HyperCard - one of the tools used for creating HyperText fiction

I came across this article on Slate the other day on the topic of HyperText books. I have to say that the idea intrigued me since for the "early life" of HyperText stories I was in Greece and I didn't have a computer, and for the latter part of their life (in the 90s anyway), I wasn't really interested in reading novels, much less so on my computer. I preferred games, music and reconnecting with old friends (in the late 90s once I got to college).

Reading through the Slate article, and my own memories of what computers were like back then, I can say that it's a wonder that even some HyperText stories (or books) got off the ground! Sure, one can come up with a good enough story to get the readers engaged, and one can get away from gratuitous use of hyperlinking that actually gives the reader information (and it doesn't just distract him), but think of the technology of the time.  Massive computers (at least compared to today), massive CRT monitors with low resolution, and these things were probably on someone's desk.  No one really wants to read fiction  at a desk staring at a giant (but low resolution) CRT monitor!  Fiction is savored, sitting out in the garden, on your sofa, or while on the train commenting to and from work!

I was looking on wikipedia to see if there are any more recent examples of hypertext fiction out there and sure enough there are! I had a quick look and man are they poorly made!  OK, the graphics are low res because they are  a product of their times, but the design aspect is rather poor! I can't imagine spending 5, 10, 20 hours "reading" something that is so badly designed (no matter how compelling the story).

I think that HyperText fiction may actually have a place in our lives again since we have iPads, Kindles, Nooks and Android Tablets in our lives that facilitate a more portable, more "intimate" reading experience when compared to what HyperText was read on in the early and late 90s. Now all that's needed are good stories and appropriate design (both visual design, and user interface design).