Hermeticon: Pop Spell Maker

"Hermeticon: Pop Spell Maker" "initially appears on the screen as an empty rectangular grid while an ominous synthesized bass note pulses in the background. The minimal directions tell the reader to 'click on grid and then use your keyboard to create pop spells.' . . . When the reader types, each keystroke places an enigmatic fragment of text on the grid, pairing it with a clip from a raucous 1980s television advertisement; for example, the 'u' key calls up the phrase 'between the hills' and an ad for Kellogg’s Corn Pops. Key combinations produce overlapping pairs and a cacophony of jingles and slogans. Though in many cases the juxtapositions are striking and evocative, especially in combination with the images, sounds, and movements of the commercials, the pieces of text do not add up to a coherent message, regardless of the combinations the reader types. In fact, the text-video pairs remain only the screen only as long as the keys are pressed; they do not accumulate to fill the grid. Hermeticon thus serves as a kind of quirky translation engine that converts whatever words a reader attempts to type into its puzzling, provocative 'spells.'" -- John Zuern, from Electronic Literature Directory