Gonzalo Frasca -
However, it is possible that this “noise”, understood
as misinterpretation, could be conceived by the
author not as a problem but rather as a goal on
itself. Again, it is important to keep in mind that this
“noise” is in the reading of the work, not in its
interpretation. This is what happens in Michael
Joyce’s hypertext Afternoon, a story. The text
implies a game structure: the reader wants to
discover what really happened to the protagonist
family, because they may have died in a car
accident. However, the text sabotages the reading
by promising a resolution but never offering it.
Afternoon, a story is a very unusual kind of ludus: it
has a rule of ludus, but the system does not allow
the player –reader- to achieve it. It is a riddle with
no solution, a game designed to deceive its
players. What makes Afternoon, a story very
original in videogame terms is that no game that
we know has ever tried to convey confusion not
through its contents but through its playing. Of
course it would be possible to create a videogame
based on the same structure – think of it as
Sisyphus’ game- but it would probably generate
rejection from the players, who are used to
consume products that do have an ending and can
be solved.