memory empire

Memory Empire is, like many Bitsy games, a personal piece. At the time I started it I was doing a lot of reading around themes of loneliness, immigration and isolating othernesses. It also serves as a test for my research project Storymaker World.

People who use Bitsy regularly often reflect upon how much it allows for and fosters an environment for small, private stories, an environment that naturally lends itself to anecdotal, narrative based experiences. Memory Empire is certainly like that: its rooms host poetry, dialogues about gardens, quiet in the library, and a number of creatures big and small. It is also a project that has been ongoing since I started it in 2021. Each new room is another memory. In that way, the game is as much a diary as it is a reflection of my last year of the PhD, my childhood, my understanding of isolation and missing home, and the ways in which I used my creative practice to make those feelings digestible and relatable for an audience of players.