Essay 3 Project Main Menu The Dynamics of Relationships in Works of Electronic Literature Introduction About the Authors Like Stars in a Clear Night Sky Abby's E-Lit Work Into the Green Green Mud Ashlyn's E-Lit Work Tailspin Works Cited Page

Facade

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     "Façade" is an attempt to go beyond the traditional hyper-linked narrative, to a fully-realized interactive drama. In this interactive narrative, you get to choose your own name in which you go by. You get invited over to hangout by a married couple named Trip and Grace. Unlike other e-lit pieces, "Façade" allows the reader-player to directly interact to both characters in order to uncover what is going on between them. When Trip or Grace talks to the reader, they can "talk" back to them to respond by typing on the keyboard. The AI then processes what was typed and Trip or Grace react accordingly. The reader is free to type anything, but if what is typed becomes too inappropriate, the AI will recognize this and "kick" the reader out of the house. Since the reader is free to type anything, it is almost impossible for two different readers to have the same experience while playing, making it very nonlinear. This story has a multitude of endings, and many different ways to get there. The reader will get completely different responses depending on whether they are speaking to Trip or Grace, which makes "Façade" even less linear than a regular book.  It may feel like a game, but "Façade" definitely reads like a narrative that the user is in complete control of. 
     This piece of e-lit is very unorthodox in how it presents the six elements of narratives as described by Pratt in "Natural Narrative". The abstract is meant to, "encapsulate the point of the story". In "Façade", it is up to the reader to delve into the narrative and figure out what the point of the story is. The orientation is the only part of this story that is consistent with every readers' experience. This is because the setting, as well as all the characters are the same. 

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