Third Person: Authoring & Exploring

*Vast Narratives. *Noah Wardrip-Fruin. The ever-expanding capacities of computing offer new narrative possibilities for virtual worlds. Yet vast narratives--featuring an ongoing & intricately developed storyline, many characters, & multiple settings--did not originate with, & are not limited to, Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Thomas Mann's 'Joseph & His Brothers,' J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings,' Marvel's Spider-Man, & the complex stories of 'Doctor Who,' 'The Sopranos,' & 'Lost' all present vast fictional worlds. This book explores strategies of vast narrative across a variety of media, including video games, television, literature, comic books, tabletop games, & digital art.