Patchwork Girl and Entre Ville

My favorite reading from this week was Patchwork Girl. I was so intrigued by the story and loved how there was a narrative despite the discombobulated text entries and the shift in a narrator. I really enjoyed piecing together the pieces of the puzzle (pun intended) and coming up with my own interpretation of the story. It was really cool to feel like I had control in how the story went by deciding which words and links I wanted to follow as I read, and being able to stop wherever I saw a fit ending.

I also enjoyed Entre Ville by J.R. Carpenter. The first thing I clicked on was the dog in the bottom lefthand corner and I was brought to a story about a dog taking walks with its owners. The story was written in very simple language, but it was a metaphor for taking the time to find stories in every step you take, which I thought was really meaningful. The story was readable by hovering the mouse over a down arrow to scroll and what I liked about this feature is that you weren’t able to tell how long the story was or where it ended. You just had to keep scrolling and enjoy the story as it was, not worrying about how long it was or where the end was.

I then looked at a window in the upper righthand corner which led to a little blurb about a trumpet player followed by a video of an open window in the city with trumpet music playing. I loved this link because it was so simple but also so immersive and imaginative. Nearly every link on the page led me to a similar experience, and the more and more I clicked around, the more and more I felt like I actually lived in this apartment building on this city street.

I loved looking at all of these sites. From These Waves of Girls to Red Riding Hood to Entre Ville to Patchwork Girl, they’re all so unique and such original works of art that engage anyone with access to a computer. It’s incredible how many possibilities there are for hypertext. Though many of the sites are pretty simplistic at first glance, they are all so intricate and far more detailed than meets the eye. I love that part of the purpose and enjoyment of hypertext is the digging through content looking for clues, for stories, and for so many elements that truly couldn’t be expressed through any other medium.

Lily