Week 5

Hi again everyone! For this week I will be answering the question “Is interactive fiction (such as Colossal Cave) a good way of telling a digital story? Why? How is it different from traditional storytelling or from other digital stories we’ve read so far?”

Well personally, I think interactive fiction is a great way of storytelling. I love being the one being able to make the choices of where the character or I will be going next. As for the online version however I did not like how there was no go back button or how you could not scroll back up to see what was previously said. Unlike a book where you could backtrack, on this version I found myself repeating the same words over and over because I could not remember what I had previously tried typing. I like how with interactive story telling it makes you think more. With this game in particular it made you think more about what was aorund you, but also how to interact with those objects in your own way.  Overall it was a good experience, reminding me of my childhood when I use to read the Goosebumps books where it let you choose your own path and then skip to whatever page number to follow the path you wanted to go down. It differs from what we have read so far because with normal books the path is already laid out, you don’t get to choose, only follow.

Week 4 Final Draft

Welcome back to my blog! This week I am comparing the two stories “Zombie Attack” and “The Dionaea House.” In this blog the subject I will be comparing is point of view. Point of view being the eyes we see the story though whether it be our own, or a character in the story. I chose to do these two stories for their similarities in posting styles. One is posted in short sentences over twitter while the other is similar although it just uses longer posts through email. Both of these stories use first person view. One is describing what it is like to survive years in a zombie apocalypse, all the things we encounter, and witness, the other describing the strange events that led up to a group of friend’s friend shooting two people and then himself in a restaurant when it was completely against his nature the previous years. With “Zombie Attack” I felt like if you read it backwards and forwards it would still make sense. In fact, half way though I did and noticed I thought that is still was readable. But with this blog, the short tweets, along with skipped days, makes for large gaps. It doesn’t go into very much detail. This increases the suspense and there is more confusion as to what is going on. Things are escalating and since there are these gaps, its harder for us to know exactly what is going on and why. It makes the reader work to make sense of it and also makes our imagination run wild as it tries to fill in those gaps. The ending is very short, and  it’s clear that things have degraded into utter cautious and everyone is just trying to survive with no conclusion whether they live or die or not. The story leaves us hanging. "All the kids are dead. Every man for himself!"
As for The Dionaea house “I know how you feel. It’s hard not to think of the times he sat next to us at the table, smiling like a fool, rolling dice and moving his pieces around the board.” “That’s Andrew in a nutshell yeah, at least that’s how I remember him. He got on my nerves sometimes, but damn if he didn’t love being part of the gang.” We find out how he had to house sit for a family member for a few days and came back different. “Was that the start of his madness? Or whatever it is that drove him to shoot up a diner? Were we there to see him first lose his grip? Jesus, Eric, why the hell didn’t we say anything?”  By using the first person narrative, the story grabs our attention by making it feel like we are actually the ones in the story witnessing/ seeing and feeling everything that is going on. It makes the story feel more personal.

https://twitter.com/zombieattack

Attack, Zombie. “Zombie Attack (@Zombieattack).” Twitter, Twitter, 30 May 2014, twitter.com/zombieattack.

http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dionaea_House

“The Dionaea House.” Creepypasta Wiki, creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dionaea_House.

Week 3 Blog

Hello again everyone. This week I chose to write about the visual story telling story “Tell a Story in 5 Frames; Gender Miscommunication.” They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. In this Flicker piece, we have 5 pictures which together, make for one simple, humorous situation. No words are needed. We see in the first of the series of photos a young couple sitting together in a setting that could be a movie theater. The photos focus on the young woman and her expressions. We notice in the background, another young couple, sitting close and obviously enjoying each other’s company. Our young woman watches them. She must wish that her boyfriend would also show this much attention. She hints that she is cold, hoping that her man might move closer and perhaps put his arms around her. He chivalrously removes his sweatshirt and gives it to her to keep warm. That is all he does. Her disappointed expression tells us all we need to know, while the couple in the background embrace in a kiss.

The center of attention on this series of photos is the young woman, whose expressions and actions, tell the story and we can easily imagine what is going on in her mind. The situation is funny, and one that most of us can relate to. That is the object of our affections, is often clueless. The comments which follow the pictures show just how much people can relate to the situation. One of the first comments says, “a good argument for the direct approach!”

As for the literary web of theorists and how it ties in with this story, I think the best way to describe this microblog would be conflict. In this blog we can tell there is a subtle conflict going on; the girl is looking for affection.

https://www.flickr.com/groups/visualstory/discuss/72157594311362023

Flickr, Yahoo!, 2 Feb. 2019, www.flickr.com/groups/visualstory/discuss/72157594311362023.

My MicroBlog

Hello everyone. For this week blog I have decided to write about the Creepy pasta Slenderman. Why do creepy pastas have such a following with today’s youth? What is there appeal?  I have to admit, that I too, have always been a fan of horror and scary things. But as far as creepy pastas go, why is Slender man so iconic out of all the stories out there? This particular Slenderman story is very short compared to a lot on the website. Maybe what makes this story so creepy is because it is so normal for anyone to feel safe in the comfort of their own home. But we all know that feeling of being watched or a presence of something being there. The setting also sets the mood for this story, especially when things get intense, like when Lindsay is trying to escape from Slender man who is behind her front door trying to get in. “She shoved herself away from the door with the hand still pressed against it. The scalding mug of coffee fell, the liquid burning her bare legs as she fell backwards and tried to crawl away from the door. She knew, somehow, that her mind hadn’t been playing tricks on her.” Self-doubt also plays a factor in everyone especially young people. This is why I think Slenderman is powerful in its appeal to young people.


“Slenderman.” Creepypasta, 9 Oct. 2018, www.creepypasta.com/slenderman/.
http://www.creepypasta.com/slenderman/

About Me

Hello Everyone, my name is Tara Conrad. I am a 19 year old girl with no siblings, but I have 2 cats and a gecko to keep me company. The cats are rescued from the Humane Society, I have had them both for almost 10 years now. Their names are Stormy and Electra. I am a big lover of animals and often pet sit for people. In addition to watching people's dogs and cats, I have also taken care of exotic birds, sugar gliders, and even chickens.

I am a native New Mexican. I am also a full time CNM student, looking for a part time job.  During this time I am currently studying Digital Media. I plan on doing something revolving around CGI and special effects or 3D animation. I am currently self teaching myself 3D animation through software called Blender. In the future I am going to hopefully build a good desktop which high rendering/processing power so I can do more animations quickly with less rendering time. One day I might want to work at Netflix or eventually my dream job would be working for Pixar or Disney. Using digital storytelling would come in handy and also interests me because I like to write my own stories and make my own artwork. If I eventually get a job in digital media this would eventually come in handy for me. My favorite media for digital story telling is definitely online comics and video games.

A little bit more about me is I spend a lot of my time doing volunteer work at places like the Natural History Museum where I help out in the Naturalist Center and the education collection. For the past year, I have helped a lot at Storehouse West, which is a food pantry. I spend probably around 22 hours a week helping people less fortunate than me. It has been a great experience. 

Another cool thing about me that even though I am a shy and introverted, I usually surprise those around me is that I like heavy metal music. I could be considered an intense metal head. I love all kinds of metal, preferably heavy metal, black metal, speed metal, and death metal. It is strictly all I listen to. My favorite bands include Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Steelwing, Ram, White Wizzard, and Carach Angren. If anyone reading this is as into metal and NWOTHM (new wave of traditional heavy metal) as me, feel free to start up a conversation! This is how I connect with people and would love to talk!

Anyways, I hope you all have a good semester, good luck!