Through a Touch-Screen Looking Glass; New York Times, 4/10/15

J.D. Biersdorfer, New York Times; Through a Touch-Screen Looking Glass:

"As Hollywood has repeatedly shown, dressing up well-worn stories in shiny packages can gain another generation of fans. App designers are now taking a turn at the reboot game with some of literature’s most beloved characters. Public-domain works have appeal because, with time-tested narratives in place, software makers can focus on creating a fresh storytelling experience aided by technology.

Take, for example, Sherlock Holmes. Most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s material is now out of copyright and reliably available in the “free” section of e-bookstores. But the great detective has traveled deeper into the digital realm than mere text in the immersive SHERLOCK: INTERACTIVE ADVENTURE for iOS ($1.99 for the full version)...

While “Sherlock” and “Alice” date back to 19th-century Britain, even older stories from other cultures are popping up online with striking visual interpretations. PIXEL FABLE, created by the designer and illustrator Senongo Akpem, is a website devoted to reworking a handful of African folk stories like “Why the Sky Is Far Away.”"