Hello everyone,
After checking out “My Boyfriend Came Back From The War,” I am a little bit confused on the story it was trying to tell. At one point I got the impression that the partner cheated on their boyfriend while they were deployed. There is a line that says something along the lines of “He was my neighbor” and shortly afterwards, there is the line “Forgive me.” that as well as some other lines gives me this impression.
As for whether or not this can be considered a story, technically yes. It’s sort of like a puzzle that readers have to fit together, as the story is not laid out in a direct and linear fashion like most stories do. It sort of reminds me of how games like Bioshock and Prey (2017) can tell stories. In both those games, there are audio logs scattered around the game’s map that can be listened to in different orders. Players will often listen to logs of overarching stories out of order, forcing them to piece together what happened in some of these audio logs.
I am kept engaged by these hyperlink stories because of the way that they uniquely present information to readers. It is different than a traditional book or movie and it feels more interactive.
I was very disappointed that I did not learn how to rob a bank from the second story. Oh well. This story uses its navigation structure of simply pressing on the spacebar to transition you through a linear story, allowing you to read it at your own pace. The linear sequencing is clear.
– Gibson
Hey Gibson,
I hadn’t thought of the “he was my neighbor” and “forgive me” lines that way–that changes my perspective on the story! I personally liked that vagueness in the story, it gave me enough to leave me curious, but I can certainly see how that can be confusing.
It reminds me of video games too. In both it’s up to the audience to gather clues and piece the clues together to understand the story or lore. I often see this in horror games that involve the player finding notes left behind by previous victims of a monster that provide the story behind why the monster or killer is here.
Nathan