Comments on: The Session http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/ A group blog about computer narrative, games, poetry, and art. Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:43:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: nick http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/comment-page-1/#comment-221515 nick Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:12:19 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/#comment-221515 Allan, I didn't make it to the Cell, unfortunately. How was it? I think you're right on in your discussion of <i>The Session.</i> There were a few things working against the idea that the patient was helping to determine the truth: the scenario suggested the event had already happened and the patient was ignorant of it; the therapist strongly suggested that she knew one soldier hadn't died (although she didn't say this exactly; she just said that in previous sessions, he hadn't remembered Johnson as dying); and, the interactors were doing their job and trying to make different replays dramatically interesting, which may have made it look like they were controlling the truth. A lot of this can be attributed to my putting together a scenario despite my complete lack of experience with this particular type of interactive performance. But if there's any deeper truth, it may be that some things that seem difficult - such as diegetically allowing for the replay of interactive experiences - are actually not as hard as just signalling to the spectactor what he or she can and can't do, dramatically or fictionally. Allan, I didn’t make it to the Cell, unfortunately. How was it?

I think you’re right on in your discussion of The Session. There were a few things working against the idea that the patient was helping to determine the truth: the scenario suggested the event had already happened and the patient was ignorant of it; the therapist strongly suggested that she knew one soldier hadn’t died (although she didn’t say this exactly; she just said that in previous sessions, he hadn’t remembered Johnson as dying); and, the interactors were doing their job and trying to make different replays dramatically interesting, which may have made it look like they were controlling the truth. A lot of this can be attributed to my putting together a scenario despite my complete lack of experience with this particular type of interactive performance. But if there’s any deeper truth, it may be that some things that seem difficult – such as diegetically allowing for the replay of interactive experiences – are actually not as hard as just signalling to the spectactor what he or she can and can’t do, dramatically or fictionally.

]]> By: Allan http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/comment-page-1/#comment-221316 Allan Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:39:30 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/#comment-221316 Yeah, I remember thinking that it ended up being very much like Rashomon. I think the negotiation of truth did not work quite right because the Spectactor was trying not to change his actions in the flashbacks. He hoped that if he copied his actions to different results, the truth would emerge. This was because by being informed that Johnson didn't die in a previous session, the Spectactor realized that there was an objective truth to be found; that made him less inclined to influence the final truth. My conclusion as to the cause of the problem is that the prompt implies a final truth the therapist knows in character and that the spect is trying to figure out (not truly influence). I hope those two cents helped. Did you check out the Cell on Saturday? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on it. Yeah, I remember thinking that it ended up being very much like Rashomon. I think the negotiation of truth did not work quite right because the Spectactor was trying not to change his actions in the flashbacks. He hoped that if he copied his actions to different results, the truth would emerge. This was because by being informed that Johnson didn’t die in a previous session, the Spectactor realized that there was an objective truth to be found; that made him less inclined to influence the final truth. My conclusion as to the cause of the problem is that the prompt implies a final truth the therapist knows in character and that the spect is trying to figure out (not truly influence). I hope those two cents helped.

Did you check out the Cell on Saturday? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on it.

]]> By: Michael Nitsche http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/comment-page-1/#comment-221307 Michael Nitsche Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:51:19 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/#comment-221307 Looks like I left the conference too early. That sounds like a really good experiment. This link is not directly related (because it is real therapy completely controlled by the therapist) but maybe of interest to support the kind of variation in replay idea in virtual worlds this time: <a href="http://www.hitl.washington.edu/people/hunter/wtcbrenda.pdf" rel="nofollow">Difede and Hoffman</a>. Looks like I left the conference too early. That sounds like a really good experiment.
This link is not directly related (because it is real therapy completely controlled by the therapist) but maybe of interest to support the kind of variation in replay idea in virtual worlds this time: Difede and Hoffman.

]]> By: Malcolm Ryan http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/comment-page-1/#comment-221154 Malcolm Ryan Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:53:20 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/#comment-221154 That sounds like an excellent experience. I wish I was there to see it. That sounds like an excellent experience. I wish I was there to see it.

]]> By: andrew http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/comment-page-1/#comment-221139 andrew Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:13:47 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2008/03/16/the-session/#comment-221139 Very, very nice! I really like how you designed replay into the scenario. By the way, the overlap between this blog post and the previous posts by me and Noah — while a complete coincidence — is uncanny! Very, very nice! I really like how you designed replay into the scenario.

By the way, the overlap between this blog post and the previous posts by me and Noah — while a complete coincidence — is uncanny!

]]>