First I was going to continue one of the 3 games we had to make for the beginning of this unit and when the oficcial start of developing the final piece I was considering which one to choose. But just I was about to decide, an event happened that I considered the best option to turn into a concept of an autobiographical narrative game.
In late February just a week before my birthday my friend was denided entry to the country due to covid restrictions and had a very rough trip back home which included walking 5 km in snow and cold in the middle of the night, trying to catch several cars and a bus. Not mentioning our disappointment, because we’ve been waiting for this meeting for more than 6 months.
Overwhelmed by emotions, after he reported that he made it back home safe eventually, I decided that this is the personal story I want to tell in my game since it quite relevant for many people these days, when we can’t see our loved ones when we want to. Apart from that I want to show the situation from both perspectives. From the perspective of my friend, who had to physically overcome obstacles and mine, when you’re staying have hundreds of kilometers away and can do nothing to help, but to comfort somehow over the phone when there is a connection available.
So for now I think this will be a wordless story, because I want players to feel the atmosphere and emotions themselves as well as leave some space for their personal interpretation and relation to the story. I want it to be something like Journey – a small, but stylish atmospheric game with a simple plot, whict communicates the message that if you support and care for each other, then anything is possible to bear.
I am also thinking about including symbolism in the game. Since I’m telling a personal story, they will be the ones we have between us two, but again, quite common for many people, so they still can relate to some of them. These can be common activities like playing games, listening to music or more private ones, but still open to be adapted to player’s personal interpretation.