Off Center
By Off Center, a Podcast from the Center For Digital Narrative
Off CenterJul 31, 2023
Episode 10: Immersive Storytelling in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality with Caitlin Fisher
In this episode, Scott Rettberg is joined by immersive storyteller Caitlin Fisher, director of York University's Immersive Storytelling Lab. They discuss topics such as augmented and virtual reality, electronic literature, future cinema, and emerging technology.
References
Eastgate Systems. 1987. Storyspace. http://www.eastgate.com/storyspace/.
Fisher, C. 2001. These Waves of Girls. Web. https://www.yorku.ca/caitlin/waves/
Arellano, R. 1996. Sunshine ’69. [Hypertext]. Web. SonicNet. https://bobbyrabyd.github.io/Sunshine69/noflash.html.
Humphrey, A., Fisher, C., Hoffman, S. J., & Ulit-Destajo, L. 2021. Shadowpox: The Antibody Politic. [Motion-tracked interactive projections]. At the Immune Nations exhibition at McMaster Museum of Art.
Hoffman, S. J. & Fisher, C. 2023. Mobilizing the arts for global health: a virtual museum of antimicrobial resistance. [VR museum].
Episode 9: Hypertext as Technology and Literature with Robert Arellano
In this episode, Scott Rettberg is joined by novelist and professor of Emerging Media and Digital Art at Southern Oregon University, Robert Arellano. They discuss the history of hypertext and Robert’s breakthrough hypertext novel.
References
Coover, Robert. 1992. “The end of Books”. Essay. New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/27/specials/coover-end.html.
Coover, Robert. 2023. Open House. OR Books.
Coover, Robert. 1993. “Hyperfiction: Novels for the Computer”. Essay. New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/27/specials/coover-hyperfiction.html?_r=4.
Gillespie, W., Rettberg, S., Stratton, D., & Marquadt, F. 1999. The Unknown. [Hypertext fiction]. Web. http://unknownhypertext.com/.
ELMCIP. n. d. “TP21CL” https://elmcip.net/event/technology-platforms-21st-century-literature.
Arellano, R. 1996. Sunshine ’69. [Hypertext]. Web. SonicNet. https://bobbyrabyd.github.io/Sunshine69/noflash.html.
Eastgate Systems. 1987. Storyspace. http://www.eastgate.com/storyspace/.
Klimas, C. 2009. Twine. https://twinery.org/.
Jackson, S. 1995. Patchwork Girl. [Hypertext]. Eastgate Systems.
Arellano, R. 2001. Fast Eddie: King of the Bees. Akashic Books.
Arellano, R. 2009. Havana Lunar. Akashic Books.
Rettberg, S. 2018. Electronic literature. John Wiley & Sons.
Coover, R. 1992. Hypertext Hotel. [Hypertext]. MOO.
Landow, G. P. 1992. Hypertext: The convergence of contemporary critical theory and technology. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Episode 8: Fanfiction as a Form of Digital Narrativity with Flourish Klink
In this episode, Scott Rettberg is joined by Flourish Klink, one of the ‘Fansplaining’ podcast hosts to discuss the world of fandoms and the creation of fanfiction about books, movies, shows, and celebrities. References
Klink, F., & Minkel, E. 2015-. Fansplaining. Podcast. https://www.fansplaining.com/episodes.
Rowling, J. K. 1998. Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Jenkins, H. 2006. Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York University Press.
Jenkins, H. 1992. Textual Poachers. Routledge.
Andem, J. 2015-2017. Skam. NRK.
Lucas, G. 1999. Star Wars: Episode I: The phantom menace. 20th Century Fox.
Kripke, E. 2005-2020. Supernatural. Warner Bros. Television.
Crane, D, & Kauffman, M. 1994-2004. Friends. Warner Bros. Television.
Frank Baum, L. 1990. The wonderful wizard of Oz. George M. Hill Company.
Doyle, A. C. 1888. A study in Scarlet. Ward Lock & Co.
Richardson, S. 1740. Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. Messrs Rivington & Osborn.
Fielding, H. 1741. An apology for the life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews. A. Dodd.
Shazeer, N., & De Freitas, D. 2022. Character.ai. https://beta.character.ai/.
Finger, B. 1939. Detective Comics 27. DC Comics.
Huffman, S., Swartz, A., & Ohanian, A. 2005. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/.
Lau, A., & Yuen, I. 2006. Wattpad. https://www.wattpad.com/.
Google LLC. 2005. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/.
ByteDance. 2016. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/en/.
James, E.L. 2011. Fifty shades of Grey. Vintage Books.
Gabaldon, D. 1991. Outlander. Delacorte Books.
Newman, S., Webber, C. E., & Wilson, D. 1963-1989. Doctor Who. BBC Studios.
Brontë, C. 1847. Jane Eyre. Smith, Elder & Co.
Roddenberry, G. 1966-1969. Star Trek: The Original Series. Paramount Television.
Carter, C. 1993-. The X-Files. FOX.
Episode 7: Computational Narrative Systems and Platform Studies with Nick Montfort
Scott Rettberg is this time joined by Center for Digital Narrative PI Nick Montfort. Together they dive into topics such as computational narrative systems, platform studies, and interactive fiction.
References
Infocom. 1977. Zork. Personal Software. PDP-10 mainframe computer. https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/game/infocom/zork1/.
Infocom. 1982. Deadline. Interactive fiction detective video game. Various platforms.
Infocom. 1984. The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. Interactive fiction video game. Various platforms.
Infocom. 1987. Bureaucracy. Interactive fiction video game. Various platforms.
Montfort, N. 1999. Winchester's Nightmare: A Novel Machine. Interactive fiction. Web edition: https://nickm.com/if/parchment/index.html?story=stories/winchest.z8.js.
Montfort, N. 2005. Twisty Little Passages: An approach to interactive fiction. MIT Press.
Montfort, N. 2006. Ad Verbum. Interactive fiction. Web edition: https://nickm.com/if/parchment/index.html?story=stories/adverbum.z5.js.
Wardrip-Fruin, N., & Montfort, N. 2003. The New Media Reader. MIT Press.
Hayles, K., Montfort, N., Rettberg, S., & Strickland, S. 2006. Electronic Literature Collection: Volume 1. https://collection.eliterature.org/1/.
Montfort, N., & Bogost, I. 2020. Racing the Beam: The Atari video computer system. MIT Press.
Rowberry, S. P. 2022. Four Shades of Gray: The Amazon Kindle platform. MIT Press.
Chandler, O., & Chandler, E. K. 2006. Goodreads. Social network site. https://www.goodreads.com/.
Custodio, A. 2020. Who are you? Nintendo's Game Boy advance platform. MIT Press.
Montfort, N. 2023. “Why I Am Not an Algorist.” In Poème Objkt Sbjkt, Paris: Librairie Galerie Métamorphoses, pp. 126–131.
Montfort, N. 2008. ppg256. (Perl Poetry Generator in 256 characters) series. https://collection.eliterature.org/2/works/montfort_ppg256/ppg256.html.
Stephens, P. 2015. The Poetics of Information Overload: From Gertrude Stein to Conceptual Writing. University of Minnesota Press.
Stephens, P. 2020. Absence of cCutter: Minimal Writing as Art and lLterature. MIT Press.
University of Bergen. n. d. “Center for Digital Narrative.” https://www.uib.no/en/cdn.
OpenAI. 2023. ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Meehan, J. 1976. Tale-Spin. A program that writes simple stories.
Episode 6: Gendered AI and Editorial Labour in Digital Culture with Lai-Tze Fan
In this episode of ‘Off Center’ Scott Rettberg is joined by Lai-Tze Fan to discuss gendered AI voice assistance, editorial labour, and her online collaborative works.
References
Urban One. 1997. “AsianAvenue”. (Currently redirected to https://blackplanet.com/)
America Online. 1996. “ICQ”. https://icq.com/.
Microsoft. 1995. “MSN”. https://www.msn.com/.
The Digital Review. 2022. “The Digital Review, issue 01.” https://thedigitalreview.com/.
Electronic Book Review. n. d. “Electronic Book Review.” https://electronicbookreview.com/.
Unity Technologies. 2005. “Unity.” https://unity.com/.
Fan, Lai-Tze. 2023. Reverse engineering the gendered design of Amazon’s Alexa: Methods in testing closed-source code in grey and black box systems. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 17(2). https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7271-2160.
ELMCIP. n. d. “Electronic Literature Knowledge Base.” https://elmcip.net/.
OpenAI. 2023. ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Episode 5: AI, Computational Creativity, and Media Production with Drew Keller
Scott Rettberg is back with a new episode of the podcast Off Center. This time he is joined by Drew Keller to discuss computational creativity and storytelling in media production.
References
Keller, Drew. 2023. Computational Creativity in Media Production: At the Crossroad of Progress and Peril. [Master’s Thesis] . Download: https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/handle/11250/3071882
Freedgood, Elaine. 2003. "Fine Fingers: Victorian Handmade Lace and Utopian Consumption." Victorian Studies (Indiana University Press) 45 (4): 625-647. Accessed November 14, 2022. http://www.jstor.com/stable/3829530.
Microsoft. 2016. PowerPoint. macOS and Windows.
Adobe Inc. 2023. Photoshop. macOS and Windows.
OpenAI. 2023. ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
+ Announcing the More Than Meets AI exhibition at UC Berkeley's Worth Ryder Gallery
Curated by Jill Miller, Eamon O’Kane, and Scott Rettberg, “More Than Meets AI'' explores artificial intelligence and its role in creativity, narrative, and artistic innovation. This exhibition critically engages with AI by highlighting its new creative possibilities for the arts and literature while also recognizing its significant consequences to our culture and society, reflecting on contemporary AI art’s place in relation to historical work in electronic literature.
Artists in the exhibition:
Mez Breeze, Edgar Fabian Frias, Micol Hebron, Carl Hugo Hernqvist, David Jhave Johnston, Asma Kazmi, Alison Knowles, Alinta Krauth, Koirus (Linda Kronman and Andreas Zingerle), Patrick Lichty, Theo Lutz, Talan Memmott, Avital Meshi, Jill Miller, Nick Montfort, Jason Nelson, Eamon O'Kane, Mario de la Ossa, Sonja Rappaport, Scott Rettberg, Mario Santamaria, Alex Saum, Sasha Stiles, and Victor H. Yngve
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 10th, 2023. 5pm - 7pm. Worth Ryder Art Gallery (AAPB 116)
Exhibit Run: October 2nd - October 15, 2023
M, T, TH, F: 12pm - 5pm. W: 1pm - 7pm. Sat: 12pm - 3pm. Closed Sundays.
UC Berkeley, Anthropology + Art Practice Building, Rm 116 (First Floor)
Episode 4: Meme Culture, Social Media, and the January 6th Insurrection with Ashleigh Steele
In this episode of ‘Off Center’ Scott Rettberg and journalist and digital culture researcher Ashleigh Steele discuss the impact of memes as "preparatory media" for the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol.
References
Steele, Ashleigh. 2023. Free speech platforms and the impact of the U.S. insurrection: Misinformation in memes. [Master’s Thesis].
Petras, George., Loehrke, Janet., Padilla, Ramon., Zarrachina, Javier & Borresen, Jennifer. January 7, 2021. “Timeline: How the storming of the U.S. Capitol unfolded on Jan. 6.” USA Today News. https://eu.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/01/06/dc-protests-capitol-riot-trump-supporters-electoral-college-stolen-election/6568305002/.
Trump Media & Technology Group. “Truth Social.” Version 2022. Truthsocial.com. https://truthsocial.com/.
Torba, Andrew. “Gab.” Version 2019. https://gab.com/.
OpenAI. 2023. ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Barthes, Roland, Annette Lavers, and Colin Smith. 1968. Elements of Semiology / Roland Barthes; Translated from the French by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith. Translated by Annette Lavers and Colin Smith. 1st American edition. New York: Hill and Wang.
Munn, Luke. 2021. “More Than a Mob: Parler as Preparatory Media for the U.S. Capitol Storming”. First Monday, 26(3). DOI:10.5210/fm.v26i3.11574.
Episode 3: Artistic Research and Digital Writing, with Jason Nelson
In this episode of Off Center, Scott Rettberg and Jason Nelson come together to talk about digital art and poetry, art games, and the bridge to researching Extended Digital Narratives.
References
Burning Deck. n. d. “Burning Deck Press.” https://burningdeck.com/.
ACM SIGGRAPH. n. d. “ACM SIGGRAPH.” https://www.siggraph.org/.
Electronic Literature Organization. n. d. “Electronic Literature Organization.” https://eliterature.org/.
Nelson, Jason. 2007. Game, Game, Game and Again Game. Web.
Brevik, David. 1997. Diablo. Blizzard Entertainment. Microsoft Windows.
Nelson, Jason. 2010. i made this. you play this. we are enemies. Web.
Gertrude Street Projection Festival. n. d. “GS.PF.” https://www.gspf.com.au/.
OpenAI. 2022. Dall∙E 2. https://openai.com/dall-e-2.
Leishman, Donna. 2005. Deviant. https://tohavetohold.uk/deviant.
Barthes, Roland. 1957. Mythologies. Les Lettres nouvelles.
Episode 2: The Electronic Book Review and Building the Field of Electronic Literature, with Joseph Tabbi
In this episode, Scott Rettberg is joined by Joseph Tabbi, professor of English at the University of Bergen to discuss the electronic book review, research infrastructure, and electronic literature.
References
Tabbi, Joseph. 2015. Nobody Grew but the Business: On the Life and Work of William Gaddis. Northwestern University Press.
Electronic Book Review. n. d. “Electronic Book Review.” https://electronicbookreview.com/.
Electronic Literature Organisation. n. d. “Electronic Literature Organisation”. https://eliterature.org/.
Eskelinen, Markku. 2001. Towards computer game studies, Digital Creativity, 12(3), 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1076/digc.12.3.175.3232.
Fiction Collective 2. n. d. “Fiction Collective 2.” https://fc2.org/.
Tabbi, Joseph. 2020. Post-Digital: Dialogues and Debates from electronic book review. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Burdick, Anne & Drucker, Johanna & Lunenfeld, Peter & Presner, Todd & Schnapp, Jeffrey. 2012. Digital Humanities. DIO: 10.7551/mitpress/9248.001.0001.
NT2. n. d. “NT2 Répertoire Des Arts et Littératures Hypermédiatiques.” https://nt2.uqam.ca/en/search/site.
Braidotti, R., & Hlavajova, M. 2018. Posthuman glossary. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Braidotti, R., Jones, E., & Klumbyte, G. 2022. More posthuman glossary. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Episode 1: Introducing the Center for Digital Narrative, with Jill Walker Rettberg
In this first episode of the podcast, Scott Rettberg is joined by his co-director and partner Jill Walker Rettberg. They talk about what has inspired them over the years to start this research Center of Excellence, the concept of "algorithmic narrativity," and some of the research that the Center will focus on including digital narratives in electronic literature, computer games, social media, computational narrative systems, AI, XR and more.
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References
University of Bergen. n. d. “Center for Digital Narrative.” https://www.uib.no/en/cdn.
Infocom. 1977. Zork. Personal Software. PDP-10 mainframe computer. https://www.pcjs.org/software/pcx86/game/infocom/zork1/.
Gillespie, W., Rettberg, S., Stratton, D., & Marquadt, F. 1999. The Unknown [Hypertext fiction]. Web. http://unknownhypertext.com/.
ELMCIP. n. d. “Electronic Literature Knowledge Base.” https://elmcip.net/.
Strachey, Christopher. 1952. M.U.C. Love Letter Generator. HTML.
ELMCIP. n. d. “Digital Arts and Culture 1998 Conference.” https://elmcip.net/event/digital-arts-and-culture-1998-conference.
Kittler, Friedrich, Dorothea von Mücke, and Philippe L. Similon. 1987. “Gramophone, Film, Typewriter.” October 41: 101–18. https://doi.org/10.2307/778332.
Jhave Johnston, David. 2019. ReRites. Anteism Books, Montreal. http://glia.ca/rerites/.
Wittig, Rob. 2022. Netprov: Networked Improvised Literature for the Classroom and Beyond. Amherst College Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.12387128.
University of Bergen. n. d. “Machine Vision.” https://www.uib.no/en/machinevision.