Reconstruction / How It Started
Published originally on a 3.5-inch floppy disk for Macintosh computers and then later for computers running the Windows operating system, Victory Garden was later updated to the CD-ROM format for Macintosh computers in 2002. It remained accessible to the public until 2007. The novel's popularity, however, did not diminish during the time it was not available. In fact, 11 monographs that referenced the work were published between 2001 and 2020 (Grigar, 2020). Reconstruction of the new edition began two years later when Moulthrop approached Dene Grigar about providing support for an archival web version of the work for contemporary audiences. Using Tinderbox, Moulthrop was able to export the files into HTML, which allowed him—with the help of two members of Grigar’s lab, Andrew Thompson and Arlo Ptolemy—to re-envision Victory Garden’s structure and reading experience and thus bring this important pioneering hypertext novel back in the public domain.
Expanding the Original Creative Vision
With its 993 lexias and 2804 links connecting them Victory Garden remains one of the most complex hypertext novels published by Eastgate Systems, Inc. It also offered a menu of preordered paths and a map of the "Victory Garden" that functioned differently from the cognitive maps representing the hypertextual structure of other hypertext novels of the period.
To retain the structural integrity of the narrative, the Victory Garden 2022 streamlines the navigation that originally involved five functions found on the Storyspace toolbar to movement along paths and streams via a pervasive menu located on the interface. Responsive design makes it easily accessible on all computing devices.
New UI and Functions
Victory Garden 2022 includes an original graphical interface created by Andrew Thompson and Holly Slocum, coordinated with JavaScript code by the author. Using a design that echoes the visual schemes of hypertext programs, the interface presents options for readers who want to make their way through the text without clicking on linked words. These include controls for forward and backward movement through default sequences called PATHS and STREAMS. Paths, which occurred in somewhat different form in the original, offer curated tours through the work. Streams, added in this version, connect coherent vignettes and episodes that make up the bones of the story. The interface contains links to pages listing all available Paths and Streams. The main pages of the work include a heading that indicates the Path and Stream to which the current page belongs, and whether the reader reached the page via one or the other.
Fun Facts / Statistics
52
Includes 52 curated Paths through the work, including one consisting entirely of endings and another that runs through the story backward.
43
Adds 43 Streams that allow undistracted reading of the work’s basic episodes, vignettes, and routines.
995
Expands to a third larger in both passages and hyptertext links: The original Victory Garden had 995 passages of writing (lexias, spaces) and 2803 hypertext links.
31
Is now almost as old as its author was when the classic version was written.
Victory Garden 2022 at The Stuart Moulthrop Collection at The NEXT
Victory Garden 2022 joins the other works by Stuart Moulthrop held at The NEXT in The Stuart Moulthrop Collection. The NEXT is a virtual museum, library, and preservation space that showcases born-digital literature, art, and games collected by the Electronic Literature Organization and managed by the Electronic Literature Lab at Washington State University Vancouver.
