In this assignment you will be required to read/play and answer questions about a book from the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) series of “gamebooks.” The series was published 1979-1998. Many people assume that electronic literature (interactive fiction, hypertext, what-have-you) is simply a souped up version of CYOA. The purpose of this assignment is to take a closer look at that assumption based on what you know about the history and theory of cybertext.

Where do I get a CYOA book?

Though the series is out of print they are still widely available through second-hand bookstores or on the Web (sites like eBay). You should not have to pay more than a couple of dollars. Any title on the following list is acceptable: http://www.gamebooks.org/cyoalist.htm. Copy-cat products (Which Way Books, etc.) are also fine, though you may want to check with me first.

In addition, I will keep a box of CYOAs in my office. There are about 15 of them, and you’re welcome to borrow one. However, I clearly don’t have enough for everyone in the whole class to borrow at the same time. Here’s how this will work then: you may borrow a book for one week only; you will sign it out; you must return it to me a week from the day you sign it out; and: my not having a CYOA on hand to loan you will not be an excuse for your not handing in the assignment by the final deadline—in other words, if you borrow from me you do so at your own risk—the risk that a CYOA might not be available for you when you want (or need) to complete the assignment.

When’s it due?

Appropriately, this assignment lets you choose your own deadline. You may give it to me any time up until the beginning of Week 14 of the course (that is, the last day to hand it in is Wednesday, April 21. It will not be accepted after that. I strongly urge you to take advantage of the flexible deadline and complete this assignment earlier in the semester when you may be less busy. Plus, obviously, if everyone waits until the last minute then there won’t be enough books to lend.

So what do I have to do?

Several things.

First, you must read/play through the book (shouldn’t take too long).

Second, you must map the book. This may take several hours. Here’s an example of what I have in mind:

The author of this particular map, Andrew Stern, observes: “Each node in the graph contains one or more page numbers in it, signifying a linear sequence of one or more pages. A doubly-circled node indicates a story ending. The story structure seems to be primarily composed of four major paths (hi-lit in yellow), each with lots of little ending offshoots. Occasionally there is some interesting interconnectedness, particularly that cluster on the left middle of the page. In two places a path backtracks quite a distance to connect to a different path; one of them I drew as a dotted line, because it was so lame — you are abducted by aliens, your memory is erased, and you start the story again from almost the beginning.” (http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/archives/000074.html)

You don’t have to follow this format exactly, but you must map the entire structure of the book in some equally comprehensible way. Be sure to briefly explain your graphing methodology, as Stern does here, and note what you find interesting about your map. (Incidentally, the CYOA work used as an example here is off limits for this assignment.)

Third, you must identify which of Marie-Laure Ryan’s “Structures of Interactive Narrativity” (see her essay in the course packet) fits your CYOA best. Write a paragraph explaining your reasoning. You may not find an exact match, but you must pick one and argue your selection.

Fourth, you may remember the following assertion of mine from the course description printed on the syllabus: “Choose Your Own Adventure books are examples of printed cybertexts with which you might be familiar, though as we will see they only scratch the surface—quite unimaginatively—of what is possible within the form.” Write about 500 words discussing your particular CYOA as cybertext. In the process, discuss the book you read/played in relation to any one of the following works: Queneau’s, One Hundred Thousand Billion Poems; Plotkin’s “Shade”; the MOO; Joyce’s Afternoon.

So, once again: you’ve got to acquire, read, and play the book; you’ve got to map it; you’ve got to choose which of Ryan’s categories it falls into and explain your reasoning; and you’ve got to write about 500 words on the CYOA as cybertext, and in the process compare it to one of the other works listed above.

Anything else?

Yes. You must also hand in the CYOA book you used with your assignment. If it belongs to you I will of course return it (unless you’d like to donate it for others to use!). I will not accept your assignment without the accompanying book.

And: don’t forget the honor pledge . . .

Give it to me straight, Doc: what’s all this worth?

15% of your final course grade.