The Salt Creatures

By converting my short story, “The Salt Men”, into a piece of interactive fiction, my purpose was twofold: to re-organize the narrative into a non-linear format, and to create an opportunity for user/reader interaction. I found that the textual organization possibilities in Twine were infinite; it allowed me to create loops in the narrative, whereby users could only progress to the next level of the story by viewing a specific slide, for instance. I also found that a creative employment of analepsis introduced a new theme into the piece, one of non-temporality, which greatly expanding the scope and depth of the story. From a literary point of view, I began to see that my narrative was too androcentric. I decided to rename it “The Salt Creatures”, and give the main character a feminine form. Finally, by uploading the story onto itch.io, it is my hope that user/reader comments will allow others who are perhaps more familiar with the sci-fi genre to offer critiques and ideas for a reworking of the narrative, thus leaving open the possibility that the project will become something more collaborative in the future.