Cybertext

Cybertext is the organization of text in order to analyze the influence of the medium as an integral part of the literary dynamic, as defined by Espen Aarseth in 1997. Aarseth defined it as a type of ergodic literature.

The term cybertext was coined by speculative fiction poetry author Bruce Boston. It is derived from the word cybernetics, which was coined by Norbert Wiener in his book Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (1948), which in turn comes from the Greek word kybernetes – helmsman. Cybertexts are pieces of literature where the medium matters. Each user obtains a different outcome based on the choices they make. Cybertexts may be equated to the transition between a linear piece of literature, such as a novel, and a game. In a novel, the reader has no choice, the plot and the characters are all chosen by the author, there is no 'user', just a 'reader', this is important because it entails that the person working their way through the novel is not an active participant. In a game, the person makes decisions and decides what to do, what punches to punch, or when to jump. The difference between a game and a cybertext is that cybertexts usually have more depth, there is a method to the madness, the piece usually has a point, or message that is translated to the reader as they work their way through the piece.

Cybertext is based on the idea that getting to the message is just as important as the message itself. In order to obtain the message work on the part of the user is required. This may also be referred to as nontrivial work on the part of the user.

The fundamental idea in the development of the theory of cybernetics is the concept of feedback: a portion of information produced by the system that is taken, total or partially, as input. Cybernetics is the science that studies control and regulation in systems in which there exists flow and feedback of information. Though first used by science fiction poet Bruce Boston, the term cybertext was brought to the literary world's attention by Espen Aarseth in 1997.

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