Well, the reviews are in and lo and behold I stand with those who actually see something wrong with Apple.
I understand the arguments. I’ve read them ad naseum and frankly I don’t really care whether anyone buys one or not. I know that I won’t. I won’t for the same reason I won’t buy an iPhone and the same reason why I gave my iPod touch to my son. I find Apple’s idea of application and hardware distribution odious in the extreme. I believe that any company that acts as if it should be the arbiter of which applications I can install or design is wrong. I find any company that is so obsessed with control and which invokes that control in the name of protecting us to be suspect and disingenuous. This is especially true when this company has already made application acceptance decisions based solely on the content of an application.
It is true that the iPads will most likely be successful for Apple. While the hardware input specs are lacking and the lack of an external memory slot is pathetic, I doubt that will have much of an effect on purchasing behaviors. This is especially true considering the level of hype that Apple has been able to build. As for content, I will do my utmost to make sure that the internet content that I produce is compatible with the device. I have no issue is developing content as long I never have to submit anything to Apple and I sincerely hope that they open the platform up. Jobs has proven himself in this regard, though, so I won’t be holding my breath.
I do believe that tablets will prove to be an interesting new medium and I am pleased to see so many on the horizon which will not be subject to the same restrictions. That said, I am concerned that others will try to adopt Apple’s model. Microsoft has already started down this road with its application store for the next generation of its Windows Mobile OS. There is a lot of opportunity ahead but there is also a lot of risk. I hope that in the rush ahead we do not give up more than we gain.
At the beginning of the year, I began developing a project that revolves around the idea of identity. In this case, I am referring not to the identity of the author or the viewer, inescapable in some regards, but to the identity of the characters. In most static works the identity of a character and its evolution is set. The response of the reader or viewer has no effect on the outcome or growth of the character.
In the new media space, this is no longer true. In this space, the viewer becomes a component of the story. Their experience of the story changes based on how they interact with the character and the space. This means that multiple passes through the same story play out differently because each situation has its own set of variables that are never precisely the same. The difficulty, though, is in creating a story that allows for such interaction without devolving into little more than a sandbox-style game focused solely on one character and sacrificing the value, and depth, of all other characters.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to turn this into a proposal, so I think I will pause here. Hopefully the above gives you a quick sense of what I am talking about. I may actually submit a complete proposal later on but for now let’s just say that I am working on creating different forms of interactive fiction.
My primary canvas for this project is a MUSH environment. It is a bit old-school, to be sure, but it allows rapid textual prototyping without the more time consuming graphic component. Due to class and school considerations I had put off work on this project but I am picking it up again because it is an aspect of story that has always intrigued me. I love creating interactive spaces and stories for people to explore. That truly is my passion and it is a space that I feel still has a lot to offer.
That said, the MUSH is no longer my only concept and I think I may be able to merge aspects of Operation Paranoia into a series of interactive stories. Some will be in real space while others will take place in various online venues. In these cases, I am more interested in using live players, actors if you will, to develop a scene. This will extend well into the summer and I look forward to exploring where this concept takes me.
Questions, suggestions, or friendly inquiries are all welcomed!
