Did you know that Hypertext is a theory? Neither did I before this week’s lesson! Hypertext is a theory that was implemented by HTML (which we’ve learned about in the previous weeks) and was first defined in the 1960’s by Ted Nelson.

Hypertext is characterized by the non-linear reading experience it provides to the World Wide Web. It was described by Nelson and a guy named Bush to be a system that would allow for optimal web surfing without the information overload that can inhibit web users. Nelson also created the term “links” for hypertexts, which names the course of clicking on a word in a text and being taken to a different text. A key function of hypertext is exploration and going off on tangents. Kind of like when you are on Instagram, and you click on someone’s page, and then that leads to you finding someone else’s page. Then, you watch their story, and you see that the person added a link to the sweater they are wearing (which you are in love with!), so you click to see where they got it. Then, that leads to an online shopping spiral that never ends. This has happened many a time in my experience.

In order to demonstrate the concept of hypertext, we got to play an interactive game. I chose to play Depression Quest, an interactive (non)fiction about living with depression. I thought it would be interesting, and I was not disappointed. I thought it was thought-provoking, saddening, and was an accurate depiction of what living with depression is like. If someone who has never been through depression were to play this game, they would have a much greater understanding of the illness. I also like that the ending is unclear, and the story never really ends, leaving the realm of outcomes open to the player.

The game was a fantastic example of how hypertext works. While playing, the player is confronted with various situations to which they must react to. The player is given a few hypertexts or links with different actions which will change the course of the game. This takes the player down a rabbit-hole of new information and scenarios, much like how hypertext functions in a nongaming setting. This game aligns greatly with the original idea behind hypertext– exploration.

Hypertext also creates great artistic potential. Experimental writers of the 1990’s used this method of distracted reading to change how they wrote novels. Michael Joyce created the first hypertext novel, afternoon: a story. The story changes every time the reader reads the story, and it commentates on the nature of memory. There are many hypertexts novels that exist today.

I’m excited to further explore Twine, a program that creates interactive games and fictions. I am interested to see how Twine will spark some ideas for my final project.