CYOA
The representation of CYOA books as a form of software was especially intriguing to me in this piece. As someone who experiences art and computer science in such completely opposing forms I often find it hard to recognize computer science ideas in art and vice versa unless I am being beaten over the head with it. The branching decision tree of CYOA books is also found at the core of many high end RPG games today and is an incredibly important data structure that is taught very early on in computer science. Though as is usually the case, the freedoms allowed outside of programming can be used to subvert the system, as in the case of Ultima, the paradise only found if the reader disregards the decision tree completely.
The Garden of Forking Paths
I find this short narrative interesting in that it draws attention to the infinite instances of existence in the future, past, and present in a very elegant way. It manages to discuss it in understandable terms while also maintaining the character’s identities and preserve the plot of the story. I especially enjoyed the foreshadowing wherein Albert kept reminding the narrator that in some parallel time stream they were enemies, when in fact it was the same instance in time that they were both experiencing.
