Literature

Len Talmy writes in Toward a Cognitive Semantics (2002) that: Any old tapestry or painting that in effect depicts a story by showing a number of figures and activities together suggesting a succession of events, but one that the viewer must piece together through her own self-determined sequence of visual fixations, is as much an example of interactive fiction as any modern computer-based form. (426) This is of course false, with any standard definition of interactivity. I think “modern computer-based form” is here a neat place-holder for games (other interactive digital works would also work), despite him not wanting to specify it. Computer games are of course more interactive than your typical painting. The key to understanding this is to separate interaction from interactivity. ...

This fall has been mostly about cognitive semiotics. It is very different to return to basic research on a field where I’m almost completely a newcomer. New terminology and new theory - a lot to take in for a mind so used to the familiar. Hopefully this semester will shake some of the entrenched views into new approaches. One of the classes has me writing about literary arts. I’m writing an paper about meaning effects in literary works, and how they could be translated to work on video games. If the paper comes out good, I’ll try to turn it into a proper research paper next spring. ...