Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature

by Espen J. Aarseth

From computer games to hypertext fiction, Aarseth explores the aesthetics and textual dynamics of digital literature Can computer games be great literature? Do the rapidly evolving and culturally expanding genres of digital literature mean that the narrative mode of discourse—novels, films, television series—is losing its dominant position in our culture? Is it necessary to define a new aesthetics of cyborg textuality? In Cybertext , Espen Aarseth explores the aesthetics and textual dynamics of digital literature and its diverse genres, including hypertext fiction, computer games, computer-generated poetry and prose, and collaborative Internet texts such as MUDs. Instead of insisting on the uniqueness and newness of electronic writing and interactive fiction, however, Aarseth situates these literary forms within the tradition of "ergodic" literature—a term borrowed from physics to describe open, dynamic texts such as the I Ching or Apollinaire's calligrams, with which the reader must perform specific actions to generate a literary sequence. Constructing a theoretical model that describes how new electronic forms build on this tradition, Aarseth bridges the widely assumed divide between paper texts and electronic texts. He then uses the perspective of ergodic aesthetics to reexamine literary theories of narrative, semiotics, and rhetoric and to explore the implications of applying these theories to materials for which they were not intended.

Genres: Nonfiction, Games, Theory, Video Games, Writing, Reference, Research

216 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 1997

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aarseth first deconstructs current (in 1995) approaches to ergodic literature. He obliterates semiotic and poststructuralistic analyses (which are weak more because of their authors than their theory). One problem with the approaches is that they do not account for emergent behavior (results not predicted by the designer; i.e., a programmer being beaten by his own chess program). Aarseth sets the foundation for a new approach to ergodic literature.

Part of this foundation is a rigorous definition of terms. An entire chapter, “Textonomy” is devoted to defining attributes of text (with correspondence analysis!). Aarseth shows that ergodicity does not depend on the medium of the text, but on the user function (explorative, configurative, interpretative, or textonic).

OPINION TIME

Good things: Rigorous about defining terms! Only creates new terms when old terms are determined insufficient. Observations are backed with evidence in the literature (this also serves to show readers how the theory Aarseth proposes is applied). Tone is thorough and intelligent.

Problems: Textonomy chapter is intimidating to non-statistics-users (but it was purposeful – to define a text). Aarseth’s audience is one already familiar with some literary theory: Pierce and Derrida. Prose at times overly verbose (yet slight humor makes up for it). Slightly outdated, but surprisingly relevant. Lots of confusing new terms (discouraging); Aareseth is self-aware of the “extensive contruction and use of neologisms” (182), his “clarity-fetishism,” and the problem of defining MUD as ergodic lit.

[Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cybertext" was the most useful book for a paper on "House of Leaves." It's a comprehensive look at the history, nature, and possible future of ergodic texts (that is, texts that require effort from the user on a level higher than simply reading and/or turning pages). He talks about everything from the I Ching to the types of computer hyperlink puzzle games online to programs designed to generate text in a non-linear narrative fashion, all the way to the C.A.V.E. facility in Brown, where electronic texts are written for their highly experimental MFA program in fiction.

[Cherise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of the early ages of the hypertext and cyberspace era. Aarseth defines modes of differentiating print and digital reading strategies while allowing space for overlap between existing and emerging forms of text. You can definitely feel the dating in the kinds of texts Aarseth is able to conceive of in this study, and even in the examples he draws from, but it's a great jumping off point for understanding where the links between print and digital textual forms come from and for delving into the history of hypertext fiction as a concept.

[Phoenix · Rating 2 out of 5]

ETA: Rounded down and obviously didn’t want to spend much time reviewing this. This is a staple of digital humanities and game studies but it did not age well. Also has some ableist language.

Between 2.5 and 3 stars. I’m very conflicted on this one. Tempted to round down. Review to come.

[Lachlan Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start!

[Yasamin Rezai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming to the idea of "textuality" and "technology," I consider myself very much on Aarseth's side. His way of writing also is efficient, like the way he thinks. He looks at the text/machine in an exciting way: it's as if he's more concerned with the algorithmic properties of building the text, than worrying about the relationship between text and its hostile medium.

I believe that Aarseth looks at the text as the technology itself. To be more precise, he sees technology as a part of what he calls cybertext, or text machine, interwoven with it. In the triad above with which Aarseth was trying to explain text machine, it is manifested that he sees the operator/human/writer at one corner, the medium that the text is displayed on another corner, and eventually the content and verbal sign, or interpretation of the text another corner of this interactive loop that leads to the existence of a cybertext.

[John Ohno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is alternately enlightening and infurating. On the one hand, it is a seminal text for game design because it integrates games into the existing traditions of literary theory in a more thoughtful way than had previously been done. On the other hand, at the time it was written, it seems to have been intended primarily as a volley in an ongoing culture war in a tiny corner of digital humanities.

Aarseth calls bullshit on certain then-widespread claims about hypertext by pointing to actually-existing hypertext systems like StorySpace and the World Wide Web and noting that they don't provide the claimed capabilities -- and here, he is right. Then he extends the criticism to Ted Nelson, whose ideas about hypertext Aarseth understands no better than Tim Berners-Lee did: a mistake, because Ted's proposed (and prototyped) systems do, indeed, have those features. This is a pattern Aarseth repeats throughout the book: he makes perfectly valid and trenchant criticisms of an existing idea, only to either extend those criticisms beyond reasonable bounds or propose a 'solution' that has exactly the same problems.

This book is also an interesting time capsule of ergodic literature in the 90s. The MUD transcripts show that internet culture has not changed since 1996 (being, as they are, a bunch of furries role-playing that they are licking and cuddling each other). The section on Racter has a very 80s flavor but demonstrates exactly the same kinds of problems we see in modern entertainment-oriented "AI" systems.

This is a fun book to read (especially if you like to be angry about things that don't matter), and it's a historically important book. It is also an enlightening book, because it reframes now-common experiences in interesting ways that have not seen widespread use.

[Bryan Ma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and challenging. Will need to return to it after brushing up on critical/narrative/literary theory though. There is certainly much more to be gained. Am looking forward to seeing how his perspectives have developed over the last 15 years as well.

[Graham Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and covers a lot of important stuff but feels very dated due to the examples used. Still a good thing to get to know for a theoretical foundation.

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long overdue reading of this canonical work of e-lit scholarship. Though the field of e-lit (and related areas of games, computing, etc) have advanced markedly, Aarseth’s concepts and models remain useful and his interventions into critical discussions remain relevant.

In particular, we can continually remind ourselves that no technology is inherently liberating nor oppressive, and that ‘digital technology’ as a sweeping category is only so useful. The connections and comparisons that Aarseth draws across paper and electronic literature are illustrative reminders that the technological medium of literature is only one factor among many that shapes the aesthetic and creative possibilities of a work.

The text shows its age in a few places - the discussion of MUDs is understandably outdated at points, for instance. But especially for insight into historically significant works, Aarseth provides compelling, interesting readings that still hold up.

My main gripe with the text is that Aarseth seems a bit too dismissive of the novelty and exciting potential of some emerging technologies for literary production. He seems so concerned with dispelling some of the mythic claims of hypertext and interactive fiction that he doesn’t allow himself space to actually hype up why these types of works are so interesting to engage with.

[Lua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Algo me encanta últimamente es la literatura experimental y la literatura ergódica. Es todo un tema a tratar, a manejar, cubrir por completo desde sus matices; intereses, argumentos, pros, contras y muchas cosas más que aborda algo tan complejo como un arte "conceptual" o abstracto como vendría siendo en este caso la literatura. El hipertexto es tan solo la punta del iceberg y en su profundidad se encuentran amalgamas enormes con un sinfín de variedad que permite tanto al escritor innovar, experimentar como también conectar como del mismo modo permite al lector formar parte de la obra y creo que eso es lo que más me ha encantado de este tema.

El que por cierto siento que inició bastante temprano, incluso antes de este libro. Ya que si lo pensamos bien Borges, Carlos Fuentes y en especial Cortázar ya experimentaban con sus textos para crear una nueva experiencia para los lectores. Un ejemplo de ello sería "Rayuela", de Julio Cortázar. Novela el cual incluye algunos idiomas además del español, se lee como uno quiere; desde la página que uno quiera leerla y se presta para distintas interpretaciones.

[Robert Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most interesting to me are the distinctions he draws between the various types of what he calls ergodic literature. But as a nonacademic, I found the sometimes obtuse, jargon-happy writing off-putting and the minutiae of historical accounts irrelevant. He lays out a well-conceived scheme, but I'm not sure I gleaned much more from the book than I did from the Wikipedia entry.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una más que perfecta iniciación a la literatura cibertextual.

[Lobo]

Powtórka dla studentów.

[Ana]

beautiful but already dated

[☾ SJ ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

just got raged baited by some dude

[Bosco B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aarseth literally cannot resist being a huuuge bitch about his peers every other page, I’d give this 40 stars if I could

[Javier Ponce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a joy to read this book. Not only is the reading very catching by itself, but Aarseth is very well-versed and makes the reading as easiest as it could be (note: it's not an easy topic still). Cybertext is one of the foundational readings for any of the studies involving digital humanities or ergodic literature (and even game studies), and I can forsee it will stay that way for a while.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit dry, a little bit dated, and I wish it covered a broader range of material. It is, however, rich in meaningful theoretical content; recommended to anyone interested in video games from a literary/semiotic standpoint.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literatura ergódica: qué es y dónde encontrarla. Libros en cajas.

[Susana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy clarificador. Además considero que el concepto de texto ergódico que propone, es básico para el entendimiento de la literatura reversible (o hiperliteratura).

[Ian Brunton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, though somewhat dense at times.

[Tim Lepczyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

My advice is to read the first two chapters.

[Diana180]

#digitaltextuality

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for exams. Concept of ergodic literature super useful for my topic!