The 21 Steps

[occultatio]

At the risk of turning this journal into a link-dump, I wanted to share this story I found: The 21 Steps.

What I find interesting is that the storytelling method is genuinely unique: it's a spy story told via Google Maps. And it doesn't take the easy road, of just using screenshots of Google Maps as illustrations: it actually turns the software itself into its storytelling medium. Narratologists in the audience, there's some really interesting stuff going on here.

The story itself is fun, though definitley a bit too short to be a really satisfying espionage tale, but it's definitely worth checking out just for the execution.

Comments

[dr_whom]

...I don't get the point. What role is the Google Maps interface doing other than making you wait a minute or so between paragraphs while the map scrolls to a new location? I mean, what does this story use Google Maps for that couldn't have been accomplish just by using screenshots of Google Maps as illustrations?

[occultatio.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I found the movement interesting in itself -- it gave the story a much greater feeling of place, if that makes any sense to you. It felt to me more like watching someone use the Maps tool, while providing commentary, than reading a story with screenshots.