Begin Journey (Unity Game)

Begin Journey is a black-and-white, point-and-click game that I independently designed, wrote, and programmed for my ARTGAMES studio class at the University of Chicago in March 2021. The game takes the player on an Alice-in-Wonderland style journey through key segments in the past of the female avatar, inviting the player to reflect with her on their own past and the transition from childhood to adulthood. The art style was inspired by the pseudo-3D aesthetic of Cardboard Computer’s Kentucky Route Zero (2013), and the writing style was influenced by the sadistic narrative voice in Alexander Ocias’ Loved (2010). Begin Journey attempts to visualize and convey the inexpressible feelings of loss, melancholia, ad nostalgia. 

A webpage version is available to play at: https://simmer.io/@IreneLi/begin-journey (Approx. 6 minutes of gameplay)

Below is a brief video that captures several important instances in the game:

Please note: the soundtrack in this video, which is an excerpt from Dotomo Tsuyoshi's “My Beautiful Sky” (美我空), is not included in the game; it is added for a better viewing experience only.