Despite being rudimentary, the user experience of the "Turn to page 47" function is essentially no different to the user experience of clicking a hyperlink. The fundamental interaction is the same, as is the fundamental result - and if anything, I'd argue that turning the pages of a book requires more effort.

And at their core, both a digital narrative and a Choose Your Own Adventure book are non-linear in design; another common feature of ergodic literature.

I think of this as one of ergodic literature's baseline features. And it is one that you should be well acquainted with - it is how the internet is structured. And it is how this thesis is structured.

There are arguments that narrative non-linearity cannot be achieved in this way, because the user/reader is experiencing the story in a linear fashion, and that unchosen paths are simply irrelevant to the experience. In Marie-Laure Ryan's work on narrative and digital media, for example, she points out that hypertext fiction and other forms of non-linear narratives don’t fully escape the structure of linearity, because the reader still experiences a sequence of events, even if they can choose different paths. The interactivity may give the illusion of a non-linear narrative, but the experience is still constrained by the interface or design choices that structure the user’s journey.

I disagree, however.

I believe that non-linear design such as is described by Marie-Laure Ryan encourages what game designers call replayability. Unchosen paths are often closed to the user/reader/player during that specific experience, but there is an awareness of other options that can be explored in a later experience.

This is the one way in which I believe the form diverges from our experience of life.

In life if we make a choice - that is final. Even if we want to change our minds, we cannot turn back to that exact moment and alter our choice - in artistic mediums, we are permitted to do that. And that, I believe, is part of the appeal. Within ergodic literature we are able to experience multiple lives; we are able to see the impact of our choices.FN1

For example, in a choice-based game or book in which an early decision shapes the entire narrative into two distinct paths, replaying this game with the alternate decision on a second play would result in an entirely different experience. (fig 4).

That is in fact the case with The Cave of Time, and games such as Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.

It is not just the element of choice (which provides relate-ability in terms of its direct likeness to life) but the re-playability that offers users the opportunity to experience a world they love again but in a different way.

In this way, users become co-creators; the building blocks are supplied by the authors/creators, but it is the users who explore and assemble them into a unique experience. This is even more evident in open-world, choice-based RPGs such as The Witcher, where players step into a world built by others, following story kernels designed by others, yet bringing in their own imagination and, most importantly, agency. Here, navigation is not just an interaction—it is an act of authorship, a hallmark of ergodic literature.

And that is why I use Choose Your Own Adventure books as an analogy for what I am working on. Because it is relatable and contains all the fundamental elements of ergodic literature.

Even in its most basic state, ergodic literature is more than just interaction—it is a sandbox for navigation. Exploration is the key ingredient in the early stages of engaging with ergodic mediums.

What comes next is how you build upon that.