Boca Raton Daze is about the choices involved in a seemingly trivial day. Set among the stucco condominiums of Boca Raton, it details the sometimes absurd nature of happenings in an otherwise boring town full of old-people. This story fits well with a hypertextual format because traditional linear narrative would simply not fit the desired aura of those lazy Boca Raton afternoons. When you wake up at 2:00 in the afternoon, there usually isnÕt a sense that your day is going to be very directed and linear. Things can go this way, or they can go that way, and it probably wonÕt matter. Sometimes, however, small decisions can generate spirals of drastic consequences; we can never be sure of the significance of each decision / hyper-link.
Hypertext does not only bring a feeling of lack of direction; it also provides a multifaceted view on the story of Boca Daze. Many times a story will involve the perspectives of many different characters, using multiple viewpoints in order to create a more panoramic experience of the plot (for example: Magnolia and Crash. However, hypertext can expand perspective in a more radical direction, showcasing a series of events from different possible worlds. The reader generates these multiple worlds of possibility by making actual choices that alters the unfolding of the plot; in essence, the reader inhabits the responsibility of the first-person.
In Boca Raton Daze you have control over the plot; or at least as much control an adolescent can have on a lazy summer afternoon.
So sit back and relax. Soak in the pastel around you. Play some elevator music. Open your window, there's a palm tree outside. Welcome to Boca Raton Daze.
Or maybe next time. Return to Cyborg Self Syllabus
Last modified 4 January 2007