The New Author

Was going to include this in my last post, but I think it deserves a post on its own...

In thinking about new forms of classic media (such as House of Leaves (I would argue) and the Spore game I just blogged about, Brian Eno as quoted), I've been beginning to see the changes in authorship patterns. Namely, I've noticed a trend in an author's willingness or openness to allow their work to be consumed and interpreted in ways that they can't predict. In House of Leaves, it's up to the reader to choose which footnotes to read, what appendices to pay attention to, how much to invest, providing infinite opportunities to delve into the text. In Spore, Will Wright has set up an environment that, instead of placing or installing a narrative or linear, predictable progression, gives literally all of the control to the consumer.

Essentially, instead of playing God to their creations, authors now seem to be letting them evolve on a consumer basis, or even on a wider cultural basis. What's interesting is seeing this pattern all over: authors of wikipedia, for example (where readers both consume and author, totally separate from the influence of the website creator, just within his framework), or the facebook, or Worlds of Warcraft, even.

What's changed in our society, our culture, to make consumer freedom the joy of authorship? In other worlds, what is it that's satisfying about creating an environment for others to exercise creative license? How does this speak to the different ways we (as reader-authors) and authors are viewing reality from the ways we've viewed it in the past?