The document discusses using reader choices in electronic literature as a way to analyze stories and literature. It presents examples of moral choice scenarios from interactive fiction that require readers to make decisions that could impact the narrative. The document suggests that analyzing reader choices and branching consequences could provide insights for psychology, design, and literary essay writing. It also discusses developing tools to test reader responses through an e-reader software package.

1. Web Art Science Camp London 2010
in Interactive Fiction
Moral Choice
J. Nathan Matias

2. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
How can I and my students
write essays about Electronic Literature?

3. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
How can I and my students
write essays about Electronic Literature?
with full respect for:
World Literature
Literary Form

4. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
What we look for
in Literary Essays
“Agamemnon”
a case study

5. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1.Zeus gives good omens
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)

6. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1.Zeus gives good omens
2.The ships are stuck
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)

7. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1.Zeus gives good omens
2.The ships are stuck
3.A sacrifice is required
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)

8. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1.Zeus gives good omens
2.The ships are stuck
3.A sacrifice is required
4.Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)

9. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
what is necessity?
who is responsible
in a democracy?
what are the merits
of sacrifices?
does the will of
the gods bring
sorrow?
if innocent people are
harmed in the cause of
justice, is that okay?
if your values and
principles dictate
violence, are you
free of blame?
how long can victors
write the history?
how much should
we sacrifice
family interests
for the state?

10. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay

11. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”

12. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual

13. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters

14. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look

15. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look
•Agamemnon’s
resolve

16. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look
•Agamemnon’s
resolve
•Citizen viewpoint

17. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look
•Agamemnon’s
resolve
•Citizen viewpoint
Staging
sacrifice
re-enacted

18. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look
•Agamemnon’s
resolve
•Citizen viewpoint
Staging
sacrifice
re-enacted
Culture & Tradition
Athenian Empire &
Dionysian Festival

19. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
Literary Essay
Words:
“necessity”
Rhythm/Music
sacrifice ritual
Characters
•Iphegeneia’s
pleading look
•Agamemnon’s
resolve
•Citizen viewpoint
Staging
sacrifice
re-enacted
Culture & Tradition
Athenian Empire &
Dionysian Festival
Scholarly
traditions

20. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
1. Zeus gives good omens
2. The ships are stuck
3. A sacrifice is required
4. Agamemnon “put on the yoke
of necessity” and sacrifices
his daughter
Chorus of
citizens
“Agamemnon”
(Aeschylus)
apply insights to
contemporary ethics
(Nussbaum)
re-stage to
make a point
(Anouihl) (Fugard)
argue the value
of technique
(Oliver Taplin)
identify good
ideas & design
(Bernstein)
become more
skilled at evaluating
our own world
assemble
cultural history
Literary Essay
be inspired to
understand
through creativity (Wagner)

21. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Athenian Innovations
3 characters stage machinery
the trilogy onstage action
the cliffhanger the NPC
silence

22. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Athenian Innovations
3 characters
democracy with victims
stage machinery
the importance of public
opinion in murder vs justice
the trilogy
generational ethics
onstage re-enaction
memory & public sympathies
the cliffhanger
problematising success
the NPC
human powerlessness
toward gods and generals
silence
resentment & hypocrisy

23. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Athenian Innovations
3 characters
democracy with victims
stage machinery
the importance of public
opinion in murder vs justice
the trilogy
generational ethics
onstage re-enaction
memory & public sympathies
the cliffhanger
problematising closure
the NPC
human powerlessness
toward gods and generals
silence
unspoken resentment
what they
“represent” with
literary form
we don’t primarily
examine
we focus on
what study
reveals from
what they
present

24. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature

25. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature
Literary Essays

26. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature
Literary Essays Psychology

27. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature
Literary Essays Psychology Design

28. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature
Literary Essays Psychology Design
?

29. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Moral Choice
in Electronic Literature
Literary Essays Psychology Design
literary
choice

30. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Electronic Literature invites
Reader Actions
Could we analyse reader choice
for insight on the stories themselves,
and literature in general?

31. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You are negotiating with a powerful but
determined terrorist who is about to set off a
bomb in a crowded area… To stop him, you must
contact him...and, in front of the camera, break one
of his son’s arms and threaten to break the other
one if he does not give himself up.

32. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You are negotiating with a powerful but
determined terrorist who is about to set off a
bomb in a crowded area… To stop him, you must
contact him...and, in front of the camera, break one
of his son’s arms and threaten to break the other
one if he does not give himself up.
Should you break the terrorist son’s arm?
(Harvard Moral Sense Test)

33. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in

34. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in

35. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You have always treated your pixie, Amalia, very well, and until
today, you've never cut her wings [....]

36. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You have always treated your pixie, Amalia, very well, and until
today, you've never cut her wings [....]You approach the pixie.
She cowers in fear, her hands held up to you in a begging
motion.

37. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You have always treated your pixie, Amalia, very well, and until
today, you've never cut her wings [....]You approach the pixie.
She cowers in fear, her hands held up to you in a begging
motion.
1) "No, I cannot harm such an innocent creature!"
2) (Proceed) "I'm sorry pixie. I'll try to make amends to you
when this whole crisis is over."
3) (Proceed in silence)
>> _

38. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
You have always treated your pixie, Amalia, very well, and until
today, you've never cut her wings [....]You approach the pixie.
She cowers in fear, her hands held up to you in a begging
motion.
1) "No, I cannot harm such an innocent creature!"
2) (Proceed) "I'm sorry pixie. I'll try to make amends to you
when this whole crisis is over."
3) (Proceed in silence)
>> _
(Gijsbers IN 52-55)

39. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Literary choice is a single reader action forced
by a text which has implied that this action wi!
affect a situation narrated by the text.

40. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Useful for
psych, design
& literary
essays!
Literary choice is a single reader action forced
by a text which has implied that this action wi!
affect a situation narrated by the text.

41. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
consequences implied
the choice
branching
consequences

42. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
consequences implied
the choice
branching
consequences
Literary Choice

43. moral
choice interactive fiction J. Nathan Matias
Web Art Science Camp
London 2010
in
Rerun the Moral
Sense Test
Write Criticism of
Electronic Literature
An e-reader software
package for testing
literary response
Future Directions