On page 61 of Electronic Literature, Afternoon, a Story is described as “a work driven by a mystery that, once solved, gives the reader the satisfaction normally attained through a conventional Aristotelian plot structure.” The question that first came to mind was: “Is this supplement enough?”
It’s difficult to argue the importance of the three act structure because it works so well. But there is also the question of why it works so well. While Aristotle was the first to write it down, and analyze the begin-middle-end structure, it is reasonable to assume that it existed long before this. As Dwight Swain pointed out: we are born, we live, and we die—three acts seem natural. However, it could be the case that since we have generally been hit over the head with this structure from the day we are born—in stories, TV, Movies, etc—it only seems natural through process. Whatever the case may be, the three act structure works because it satisfies.
The main problem is that Afternoon, a Story (which is over twenty years old) still seems so far ahead of its time. Afternoon is not just experiment with a new computer medium; it also experiments with plot, structure, and navigation. Without a clear introduction of an ultimate goal, a series of events, or a clear resolution there is no way for readers to know what is important. Navigating from page to page can produce a collage of non-sequiturs, which ultimately lead to my exhaustion.
In a game like The Baron, the goal of was presented at the beginning of the text. It was not clear what needed to be done in order to accomplish the ultimate goal, but it gave me a reason to continue reading/playing the text. I wanted to reach that final resolution. I got confused at times, but what kept me motivated was the anticipation of a conclusion.
The main problem that I experienced with Afternoon was that there were no stepping stones. While I can appreciate the artistic advances and experimentation, without any supplemental information it seems unlikely that I could read and enjoy this story simply on its own merit. As we are today, I feel like the gap between literary tradition and Afternoon, a Story is too wide to expect that it can easily be appreciated outside of an academic environment. (That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised to find these stepping stones, in a sense, retrofitted through a gradual adoption of different aspects of Afternoon into future new media works.)
