improv

How can we best invite everyday writers to collaborate and play in electronic literature projects? For the past few years I have being doing projects in a format I call netprov. Netprov (networked improv narrative) organizes the creation of collaborative stories in real time using multiple available digital media. Working with Mark C. Marino and others we have developed a set of working guidelines and suggestions about how to best engage players’ imaginations and extend invitations that will encourage their creativity. I will discuss our methods, our “Rules of the Game” for several netprovs, and describe the degrees of player participation, from Featured Players who adopt ongoing characters to Casual Players who may only contribute a line or an image.

(Source: ELO 2015 Conference Catalog)

This is a recording of the 20 minutes or so of Rob Wittig's thesis presentation and oral exam for the MA at the University of Bergen, which was done on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 via Skype. Wittig's thesis outlines the genesis of a new network based genre at the interstices of game, improvisational theatre, literature, mass media and digital media. It was also the first MA thesis in the UiB Digital Culture program to include a fully developed creative project in electronic literature as well as an excellent theoretical thesis in print.