Determining literariness in interactive fiction |
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Authors: | Neil Randall |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of English, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1 Waterloo, Ontario, Canada |
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Abstract: | The authors of interactive fiction are beginning to demonstrate a concern for the literariness of their product. Literariness, as defined by Shklovskij and the Russian Formalists, is the quality of making strange that which is linguistically familiar, a quality Shklovskij termed ostranenie. By applying the principle of ostranenie, as well as other well-known literary principles, to the most serious interactive fictions, we can determine if this new genre exhibits the features of literariness. A study of Mindwheel, Brimstone, Breakers, A Mind Forever Voyaging, Portal, and Trinity suggest that the literariness of interactive fiction comes out of its concern both for making strange what is familiar and for making familiar what is strange.Neil Randall has published several role-playing games, and is working on a full-length critical study of interactive fiction. He is currently assistant professor of English. |
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Keywords: | interactive fiction literariness canonization ostranenie gap strangeness Shklovskij Portal |
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