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<TITLE>Re: [iDC] story web</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Very interesting piece, thanks.<BR>
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One thing I wonder: the open development models seem to do a good job at incremental improvements (Apache: build a better http server, Wikipedia: build a better article, Firefox: build a better browser) but a rather less impressive job, qualitatively and subjectively speaking, on creative tasks (in my personal opinion, witness the almost universally subpar products of the fanfic community, or the sameness and derivative nature of user contributions to MMORPGs like Second Life creating a dull and predictable environment, or the rarity of artistic quality in fan-contributed electronica remix contests, or the preponderance of ‘me too’ open source code projects/forks compared to the smaller set of truly innovative or experimental OSS development projects)<BR>
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And to use another example, this time from film; so many Hollywood movies suffer not from a lack of contributors (look at the number of people in the credits, a number which has grown substantially over the years) but from a lack of overall coherency and creative narrative from script and direction, which are dependent on a very small number of creative people. And I’d have to say, having been lucky enough to work with creatives in music, arts, and advertising for years, that it’s a talent that few possess. Very, very few. And creativity, ultimately, is the key to success and appeal of narrative in any entertainment medium.<BR>
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So I like the egalitarian model of community-built narrative, and I certainly don’t want to be an aesthetic elitist, but I’d still guess that fostering creativity in these environments is not a technical/tools challenge; it’s the people. Please do prove me wrong, but I haven’t seen many examples of quality creative work emerging organically from large groups of participants.<BR>
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Eric<BR>
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On 7/3/06 2:31 AM, "Stallabrass, Julian" <Julian.Stallabrass@courtauld.ac.uk> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Garamond"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'>The Story Web<BR>
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I’ve been thinking about the issue of computer game narrative, which currently seems at odds with the interactive character of games, their prodigious technical achievements, and the freedoms granted the player in such realms as movement and tactics.<BR>
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