The third interactive site I looked at was http://www.ryman-novel.com/, a site dedicated to an interactive novel titled 253 written by author Geoff Ryman. Why 253? The novel is about an underground London train and its 253 passengers. (7 cars on the train x 36 seats per car + 1 driver = 253 passengers.) Much like the television show Lost, this novel is told through each passenger’s story. By clicking on the car, you are taken to a “car map”, where all of the passenger’s names and seat numbers featured. Once clicking on and learning about a particular passenger, you can select another passenger, consult the journey planner, or visit another car’s map. And, just like Lost, while at times this novel might read as one big unsolvable puzzle, numbers do make sense here. Each passenger story runs approximately 253 words long.
While I thought the concept and execution of this online novel was very creative, I’ll admit that here, just like with the tea narrative by Joe Davis, I was a little disappointed with the aesthetic quality of the site. I can’t hold this against either author though, because words are their thing, not necessarily decorating them. However, in both cases, an illustration or even the use of bright colors would have done wonders in contributing to the overall effect of the narrative.
While I thought the concept and execution of this online novel was very creative, I’ll admit that here, just like with the tea narrative by Joe Davis, I was a little disappointed with the aesthetic quality of the site. I can’t hold this against either author though, because words are their thing, not necessarily decorating them. However, in both cases, an illustration or even the use of bright colors would have done wonders in contributing to the overall effect of the narrative.
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