Big Names in Hypertext
Hypertext about Hypertext
Fiction
Nonfiction
Animations
Authoring Tools
Big Names in Hypertext
Hamlet on the Holodeck Resource Page
Hamlet on the Holodeck used to be 21W.765J's textbook. The book was written by Janet Murray, who used to teach this class.
Excerpts from The Gutenberg Elegies
Sven Birkerts, who wrote The Gutenberg Elegies, was often depicted as Janet's nemesis by reporters who liked the word "nemesis".
Vannevar Bush Biography
Arguably, the whole concept of hypertext-as-technology really started back in the forties. The Bush Room is named after this guy. If you believe conspiracy theories, he's also a major player in the whole Roswell shebang.
As We May Think
Vannevar Bush's 1945 concept of an information system based on his experiences during WWII as Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development.
Starting Over
Ted Nelson's home page. It's, uh, not very browser-friendly, but he might argue that that is precisely the point.
Home Page of Ted Nelson
Apparently, another home page. Rather more useful links. Check out Project Xanadu for meatier...uh, stuff.
Ted Nelson and Xanadu
A look at Ted Nelson, his terminology and what Xanadu is and isn't. A much shorter, older version is available from W3C.
The Curse of Xanadu
Of course, Wired gave their painfully technicolor $0.02 on Nelson.
Hypertext about Hypertext
W3C definition of "Hypertext"
"Text which is not constrained to be linear." They don't have a definition for "linear".
Hypertext
Actually verified links from University of Colorado at Denver.
Hyperizons
A list of links compiled by a fellow at Duke thinking about Hypertext Fiction.
Links to Sites on Hypertext, Hypermedia and Learning
A slightly more teacher-friendly list-of-links, with some really enjoyable diversions that have very little to do with hypertext...
Glosses in Hypertext Studies
Links to various hypertext studies.
alt.hypertext
Internet Newsgroup dedicated to hypertext discussions
rec.arts.int-fiction
Internet Newsgroup dedicated to (digital) interactive fiction. Z-code is popular.
rec.games.int-fiction
Another Internet Newsgroup dedicated to (digital) interactive fiction. More for players than for authors.
Fiction
Student Story Sampler arranged by Genres
Really old student projects from this class, before 1999!
Victory Garden
By Stuart Moulthrop. 105 spaces, 500 links.
Michael Joyce
An annotated bibliography. Another prolific Eastgate author.
Little Leadings
Philip's contribution to sixteenth-century Lyon. Simple multithreaded fiction.
Nonfiction
E-Publishing and Hypertext Publishing
E-journal discussion of hypertext publishing several essays discussing the implications of hypertext on academic argument.
Jumping Off
Shadow of an informand-hypertextual hypertext theory by Stuart Moulthrop.
The Victorian Web and Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature
Hypertextual approaches to the aggregation of genre narrative by George Landows.
Animations
Mind Control
A project from 2000, a different spin on hypertext. By Jordan Alperin.
Duck Pond
It's like being right there.
Authoring Tools
The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
Comprehensive cheatsheet of HTML commands.
Template
Assassin game writing tools in LaTeX and Perl.
Study Materials
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What is HTML? What are HTML files?
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How do I learn HTML?
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How do I make kickass web pages?
What is HTML? What are HTML files?
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML comprises of a number of commands that you can use to annotate your text. When viewed through a web browser, those ugly commands will not appear on screen. Instead, the commands will affect the appearance of your text. HTML files are simply text files with HTML annotations added to them.
For example, say you have a line of text:
It was a dark and stormy night.
This is how we boldface the text with HTML:
<b>It was a dark and stormy night.</b>
When viewed through a web browser, it looks like this:
It was a dark and stormy night.
Not too difficult, eh? In HTML, we call those annotations tags. You can create HTML pages in any text editor, from Microsoft® Word to Windows® Notepad. I have cooked up quick-and-dirty pages in Apple's Stickies, just like the one above. Just remember to save your files with a '.html' at the end. ('.htm' sometimes works, but it helps to be consistent)
How do I learn HTML?
Unfortunately, teaching all the nuts and bolts of HTML is beyond the scope of this class. As Ed keeps repeating, "this isn't a how-to class". However, there are some excellent primers on HTML on the web, which you should examine carefully if you want to write HTML pages for your first project.
There are many, many more on the web. Find one that's easy to read and take time to work through their tutorials and examples before starting on your own page designs.
How do I make Kickass Web Pages?
You don't really have to pull all sorts of weird HTML/Java®/cgi-bin tricks to do well in this class. Concentrate on your writing style and your ideas, rather than trying to master HTML in two weeks. A simple page with well-chosen words and sentences is much more desirable than a pretty page with little content. This applies to most web publishing, but is particularly relevant in this class. Plus, a simple web page is more likely to look consistent over many different computers and browsers, which makes presenting your page much easier.
Of course, if you're already well-versed in all sorts of web tricks and would like to use them to tell stories in a radically different way, be our guest. And by all means, put thought into the layout of your text and images. But don't obsess over the technology at the expense of your story.
The Bare Bones Guide to HTML has saved my hide over and over again. Keep it by your side when you're starting your HTML coding session.
Related Resources
Philip's Links
Genres of hypertext
Past student projects from this class. Have a look, form your opinions, note how many ways you can present a story in hypertext.
The Fray
Interaction via the sharing of personal accounts. Note how the design of the site emphasizes the wealth of responses.
Little Leadings
Woodcut visual style and typefaces connect with textual story. Subtle visual cues to indicate progress of story and characters.
Rania Khalaf - Bubbles
Colloquial writing and visual cues reinforce different personalities. Very strong characterization in the writing.
Student Selections
The Brunching Shuttlecocks
Look at the 'Good or Bad?' page. Shared opinions over miscellaneous topics.
The Marathon Story site
An academic exercise in dissecting the plot of a computer game. Note the cross-genre literary references and how they affect the interpretation of the story.
Assassin: Kill Celebrities
User-controlled pacing of animated narratives. Basic interaction implicates user in 'authorizing' the 'assassinations'.
No Soup, Just Matzo Balls
Linear story with segmentation by linking and formatting. Occasional side branches loop back to the main narrative. Characterization in writing.
CNN.com
Growing, segmented stories over time. Back-threads of stories lead to related and highly different stories.
Satmundi
Animated graphical expression of emotions. Use of atmospheric sound.
Slashdot
Rapidly aggregative commentary on stories, with collaborative rating system that determines introductory stories.
Ebay
Descriptions reveal stories of items being auctioned.
The Illuminatus Trilogy
Original material refers to wealth of backstory, expanded and researched by readers in a number of formats.
Small Town USA
Game element adds narrative tension and time limit to multithreaded story. Dramatic conclusions.
Unamerican Activities stickers
Every sticker reveals a story when clicked. Users can contribute new slogans. A series of stickers reveals poetic consistency.
The Onion
Uses newspaper format to present (largely) humorous fiction. Also see What Do You Think with a seemingly recurrent series of characters.
Deuce of Clubs: 666 Cough Syrup
Ongoing episodic real-life saga with documentary evidence and photographs. Consistent tone.
Comedy Central
Parody perspectives on current affairs and trends.
Disney
Apparently there's an interactive story here somewhere, but we couldn't find it.