Train 6 | Final project WIP

Design Statement

I am working on a social anxiety text adventure. In this project, I hope to begin exploring user experiences of embodiment and haunting when interacting with a technological experience that evokes a societal system. Eventually, I want to more deeply explore the connectivity between societal systems and digital systems in order to help us, as creators, think more intentionally about the stakes of working in digital media.

 

Research

Parham, Marisa. “Black Haunts in the Anthropocene.” http://blackhaunts.mp285.com/

Lewis, Jason Edward. “Preparations for a Haunting.”

Harrell, Fox. Phantasmal Media.

Chun, Wendy. Programmed Visions: Software and Memory.

Byrd, Jodi. “Beast of America: Sovereignty and the Wildness of Objects.”

 

Precedents

Zoe Quinn, Depression Quest

Brendan Patrick Hennessy, Birdland

Anna Anthropy, Queers in Love at the End of the World

Renee Nejo, Blood Quantum

 

Prototypes

Here is a first look at the site I’m building to hold and contextualize the text adventure game, as well as the game itself running in p5!

 

Description

The game is somewhere between a choose-your-own-adventure and a dating sim. You play as a character who is tired and just trying to survive a party that she really doesn’t want to be at. The gameplay consists of talking to people, trying to make friends, and occasionally hiding in the bathroom to recharge. There’s a hint of queer romance-to-be on the side. 🙂

The game itself is built in p5, and will be contained in a website that also includes relevant critical theory, background on the project, and some documentation.