Fabi
Reichsoellner
Today has been a good day, and yet... here you are, feeling like this. Again.
A short first-person autobiographical game about trying to cope. Remembering is scary, and reaching our for help can be even scarier, but that does not mean that we have to be all alone.
a memory of this was created as part of my 4th year honours project and dissertation. It discusses my struggles with the aftermath of being a victim of sexual violence and the strength it takes to reach out and ask for help.
It was also a part of my practice based research on how the medium of video games could influence the depiction and impact of personal storytelling.
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Credits:
Art, Design, Code - Fabi Reichsoellner
Audio - Curtesy of Alex Chapuis
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Art:
the story of amot is structured in three acts - anger, despair, and hope. Each of these emotions is represented by its own colour which taints the players hands as the story progresses.
The setting of the game is a mixture between 3d assets and 2d drawings to support the narrative with a feeling of disorientation and "wrongness".
The game features a total of 27 individual hand gestures.
Design:
The main goal of amot was not only telling my story but conveying the feelings I experienced and wanted to depict in the game to the players.
I researched pre-existing serious games and autobiographical games such as That Dragon, Cancer, Cibile, and Dys4ria. By looking at common design choices and emotional impact and comparing this to theory on trauma responses and its portrayal in other autobiographical media, i created a framework for my dissertation and project.
The two main mechanics I focused on for this prototype was a lack of agency and the perception of time.
When the narrative turns to a wave of negative thoughts and self loathing, the players has no means of stopping the text or progressing it themselves (other than pausing the game in case they are overwhelmed)
Waiting in video games feels a lot longer than waiting in real time. And amot makes their player wait, in silence.
