Comments on: Choose Your Own Adventure, or a different adventure entirely http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103 The stomping grounds of Tim Carmody, Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson. It's a long-running conversation about media, journalism, technology, cities, culture, design, books, music, movies, the future and the past. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:58:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Len http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103/comment-page-1#comment-7083 Len Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:46:44 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=4103#comment-7083 Christian Swinehart has a PhD in Computational Neuroscience. Christian Swinehart has a PhD in Computational Neuroscience.

]]> By: Len http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103/comment-page-1#comment-7082 Len Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:42:42 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=4103#comment-7082 awesome. I can't believe the work that went into that webpage. Very satisfying. awesome. I can’t believe the work that went into that webpage. Very satisfying.

]]> By: Noah Brier http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103/comment-page-1#comment-7081 Noah Brier Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:41:22 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=4103#comment-7081 That's awesome. In a search for more info on the Ultima ending I just ran across this Ask Metafilter thread on CYOA that's worth a read as well: http://ask.metafilter.com/133125/A-Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-that-you-couldnt-win That’s awesome. In a search for more info on the Ultima ending I just ran across this Ask Metafilter thread on CYOA that’s worth a read as well: http://ask.metafilter.com/133125/A-Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-that-you-couldnt-win

]]> By: Bergamot http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103/comment-page-1#comment-7077 Bergamot Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:57:54 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=4103#comment-7077 I read a ton of CYOA books, and have a couple of vague memories, but one that stands out in my head was the time I found a continuity loop (I'm pretty sure it was an oversight on the author's part) and spent the next few hours reading in circles. I read a ton of CYOA books, and have a couple of vague memories, but one that stands out in my head was the time I found a continuity loop (I’m pretty sure it was an oversight on the author’s part) and spent the next few hours reading in circles.

]]> By: Mark Sample http://snarkmarket.com/2009/4103/comment-page-1#comment-7072 Mark Sample Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:47:07 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=4103#comment-7072 A whole meta-history could be written about the history of data visualizations of CYOA books. The subject seems to be a perennial favorite that surfaces on the web every 6-12 months. As far as I can determine, one of the first attempts was by Matthew Kirschenbaum, at the University of Maryland's Institute for Technology in the Humanities, who back in 2004 was asking students to "map" Choose Your Own Adventure books. With Matt's permission, I borrowed, revised, and expanded upon the assignment for my "Textual Media" classes at George Mason University. Here's the <a href="http://www.samplereality.com/gmu/fall2008/343/guidelines/media-inquiry-1-cyoa/" rel="nofollow">latest version</a> of the assignment, complete with my own map of CYOA #1, <em>The Cave of Time</em>. My own interest in the mapping of these ergodic texts lies in the moral structure embedded within the novels, in which certain choices are rewarded and others are not. I'm also fascinated by the assumptions the books make about what constitutes a "failed" or "satisfying" ending; these assumptions, as I try always try to convince my students, tell us a great deal about what we humans like and don't like in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. A whole meta-history could be written about the history of data visualizations of CYOA books. The subject seems to be a perennial favorite that surfaces on the web every 6–12 months.

As far as I can determine, one of the first attempts was by Matthew Kirschenbaum, at the University of Maryland’s Institute for Technology in the Humanities, who back in 2004 was asking students to “map” Choose Your Own Adventure books. With Matt’s permission, I borrowed, revised, and expanded upon the assignment for my “Textual Media” classes at George Mason University. Here’s the latest version of the assignment, complete with my own map of CYOA #1, The Cave of Time.

My own interest in the mapping of these ergodic texts lies in the moral structure embedded within the novels, in which certain choices are rewarded and others are not. I’m also fascinated by the assumptions the books make about what constitutes a “failed” or “satisfying” ending; these assumptions, as I try always try to convince my students, tell us a great deal about what we humans like and don’t like in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.

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