There is of course plenty more to say... there is a bit more info on our Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mongoliad/122174191143710 (which we update regularly) but I'd be happy to answer a few good questions here too if people are curious about some aspect(s). It's a wonderfully fun project from my point of view and I am really looking forward to letting it out into the wilds!
Jeremy On Sat, May 29, 2010 at 11:06:12AM +0530, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > "software developer Jeremy Bornstein" is on silk. Jeremy, want to say > more about this? > > Udhay > > > http://io9.com/5549740/ > > While the publishing industry fights over its future, a group of scifi > writers and software developers have struck out on their own. Led by > Neal Stephenson, author of Cryptonomicon, the group built an ebook that > could make reading truly interactive. > > The project was born out of swordfighting. Stephenson, an avid > swordfighter, practices this martial art with a small group in Seattle > which includes software developer Jeremy Bornstein and others. Over > time, and after a lot of input from martial arts experts, Stephenson > realized that the descriptions of swordfighting in his novels would have > been much better if they'd been shaped by knowledge contributed by > people reading the books. And so the idea for a collectively written > novel was born. With the help of authors Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, and > Mark Teppo, along with Bornstein and others, Stephenson began to outline > a book called The Mongoliad - a medieval adventure full of swordfighting > and mysticism. > > Neal Stephenson and friends fight for the future of ebooks with "The > Mongoliad" > > The team formed a small company called Subutai, and here's what they > have to say about their first book: > > [The Mongoliad is] about a time when Europe thought that the Mongol > Horde was about to destroy their world, and the exploits of a small band > of mystics and warriors as they attempt to turn the tide of history. > > And though I keep calling it a "book," The Mongoliad is actually an app > written for mobile devices (currently iPhone and iPad). I had a chance > to look at an early version of the book for iPad this week, and > Bornstein walked me through its features. Below you can see a > presentation Bornstein did recently where he showed the app interface. A > series of clickable options run down the left side of the iPad screen, > including access to chapters, movies, images, maps, and a "pedia" or > glossary. > > Neal Stephenson and friends fight for the future of ebooks with "The > Mongoliad" > > The Mongoliad was born out of visual media, not text. "A year ago Neal > said he had an idea for a movie and some of us got together and were > writing a screenplay and the settling," Bornstein recalls. "The first > part was set 200 years earlier than the [movie story], and that's what > we're releasing as The Mongoliad. We aren't doing a movie because we > don't have the skills to do that. Instead, we have software folks like > myself, and everything we need to build this story." > > While Stephenson, Bear, and others worked on the text, Bornstein > developed the app backend, focusing on collaborative software. The group > dubbed the result the "personal ubiquitous literature platform," or PULP. > > Though interactive novels have had snippets of movies and images in them > since the mid-1990s, PULP is what makes The Mongoliad stand out as a > possible way forward for post-print publishing. PULP makes this book > into something that's truly the product of our collective imaginations. > When you're reading a chapter of the book, you always have the option to > pull up a an interactive discussion window and leave a note or enter a > discussion about the book. You can write your own additional storyline. > Or add to the pedia to explain more about the historical setting. You > can also rate every aspect of the book, rating any page on a scale of > one to five stars. > > The Mongoliad isn't just a story; it's a platform for collaborative > worldbuilding. The question is, how do you prevent such an endeavor from > degenerating into chaos? "We have the concept of canonicity ? if we like > it we'll tag it as canon," Bornstein says. "We'll have ways of > reflecting people's community standing in our forums. So some people > will be able to help curate the canon, and we'll be the ultimate > arbiters." The book will become a thicket of fanfic, but there will be a > clear, canonical path marked through it by the creators of the story. > > Neal Stephenson and friends fight for the future of ebooks with "The > Mongoliad" So how will you buy The Mongoliad? It won't be like getting a > traditional ebook, which is usually wrapped in some kind of format or > digital restriction management software designed to prevent people from > sharing it. Subutai is devoted to selling this book without DRM. You'll > get it in an app store, and you'll pay what Bornstein calls "a > relatively low price" for it as a six-month service, where you get new > content every week. At the end of those six months you can renew for "a > lower price." Bornstein hinted that the book will eventually contain "a > few games too." > > "This is our solution to the ebook question," Bornstein adds. "You have > to think of something else to do to get around copying. So you make it a > service that people want to belong to and contribute to. So there are > artistic and economic reasons for making it a service. [On the artistic > side,] having the reader feedback we'll get good information about how > the historical period worked." > > Stephenson, Bear, and the writers have about three months worth of text > written so far. Some is edited, and some isn't. Once the book launches > and people start contributing, Bornstein says, "We'll be willing to > revise up to and after the publication. We're taking audience feedback > really seriously - if people point out problems with fights we'll change > it." > > Ready to download The Mongoliad and get medieval? Subutai plans to > launch before the end of the year. Sign up for updates on the project > via their official website. > > Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at > [email protected]. > > -- > ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) >
