XS, S, M, L Creative Text Generators of Different Scales
Creative text generation projects of different sizes (in terms of lines of code and length
of development time) are described. “Extra-small,” “small,” “medium,” and “large”
projects are discussed as participating in the practice of creative computing differently.
Different ways in which these projects have circulated and are being used in the
community of practice are identified. While large-scale projects have clearly been
important in advancing creative text generation, the argument presented here is that
the other types of projects are also valuable and that they are undervalued (particularly
in computer science and strongly related fields) by current structures of higher
education and academic communication – structures which could be changed.
(Source: Author's Abstract)
Small-scale systems can have many types of significance. They can be picked up and
modified by others, contributing directly to new types of aesthetic cultural production.
They can be instructive and provocative, challenging the ideas that have been
developed using exclusively large-scale systems. They can be used in teaching to prompt discussion or as the basis for student work. And, of course, they can be used to
sketch and explore so that one’s efforts are better applied when later undertaking
medium- or large-scale work.
