Interactive Narrative: Theory and Practice
| Syllabus | Readings | Project Assignments |

Readings / Readings and Viewings by Week

Principal text:

Janet H. Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace (1997). and associated links on Resource Page

Other required readings:

Alan Ayckbourn, The Norman Conquests (1988)

Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think" (1945)

Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale (1928;1968)

Films

Groundhog Day (1993)

Web Resources

Gallery of Student Stories 1996-8, arranged by genres

Supplementary and graduate readings:

Joseph Bates, "The Role of Emotion in Believable Agents" (1994)

P. David Lebling, Marc S. Blanc, Timothy A. Anderson., "Zork:A Computerized Fantasy Game". (1979)

Jorge Luis Borges, "The Garden of Forking Paths" (1941)

Lenny Foner, "Entertaining Agents" (1997)

George Landow, Hypertext 2.0 (1997)

Brenda Laurel, Computers as Theater (1993)

Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995)

Joseph Weizenbaum, "Eliza-- A Computer Program for the Study of Natural Language Communication between Man and Machine" (1966)

Readings and Viewings by Week

back to syllabus

Readings are due the first meeting of the week, except for week 1

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Required Readings

Additional Graduate Readings

week 1

Feb 2

Murray, Chapters 1-3

Vannevar Bush "As We May Think"

Zork:A Computerized Fantasy Game"

week 2

Feb 9

Student Project Gallery

The Norman Conquests: read all three plays; optional: watch the videos, available in Film Office 14N-430

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week 3

Feb 16

Murray, Chapters 4-6

Murray, Chapter 9

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week 4

Feb 23

Project I: Navigable version of segments of the Norman Conquests

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week 5

March 2

Propp, Morphonlogy of the Folktale, Sections II, III, VI, and IX A,B, and D

Murray, Chapter 7

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week 6

March 9

Groundhog Day (see the movie, available in Film Office 14N-430)

Project II Prelim due Thursday March 11

Jorge Luis Borges, "The Garden of Forking Paths" (1941)

Landow

week 7

March 16

Project II Due: Multiform Narrative with Morphemes and Variations

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Spring Vacation week

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week 8

March 30

Eliza and Friends

 

Murray, Chapter 8

Weizenbaum

Lenny Foner, "Entertaining Agents

week 9

April 6

Scripting the Interactor

Laurel

Turkle

week 10

April 13

CM3 Character Due / Prelim Contest

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week 11

April 20

NO CLASS (Holiday)

Bates, "The Role of Emotion in Believable Agents"

week 12

April 27

Conversations with Topics

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week 13

May 4

Preliminary Design for Revision Project

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week 14

May 11

Final Project Due

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