Storyspace hypertext system created by Jay David Bolter
I couldn’t help but thinking of the Vannevar Bush article “As We May Think” while reading about the Storyspace hypertext system, particularly this excerpt from V. Bush:
Consider a future device for individual use, which is a sort of mechanized private file and library. It needs a name, and, to coin one at random, “memex” will do. A memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.
Here’s an abstract about Storyspace by Jay David Bolter:
Among its many uses, hypertext can serve as a medium for a new kind of flexible, interactive fiction. Storyspace™ is a hypertext system we have created for authoring and reading such fiction. Interactive fiction in the computer medium is a continuation of the modern “tradition” of experimental literature in print. However, the computer frees both author and reader from restrictions imposed by the printed medium and therefore allows new experiments in literary structure.
Unfortunately, the PDF article entitled “Hypertext and Creative Writing” by Bolter is password protected, but if you’re interested all the info, including the source of the above abstract is located here:
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=317426.317431
Some more info on Storyspace:
http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0023.html
You can download a demo here (n/a for OS X, so I couldn’t test it out):
http://www.eastgate.com/storyspace/Download.html
And buy it if you like, and read about storyspace case studies:
http://www.eastgate.com/storyspace/index.html
Helen