Method in My Madness

Adapted from a Review-A-Thon 25 Review

Graphical playfulness seems to be the least-utilized tool in the IF author’s toolbox. I don’t mean to imply it is unique, certainly examples WELL predate the internet and IF, going all the way back to illuminated bibles. I am tempted to say it engages a different artistic muscle than the more writerly “words’ meaning are the canvas” approach. Maybe I’m just defining IF too narrowly? Or perhaps focusing too narrowly? What are words but graphical representations of ideas, intended to evoke an intellectual and/or emotional response? Different than paintings only in the steps necessary to create and consume them? Against this definition, IF (and all computer art. except AI “art”. f*@$ that s#!@) is just another medium, this one using its inherent tools of time and dynamism to enhance that same impulse. I mean, Super Mario conjures very specific human engagement, nevermind The Last Of Us.

This specific approach though, of using words both for their meaning and as graphical elements, this feels under-exploited. MIMM is a poster child for the potential of this approach. It uses dynamic graphical layout of conflicting snippets of internal monologue to drive home how messy, fragile and conflicted we can be behind the face we present to the world. Words tumble over each other, entwine in the full breadth of two dimensions, flicker, cloud and clarify all at once. I found this to be insanely well executed. A marriage of form and function that perfectly sing off each other to unify into an artistic statement more effective than its disconnected parts.

Two things ensure that this central conceit neither overruns the narrative premise, nor becomes a distracting flourish undermining the experience. The first is the work’s brevity. It neither overstays its welcome, nor dilutes its own impact. The choice to slowly but noticeably ramp the visual chaos in synch with the narrative is exactly the right one to maximize its punch. The second is the high melodrama/low detail plot. It is a heightened emotional story, almost Twilight Zony in its distilled dramatic shorthand. This resonates with the high artificiality of its construction. A choice this visually dramatic married to an appropriately dire melodrama allows both to flourish, rather than one or the other taking all the oxygen. It is less like form in service of function and more a collaboration of equals. Either in isolation could easily slip into schmaltz or histrionics, off-putting in their exaggeration. Together they resonate in a way that reinforces both.

I really liked this small dose of artistic playfulness. It felt novel, well realized, well tuned, and perfectly sized.