DESCRIPTION

 
   In order to make this hypertext more approachable to the reader, we will make a detailed physical description
in which we will also examine its structure as well as the different possible ways to read the story. “Ferris Wheels” is a short hypertext fiction (16 pages) which includes an animated poem (250 K) and a site map. As the aim of this description is to provide the reader with a clear mental picture of the hypertext, we will describe each part individually, starting with the front page.

1.Front Page
2.Animated Poem
3.Text
4.Site Map

FRONT PAGE

    The background, as in the rest of the hypertext, is light blue and has a pattern of sea waves. On the left-hand side there is a coloured picture of a ferris wheel with the title written over it and the name of the author underneath. On the top right-hand side we find different possibilities to start reading: we can either click randomly on any of the cars or axes of the ferris wheel´s picture to see the node underneath or we can click on the link “enter the text” which will take us to the first page. We can also access the animated poem by clicking on the link “turn the wheel”. On the bottom right-hand side we find two further links wich also take us to the first page or to the animated poem. Both of them have a hand-shaped direction icon pointing right.
 

ANIMATED POEM

    The animated poem consists of a ferris wheel shaped structure made up of words. In the middle we can see “Ferris Wheels” written in yellow, symbolising the core of the wheel. Around it, we can see the titles of each page or text block written in blue, symbolising each car, which change colour in a clockwise direction, imitating the movement of a ferris wheel. Between the centre and the cars, we can also see the four words or titles which symbolise in turn each of the four axes of the wheel. They also change colour as the wheel goes round, but at a much slower pace. However, none of this words are linked to the text, but they help us understand that the whole text is actually structured like a ferris wheel, each page being one of its parts. Under the wheel we find two links: “Ferris Wheels”, which takes us back to the front page, and “Enter the Text”, which takes us to the first page of the text.
 

TEXT

   The 16 pages which make up the hypertext have an identical structure. The background, as in the front page, is a pattern of light blue sea waves. The text takes up most of the space and the font used is black Times New Roman. At the end of each text block, on the bottom right-hand side, there are two links with the names of the previous and following pages with a hand-shaped direction icon each: one pointing right (following page) and the other one pointing left (previous page). By following the direction icons pointing right, we will therefore be able to read the text in a LINEAR way. On the left-hand side of each text block, there is a picture of a ferris wheel, with a yellow mark indicating which car or axis we are in (remember that each page has a role in the wheel´s structure). The title of the page is written on top of the picture. Under the picture there are two links: one for the “revolving text” (animated poem) and another one for the “site map”. In order to read the text in a NON-LINEAR way, we can either click on the links which appear in the text itself, or we can click on the picture on the left-hand side (each part of the wheel being linked to its corresponding text block).
 
 

SITE MAP

    The site map also has a ferris wheel’s structure which is made up of little ferris wheels representing the cars and axes. Each of these pictures stands for one of the chapters, the name of which is written underneath. A yellow mark on each one of the pictures also indicates the position within the whole text. By clicking on them, we can access the corresponding text block.
 Another curious feature, which took us a while to discover, is that by placing  the mouse over each picture a tag with a word shows up. All these words make up a poem which can be read from left to right, starting at the top left corner. It goes like this: “Looking at this without viewing, without seeing the imagery is like looking into your soul without seeing the beauty of the shadows”.
 
 
 
 Introduction
 Space
 Time
 Characters
 Conclusion

 

Academic year 2001/2002
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Olga Lledó Oliver
Universitat de València Press
olleo@alumni.uv.es