Critics
N. Katherine Hayles is one of the most well known critics of electronic literature. She discusses the topic in her online article, "Electronic Literature: What is it?" The article discusses the main issues raised by electronic literature. At the same time, the article argues that the texts and procedures of electronic literature require new models and new ways of playing and interpreting the works. This makes electronic literature unplayable after a short period of time because the media is always changing and evolving (Hayles).
Hayles' article attempts to explain the fast-changing field of electronic literature, designers, artists, and writers. Of the many artists/writers she discusses, one of them is Donna Leishman. She says, "Donna Leishman spins a variant of interactive fictions in her work, where the visual interface invites game-like play but without the reward structure built into most interactive fictions."
Hayles specifically discusses "Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw." She says that Leishman has "striking visual style" and that "Deviant" combines "primitivism with a sophisticated visual sensibility, contemporary landscapes with a narrative originating in the seventeenth century." Hayles says, however, that "while the works of 'The Possession of Christian Shaw' use perspective to create the impression of a three-dimensional space, the image itself does not incorporate the possibility of mobile interactivity along the Z-axis." When referring to a three-dimensional plane, the z-axis refers to the depth of a three-dimensional object ("Z-axis"). With the present electronic "move" to imaging three-dimensions interactively, Leishman's works may soon be unplayable, or out-of-date.
