Artist Statement

As my work focuses on inequality in video games and the game industry, this project was created using the Unity game engine as a response to the lack of diverse, inclusive video games currently available on the market. Using aesthetics as my main tool, I incorporated three major themes – gender presentation, race, and colonialism – into the design of the game.

Characters play a major role in video games, often being the surrogate for the player, so I made the choice to design Sorrel (the game’s protagonist) in a way that subverts the typical gender and racial presentation of player characters. Sorrel provides an alternate point-of-view to the normalizing usage of white male hypermasculine protagonists. These protagonists usually employ a sense of power over their environment, a symbolic representation of colonial control and exploitation.

The forest environment is designed to be explored using camera and movement controls that maximize focus on Sorrel as a character, placing the player as an observer rather than an agent of control. As this is a work in progress, I aim to add exploration objectives that provide purpose for navigating the forest – these will enhance the story of the character and his relationships in ways that continue to subvert the three main themes mentioned above.

To increase accessibility to the project, I am releasing each updated game version free online via Itch.io, a platform that supports indie game publishers by allowing them to host their projects via their website. Uploading it as a web game playable via a browser may also increase security by preventing players from downloading files.

Being a marginalized artist allows me to see the world in ways that privileged individuals are blind to. Through my practice of game development and illustration, I share my perspective in the hope to inspire questions and encourage personal creativity in players and viewers.