Tag Archives: Gaming

student blogs

Facade and Welcome Home

Façade was a bit of a mess for me. Since I have a MAC, I was not able to access the game and play it on my own. Because of this I had to watch a number of walkthroughs on YouTube to get a chance to see the game. I feel like I missed out on actually fully experiencing the game on my own, but I was happy that it is still preserved for people to see, even if it is incompatible with more modern systems. I found Façade to be a good time. It was interesting to see how the players interaction can change the dynamic of the overall conversation. In conventional literature, ending can be open-ended but are singular. Here, the player’s (or reader) can create branching paths that actually affect the way the game ends. Another thing that stood out from watching different play throughs was how the characters of Grace and Trip react to what the player chooses to say or side with. This dynamic characterization really made the characters stand out way more than I expected them to. Seeing their gratitude and disappointment when you choose to side with one or another was a really fascinating feature. In seeing how the game can end in different scenarios, I think I can see some of the authors intent. In creating these two dynamic characters, the authors wanted players to pick a side based on their own thought process. Some players might see Trip as the main issue in the relationship, with the same being said for Grace. Some players might want to play peace makers and end up getting both characters to reveal their doubts and infidelities. Façade was a very cool piece of E-lit overall.

Welcome Home was also a great work to see. Lost media is one of the most intriguing things look for. Trying to prove the existence of a piece of work seemingly lost to time and presenting those findings seem to be time consuming but fulfilling. In my spare time, I sometimes go down the rabbit hole in looking into lost media, so Welcome Home and the work that goes into these types of projects was something I have seen before. The work and care it took to build this database, redraw and animate old works and track down old merchandise is crazy to think about. The overall website is very impressive to say the least. The only thing that really surprised me was to see that this can be considered E-lit. I would be lying if I was not confused when I opened this link and went through the website for the first time. Over time, I thought about some of the historical non-fiction books I have read and began to see Welcome Home in a similar light. Although it is not bound and written on paper, Welcome Home must have taken immense amount of research and work to put together this project, in the same way some of the book I have read had. Preservation of older media is an important issue to take up since many works by creative people throughout history can be lost to time. Seeing these older works being appreciated and brought to modern audiences is really cool to see.

student blogs

Facade

Facade

Façade Trailers Procedurals Arts, YouTube Video, https://youtu.be/GmuLV9eMTkg?si=4Q0T_bQblbR-iKjF44

Lareice’s Digital World

Façade: Redefining Interactive Narrative through Artificial Intelligence

In 2005, Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern released Façade, a groundbreaking video game that reimagined how stories could unfold in digital environments. Unlike traditional games with fixed plots or limited dialogue options, Façade places players in the middle of a volatile domestic drama, allowing them to shape the narrative through open-ended interaction. This innovative design challenges conventional storytelling and highlights the potential of artificial intelligence to create emotionally resounded experiences.

Immersive Gameplay and Real-Time Dialogue

The premise is simple: the player visits Trip and Grace, a married couple living in a New York City apartment, for what seems like a casual evening. The encounter quickly spirals into a tense and unpredictable confrontation. What sets Façade apart is its natural language interface. Players type their own responses, and the game’s AI interprets and reacts in real time, creating a dynamic and immersive conversation. This system allows for nuanced demonstrative exchanges that mirror real-life interactions, making each playthrough feel distinct and deeply personal.

Open-Ended Structure and Player Agency

Rather than guiding players through a fixed storyline, Façade offers a fluid narrative shaped by the player’s choices. There are no scripted dialogue trees; instead, the game responds organically to whatever the player says. This freedom introduces ambiguity and unpredictability sometimes the characters misinterpret your words, sometimes they reveal hidden truths. The underlying “drama manager” algorithm ensures that the story adapts to the sentimental tone and direction of the interaction, resulting in a unique experience every time.

Micro-Narratives and Emotional Complexity

Each session with Façade reveals subtle shifts in character behavior, tone, and pacing. Players may attempt to mediate the couple’s conflict, provoke deeper revelations, or be ejected from the apartment altogether. These micro-narratives, small, enthusiastic, charged moments accumulate to form a larger, evolving story. The game’s strength lies in its ability to simulate the complexity of human relationships, making the player feel less like a gamer and more like a participant in an unfolding drama.

A Vision for the Future of Digital Storytelling

Façade represents a significant leap forward in interactive fiction. The player is positioned not as a typical gamer, but as an active participant in a developing emotional narrative. By leveraging AI to create responsive, lifelike characters, the game opens new possibilities for storytelling in virtual spaces whether through 3D avatars, immersive environments, or future applications in virtual reality. It invites us to imagine narratives that are not just told but lived.

Conclusion: My Reflection on Façade

For me, Façade is more than a technical achievement it is a haunting, thought-provoking experience. The blend of control and uncertainty, of intimacy and discomfort, makes it unlike any other game I have encountered. It proves that video games can rival literature and film in emotional depth and even surpass them by giving players the power to shape the outcome. The bizarre realism of Trip and Grace’s responses, paired with the freedom to speak your mind, creates a space that feels both mysterious and deeply human. Façade does not just tell a story, it asks you to step inside one. And that, to me, is the future of storytelling.

student blogs

Welcome Home & Facade

Welcome Home

Right off the bat, I must remark that the opening page of Welcome Home reminds me of Purble Place. This downloadable game was available on all Windows computers for a time, and I used to play it on my Mom’s laptop all the time when I was younger. I’m sure some of you may remember this game. It is so interesting, though, how something that seems so recent, the technological boom, can actually be nostalgic for some people — including me! Growing up with such computer games, especially immersive at the time, is quite the experience that most recently turned adults have. It brings to the table such interesting questions and implications.

Well, it seems I was on the right track, sort of. It’s really awesome that there’s electronic literature for children. Though Welcome Home is a restoration project, it still bridges the gap between analog techniques of entertainment as well as newer versions of content creation. I suppose, despite Purble Place being considered an educational game, can, in some ways, be considered electronic literature. There were familiar characters each time you opened the game, so you knew what to expect, but you were not interacting with characters or text in the way we have been doing with the forms we have read thus far in class. That is similar to Welcome Home, but in this case, there is a more diverse set of characters to interact with and a plethora of ways to interact with them. Whether you watch and listen to the storybooks, or you listen to the featured radio station, or simply click around to see who lives in which house, there are different ways for children to connect and be transported into this world, where, “home is where is the heart is”.

This project also provides an intriguing source of not only restoration, but re-creation, too. In theory, any animated show, or really, any show, could be recreated online for people to interact with. For example, Bikini Bottom can be recreated into an electronic hub for kids who want to be immersed under the sea in a different way, and possibly, a way more conducive to learning about the technological mediums around them. This way, there is still a core of where SpongeBob began his legacy, but it is continued on to abide by the changing needs of society. I’m not saying television is obsolete — I think it is far from it — but the way in which we rely on computers or tablets is so different than how we rely on the television. Frankly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being frank. (Ha! Thanks Frank)

Overall, I thought Welcome Home is a really great project that can set some really interesting standards for the near future.

Facade

Unfortunately, I was unable to go into Facade and actually play the game. Some of you may already know this about me from past conversations in other classes, but I am not a gamer at all. For some reason, I just cannot wrap my head around what is actually supposed to be done in the game. Identifying the plot line within a video game has always been difficult for me, but I was greatly looking forward to playing Facade because, from the excerpt, it seemed really intriguing and pulled from a lot of different disciplines to support its creation. Though, I did take a look at the walk-throughs on YouTube…

First off, it was really cool to actually be inserted into the narrative. The way in which the scenes are coded so that what you see mimics what you would see if you were actually there was a great way to include the reader/interactor. Additionally, being able to actually type what you say, and Grace and Trip responding, truly brings home the idea of immersion. It’s almost as if you forget a bit of your current surroundings, and feel as though you are really in the home of Grace and Trip.

Though, this is a really interesting way to discuss what is ELIT and what is, say, a video game. From what I understand, the main difference here is that you are actually contributing to the storyline. In a video game, you can move around the room and shoot the bad guys down (or whatever you do in video games), but it’s more action-based, rather than narrative-based. In a video game, you have to kill that one bad guy to move onto the next part of the game, but with Facade, you just keep going no matter what you say. I supposed what I’m trying to articulate here is that there are no requirements in terms of what you say or do within Facade — the scenario still moves along whether you express agreement or disagreement with Grace or Trip. I think this is a great distinction between literature and gaming, as both are quite similar with the detailed storyline and inclusion of language.

As an ending note, I really hope Facade makes it back online at some point. I think it would be really cool to actually play it for myself and experience just how interesting dinner would be like at Grace and Trip’s that one fateful night…

student blogs

1st Blog!

Hi Everyone!

For those who don’t know me, I am Tyler Clark. I got my undergrad degree from Kean in English Writing and I am in my last semester of my Masters! I enjoy writing and reading poetry. I like playing video games, building gundam model kits, and spending time in nature.

I was thinking about the concept of electronic literature and it’s connection to video games.

In the early days of video games when technology was limited there were video games called text based adventures. These games would show you a screen of text which tells you what is going on. Something like how you were exploring an abandoned house with your friends and have now become trapped in the house alone.

The way you play the game is by typing things into a textbook. For example, the game text might say you are in a room and it is dark. So you might type in, “turn on the light”. The game would then say something like “You turn on the light and can see x,y, and z.” Then you would type something like “pick up object x”. And so on and so forth. So basically the game is entirely text based and your text input moves the story along. While being extremely basic, these text based adventures are some early examples of what I believe electronic literature is.

Another style of electronic literature through video games are visual novels. These visual novels are just what they sound like, text based novels with visuals and sounds on the screen. You don’t really play these games so much as you interact with them. You read the text on the screen and press a button to advance it. There are opportunities in the story to make decisions which alter the story. While the text is displayed on the screen, you will see visuals of the characters and locations within the story as well as sounds related to what is happening.

These types of games were never my cup of tea as there wasn’t much “gameplay”, but visual novels are an interesting way to read a novel while getting the same dopamine rush video games offer. These types of games are such an interesting evolution from the text based adventure games that I mentioned earlier.

As I reflect on the connection between video games and electronic literature, I start to realize how much literacy is required to play certain games as some can be very text heavy, especially with earlier video games before voice acting was a regular feature in games. Video games as electronic literature might seem like a stretch at first, but I feel they share a deep connection that is worth exploring.