The work I chose from the Electronic Collection Literature, Volume 3 was Redshift and Postmetal. This work is meant to be viewed through your web browser as it is an interactive story. You make constant changes and decisions for the main character, Roja, as she migrates between planets due to their climate changes that make it difficult and virtually impossible to continue living there. If you choose to remain, you run the risk of bad health or dying so Roja continues migrating.
This work could not have been produced in the traditional medium of print or of an ebook (if that can be considered traditional). The reason that this only works on this sort of medium is because you are not only making decisions and clicking through options. You are seeing where you are going as there are videos that are of the 'planets' that you take Roja to. You are listening to what Roja listens to on the planets that she lives on. This is to further enhance the experience and to better feel what is going on. The sounds of things like the wind on the Red Planet are used to highlight how barren the planet truly is. The sounds of wind are used later on and so is the sound of a snow storm to create a sense of what the conditions are like on the Ice Planet. These sorts of things could not be accomplished through something like a print book because you would have to create the visualizations yourself. Here, the things necessary to understand the story are provided.
The tools and techniques used were html for the writing the story and providing the different links for options. This was used in conjunction with Scalar to be able to present the story in the way that the author intended. Our engagement as the reader is affected by the tools/techniques because we are seeing what Roja is seeing through her journey. With every decision that we make, we are seeing what Roja is seeing on her planets and listening to the sounds that she hears. We are made to see what our decisions do to Roja.
The most fascinating component that is displayed through these tools is how sort of circular the story is and the reality of the story. Again, this is truly a product of the interactive nature of the story. One can choose to go to a planet, live on it, and relive the death of the planet as it happened when the story began. When this happens, you can choose to go back to a previous location and an entire scene from before is repeated. I felt surprised and a bit disoriented to be repeating something that happened earlier but that plays into how Roja feels disoriented as she constantly has to leave. Another aspect that is only available through this medium is that while certain topics are prevalent such as climate change, migration, and life as a transgender woman of color, other components of the story are not discoverable unless you go through every option. To discover the aspects of how the chemical poisoning of Roja is very real to how many Natives suffer from chemical poisoning due to a variety of factors, one must make the choices that send Roja there to learn more. Not every decision takes you to the same place. But you can always go back and go through a different route. That is why this story could not be replicated through print or an ebook. Neither of them would allow for the visuals, sounds, and for the ability to make decisions that immerse you in the same way as this.