Tag Archives: ELit

student blogs

First look at Elit – the reading experience of Twelve Blue


For the first 10 minutes, I was confused.

For the last 10 minutes, I am still confused.


What on the earth is this??

It is new to me since I have never read anything like this before. No button says next page so it takes me a while to find ways to turn the pages until I see there is one sentence highlighted and lined, I know where should I click πŸ™‚

“So a random set of meanings has softly gathered around the word the way lint collects. The mind does that.” from On Being Blue by William Gass.

I think the most interesting thing about it is that each line in the picture leads to a story. In the left pane, the plot runs around the margins like ripped fabric. There are links there. The text on the right also contains passing links, but they vanish after being followed. Strangely, every time I click the margins in the left pane, there is different text emerges in the right, and I have no idea how it works like this, is there some certain logic it follows??


β€œShe looked out on the creek and measured out the threads like the fates, silk thread in twelve shades of blue.”


This sentence punctuates the title, twelve blue, which is finally reflected in the text. I suppose the twelve blue lines, twelve months, and twelve threads all indicate the title. Twelve Blue investigates how the patterns of our life’ interconnected, many, and recurring surfaces are similar to those of the web, a year, a day, a memory, or a river.

These twelve blue lines appear to be independent, but they will interact together at some point. All the stories seem to develop in a single line, but at some point, they will also connect.

Above all, this kind of text stimulates my desire to explore as in hypertext the reader navigates a non-linear, branching narrative by clicking on hyperlinks to access new chunks of text.

student blogs

Elit Project – Hugo Gatica

My project, “Night Time Maneuvers” is an interactive visual novel where the reader is asked to escape the safety of their shell, their only safe space, as they pursue a soothing sound among the chaos of the outside and the inner turmoil of the mind. It’s a narrative shaped by depression and anxiety, and is written in a never-ending fashion to reflect on difficulty to escape/cope and the issues that arrive from it. Here’s the link to the project: https://elitprojecthugo.neocities.org/Nighttime%20Maneuvers.html

This project was one of the hardest for me to create, both in execution and theming. I wanted to ensure that every component I wanted had a place, and I’m happy to say that after many days of tweaking code, I’m happy to see where it is now. There will always be room for improvement, so perhaps I’ll continue to add to it down the line. I had fun experimenting and implementing my own photographs into this, so there was not much learning aside from coding. I have some experience with visual novels so this wasn’t too new a concept for me.

The theme of isolation and anxiety has always been there in my visual works, as they are things that are a deep part of my life that I can’t shake off. I know I’m not the only one, so I’m hoping that while this piece appears bleak in style, that readers can feel a connection to others who are going through the same. Think of this as my own remedying of my inner feelings, written in a vague style so that others can relate. Nothing makes sense, everything seems empty, and I’m hoping that by reading it makes more sense. Pay close attention to certain ‘signs’ and audio cues, as they might expand the project more. As a slight spoiler, try as you might to find the ‘true ending’, know that patience is a virtue.

Take in the minimalist style, the various audio samples, and understand that it’s okay to accept the sadness of life, as they make the happier moments even more beautiful.

student blogs

Chapter #3 – Where I’m At Right Now

As of tonight, I feel like I’m at a comfortable spot as to where I’d like my project to be.

Story-wise, I have a much firmer grasp on how the story unfolds. A huge help was last week’s Breakout sessions, so I have to give a huge thanks to both Maura and Amber for helping me find a better footing to stand on, because since then I’ve just about finished the basic story points and I’m fine-tuning them into the story. That was my biggest worry lately. It’s still a bit too far away to declare any sort of victory, but now I have the means to achieve.

I don’t want to give up too much on story because it will give away a lot of what I’m trying to achieve, and I feel by doing so will take away direction/agency from the viewer, which is the last thing I want done. If anything, go at your own pace and make it your own experience. Oh and pay attention to punctuation points throughout, who knows what they might hold?

I’m still using Twine for all my programming needs, messing around with the code as I see fit. I’m not straying too far because what I have to work with on default is more than enough for what I want. I have no issue with writing, linking, scripting and embedding images.

That is, images are easy to use. It’s not the same thing with audio, which is something I’m really fighting to make work as I think it’s integral to the experience, but I’m not marrying myself to the idea so that if it needs scrapping, I have to be ready for it. That being the case, I’m stubborn about it so I’m working on it as much as I can. It would hurt because I have all my audio at the ready.

That’s honestly it for what I have to share now. I’m hoping the final realization is closer enough to what I envisioned, but as a trained artist I’m opening myself up to anything that happens between then and now, going with the flow rather than fighting against one hurdle. I hope to see everyone’s work by the end of the semester!

student blogs

Bots

Bots is a lovely elit collection where accumulates artist and literary work associated with the social networks, such as Twitter or Facebook. There are eight bots in the collection. When I clicked any of them, there would be six blocks on the page. They are about the screenshot of the web, the web entrance, Metadata, Author Statements, Editorial Statements, and Downloads. Editorial Statements would be the first place I go to. It provides basic information and summary about this bot. I can learn the general information through the homepage and do not have to enter in if I am not interested in it. The Metadata provides hyperlinks. It shows the language and keywords of each bot. If I click the hyperlinks, I can find a list which collects the language and keywords of all the bots.

When the first time I went to Bots, I felt a little perplexed because it does not have a classification or a certain theme. It covers all the artistic and literary bots. It is very hospitable to the visitors and I assume it is in the progress. My favorite bot is the crossword. I used to play crossword games in the newspaper. However, the answer should be known in the next edition. It has a time delay for the game interaction. Tiny Crossword is a twitter account that you can follow. It will release the cross puzzles in advance. The puzzle is usually based on the important 21st-century repository, which means the database is updated. The combination of the crossword puzzle and social network somehow maximizes the utility of the game.

However, I am thinking about the literary or pedagogical level of using Bots. It seems to be something absent that is able to get readers into somewhere. I feel like Bots in some ways is more like a recreation. Our readers can have fun on the Bots but I want to figure out more literacy meanings in using Bots