Effectivity of Narrative
7
This page attempts to explore the effectivity and coherence of the narrative
plain
2019-11-20T19:21:46-08:00
The creator, Jason Nelson, has attempted to create a coherent narrative in This Is How You Will Die despite the randomness that is characteristic of it. Much like the basic narrative structure described by Freytag's Triangle on page 25 in "Pause & Effect: The Art of Interactive Narrative", that is, having a beginning, climax and ending. For any possible scenario that is generated in This Is How You Will Die, the first column tells you what happened before the event, the next two describe how you actually die, and the last two describe what happens after your death.
While attempting to differentiate between a simulation and a piece without interactivity in "First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game", Frasca states that “The potential of simulation is not as a conveyor of values, but as a way to explore the mechanics of dynamic systems.” (Frasca, 86) The five different columns or possibilities and their dynamic interplay is the basis of the simulation that is This Is How You Will Die. Therefore, as a simulator or generator, This Is How You Will Die is extremely effective as it is completely based on the effective and coherent interplay of its different components. Moreover, the fact that the player must click the death spin button so as to work the generator creates the illusion of control in the mind of the player, hence further increasing its effectivity. The demise credits also create an air of urgency or limitation, which prevent the player from seeing the simulator as devoid of meaning, and rather lead to the illusion that one can “win” despite it not being a game. This also increases its interactivity and effectivity.
The creator has also tried to pay attention to the sentence grammar and make sure that at all points, the grammar is in tandem with the sentence structure. He does this by adding words that describe the timeline of events such as before and after to the first column as well as punctuating it with a comma at the end. The third column also begins with an ‘and’ so as to connect it to the second column. This almost further reiterates the general message of the generator that death is certain.
