is hidden beneath it. The murder story is revealed slow and methodically as the rest of the blackground fades to a consuming black color. The slow "reveal" draws the reader in adn builds suspense. Not only do the mechanics incorporate suspense to draw the reader in, there is also the lack of sound and color. The lack of sound and color make the story seem very surreal. Especially in my experience reading the poem, I was fully immersed in discovering the story beneath the story. In Values at Play in Digital Games authors Mary Flanagan and Helen Nissenbaum make a point that videogames are exceptionally great at conveying ideas becuase they are so much more than just words on paper; they are interact works that engage the player (1-2). When someone is involved or immersed in not just a game but any work they are going to get so much more out of it. Girl's Day Out may not be a video game, but it has a similar effect of engaging the reader with the slow reveal of a shocking murder, lack of sound and lack of color.