SCULPTURAL HYPERTEXT: a radical tool for hypertext fiction
Card Shark and Thespis are two newly-implemented hypertext tools for creating hypertext narrative. They depart dramatically from the tools currently popular for crafting hypertext fiction, and these departures may help us distinguish between the intrinsic properties of hypertext and the tendencies of particular software tools. Both systems promote sculptural rather than calligraphic linking, and both tend to deemphasize cycles and related patterns sometimes considered characteristic of hypertext. While Thespis has a superficial resemblance to interactive fiction, it avoids inherent contradictions that plague literary games.