http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/2006/01/25/an-annotated-faux-box-via-flickr/ a blog and podcast dedicated to discussing text arts forms Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:59:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 en Writer Response Theory 2004-2005 wrt@writerresponsetheory.org (Writer Response Theory) wrt@writerresponsetheory.org Talk Radio Comment-cast: An annotated faux-box (via Flickr) Comment-cast: An annotated faux-box (via Flickr) Writer Response Theory Writer Response Theory wrt@writerresponsetheory.org http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/iTWRT.JPG http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress 144 144 http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/2006/01/25/an-annotated-faux-box-via-flickr/#comment-2169 Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:41:43 +0000 http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/2006/01/25/an-annotated-faux-box-via-flickr/#comment-2169 [...] Craig Robinson’s ???What If??? depicts a forking-path timeline in which one man’s life decisions create his own personal family tree. (Robinson was previously mentioned on Grand Text Auto, also in relation to “Carl.”) While the trails are alternate choices, as in the original ???Carl,??? and while both have a central figure for whom all roads lead towards death, the experience of viewing ???What If??? is not the experience of making choices. McCloud’s sequence is meant to be read, following trails from panel to panel, as are Ware’s diagrams, however Robinson’s large image can be scanned or browsed while ignoring the trails as easily as not. In ???What If??? the flow lines are somewhat inscrutable at first, as all the action is hidden behind a sequence of identities - there are no visible verbs, only nouns. In order to read, one must either click each identity for a pop-up description or else hover the mouse until the text appears - somewhat comparable to the practice of adding secret mouse-over subtitles to webcomics (e.g. A Softer World, Dinosaur Comics) or of the use of a hidden text layer in annotated photographs (e.g. the flowchart Google’s Master Plan). [...] […] Craig Robinson’s ???What If??? depicts a forking-path timeline in which one man’s life decisions create his own personal family tree. (Robinson was previously mentioned on Grand Text Auto, also in relation to “Carl.”) While the trails are alternate choices, as in the original ???Carl,??? and while both have a central figure for whom all roads lead towards death, the experience of viewing ???What If??? is not the experience of making choices. McCloud’s sequence is meant to be read, following trails from panel to panel, as are Ware’s diagrams, however Robinson’s large image can be scanned or browsed while ignoring the trails as easily as not. In ???What If??? the flow lines are somewhat inscrutable at first, as all the action is hidden behind a sequence of identities - there are no visible verbs, only nouns. In order to read, one must either click each identity for a pop-up description or else hover the mouse until the text appears - somewhat comparable to the practice of adding secret mouse-over subtitles to webcomics (e.g. A Softer World, Dinosaur Comics) or of the use of a hidden text layer in annotated photographs (e.g. the flowchart Google’s Master Plan). […]

]]> WRT: Writer Response Theory » Blog Archive » Flowchart Art and Comics [...] Craig Robinson’s ???What If??? depicts a forking-path timeline in which one man’s life decisions create his own personal family ... [...] Craig Robinson’s ???What If??? depicts a forking-path timeline in which one man’s life decisions create his own personal family ...