>To me, IF is a diversion. Nothing more, nothing less.
>...
>What IF is *not* is highbrow art. I do not expect to gain any insights into
>the human condition through IF.
I assume you are dropping the "to me" qualification here intentionally. If
it is the case that IF gives us no insights into the human condition, an
obvious question to ask is why this is so.
If it is a fundamental limitation of the medium, then perhaps you're right
when you say that IF shouldn't be analyzed from a "highbrow," literary
standpoint.
On the other hand, if it's just that no IF authors have done a very good
job illuminating aspects of the human condition in their works, then this
is a medium that begs for reasoned criticism. It is certainly a fact that
some IF authors are trying to develop the medium into something artful;
slowly and clumisly perhaps, but still trying.
>It is therefore inappropriate to analyse IF in the same terms that one
>would use to analyse serious fiction, films, etc.
I would agree with this statement if it were qualified with "some IF". But
it is certainly not true of *all* IF. I can tell you specifically that my
most recent release, _The Legend Lives!_ was an entirely serious endeavor;
as "serious" as any "serious" film or novel. If it is a piece of shit, then
it is a glaring statement that I can think long and hard about something,
work for two years crafting it as carefully as possible, and still produce
only garbage.
That's not to say that I'd compare _Legend_ to any work of art. But this
is a matter of quality, not intent. I guess that's my main objection to
your views: that they are rooted in the incorrect assumption that no IF
authors view their work as an artistic endeavor.
>I felt that he was criticizing the games (Zebulon in particular) using
>criteria (i.e. the quality of the prose) which is of minor importance to
>IF.
Again, fine, as long as you qualify that with "some IF"; in particular, IF
whose author says it wasn't an attempt at "serious IF"; that it was simply
a diversion --- like a gadget or crossword puzzle.
Dave Baggett
__
dmb@ai.mit.edu ADVENTIONS: Kuul text adventures! Email for a catalog.
"Mr. Price: Please don't try to make things nice! The wrong notes are *right*."
--- Charles Ives (note to copyist on the autograph score of The Fourth of July)