Blog Post #9: Interface & E-Lit
First, to define, the interface is the mediating object – or
perhaps a better descriptor in the case of computers, a between-reality. The
two examples presented use interfaces on the web and standard personal computer
activities like clicking on buttons. They have limited UX diversity. They are
narratively structured, but both with some user agency; both in different ways.
Shelley Jackson’s site focuses on the experience of the user
of the relevant experiences with any part of the author’s body they are curious
about – they are not limited to a track and can choose to look at any number of
stories any number of times and they will not change. DepressionQuest is
still free-choice but there are limited choices and the whole thing is supposed
to feel like a prescribed experience - it is trying to simulate depression for
the user. I think that the multimodal interface of pictures, music, and believable
details does a good job here to immerse the user. On Jackson’s website, the
accessibility couldn’t be simpler. The illustrations enhance the text and are out
of the way of the site navigation. Like I said before, the content of the
websites requires little diversity of experience to achieve its goals, so the
diversity of presentation or amount of supplemental material is such that the UI
should naturally be uncluttered and intuitive.
As far as how they fit into a genre of e-literature, they
are both stories: one conceived and the other presumably true, they tell the story
through text but also illustrations, like in printed books; they are also both
interactive outside of flipping through pages or text. This last point is a big
differentiator of e-lit and canonical print because e-lit can be interactive
in ways that print cannot be, giving the user a different experience.
This matter of interface is paramount for authors because you
affect how the user wants to engage with your content after experiencing it. I
will consider the attention span of the user, what deserves its own web page, navigation,
of course, and how exactly to organize it based on importance of content.
I think having a well-structured interface helps to encourage interactivity with a website. "My Body, a Wunderkammer" by Shelley Jackson and "Depression Quest" by Zoe Quinn were really interesting to look at. They both fit into the genre of e-lit because they employ text and pictures as well as being interactive. They use multimedia such as audio. I have not fully decided what interface I want to use for my project. I would go with Weebly since I am already using it for another class but I also want to try a new web platform. I would also prioritize accessibility and usability, ensuring that my project is intuitive and easy to navigate.
ReplyDeleteI love how you emphasized the fact that interfaces should be "uncluttered and intuitive" as that is important with the interaction of the user with the website. It would not be optimal if the interface was chaotic and unorganized as the user would not be able to easily navigate the website, decreasing the number of viewers. I think the implementation of interface with authors is beneficial to the world of literature as it allows the users to interact directly with the materials and learn more! I will most likely use Weebly as I have used it before and also reviewed it today in class. I find it easily navigable and simple to use for both me and my readers.
ReplyDeleteI think its really important that you mentioned the interest of users in relation to the interface of the website. I agree that different content calls for personalized layout and modes for user engagement. For example, the depression quest is meant to simulate a very specific user experience of depression, so free choice is an appropriate choice to prompt engagement. I plan on using Wix for my website design because I have heard that the user interface is relatively intuitive, and I am a beginner to website design.
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