Interaction Design · Game Design
2024
Journey
Rediscovering forgotten festivals through play.
Interaction Design · Game Design
2024
Journey
Rediscovering forgotten festivals through play.
Brief
Journey is a puzzle adventure about rediscovering festival traditions. Players guide a festival spirit, solve puzzles and recover lost memories, bringing colour back to the world.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unity · Game scenes and puzzle interactions
Blender · 3D modelling
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unity · Game scenes and puzzle interactions
Blender · 3D modelling
Role
Research · Interaction, narrative & visual design
Timeline
Jan – Apr 2024
Team
Individual project
Platform
Digital game concept Design · Tablet interface
Role
Research · Interaction, narrative & visual design
Timeline
Jan – Apr 2024
Team
Individual project
Platform
Digital game concept Design · Tablet interface
Brief
Journey is a puzzle adventure about rediscovering festival traditions. Players guide a festival spirit, solve puzzles and recover lost memories, bringing colour back to the world.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Unity · Game scenes and puzzle interactions
Blender · 3D modelling
Role
Research · Interaction, narrative & visual design
Timeline
Jan – Apr 2024
Team
Individual project
Platform
Digital game concept Design · Tablet interface
Finding my way back to familiar festivals
01 / BACKGROUND
Reconnecting with festival memories
Journey began with childhood memories of celebrating festivals and a wish to reconnect with traditions that had grown distant. Festivals carry shared rituals, memories and belonging, yet urban life and globalisation can weaken these connections even when celebrations remain visible.
Festival evolution in time
Agrarian roots
Seasonal changes and agricultural cycles once gave many festivals their rhythm and practical meaning.
Cultural & spiritual roots
Festivals carry shared beliefs, rituals and memories.
Globalisation & cultural homogenisation
Global media and consumer culture can replace local traditions with standardised celebrations.
When traditions lose their context
As everyday life moves away from agrarian rhythms, rituals become harder to sustain and their deeper meanings less familiar.
Everyday life moves away from agrarian roots.
Cultural meaning becomes less familiar.
Why do we need festivals?
Local traditions evolve through cultural exchange.
A shared sense of belonging
Festivals connect cultural identity, shared rituals and collective memories. Their value lies in how people participate together, and how traditions adapt without losing their meaning.
Local traditions in a global context
Festivals retain local significance while absorbing new influences, bringing traditional practices into dialogue with modern life.
Finding my way back to familiar festivals
01 / BACKGROUND
Reconnecting with festival memories
Journey began with childhood memories of celebrating festivals and a wish to reconnect with traditions that had grown distant. Festivals carry shared rituals, memories and belonging, yet urban life and globalisation can weaken these connections even when celebrations remain visible.
Festival evolution in time
Agrarian roots
Seasonal changes and agricultural cycles once gave many festivals their rhythm and practical meaning.
Cultural & spiritual roots
Festivals carry shared beliefs, rituals and memories.
Globalisation & cultural homogenisation
Global media and consumer culture can replace local traditions with standardised celebrations.
When traditions lose their context
As everyday life moves away from agrarian rhythms, rituals become harder to sustain and their deeper meanings less familiar.
Everyday life moves away from agrarian roots.
Cultural meaning becomes less familiar.
Why do we need festivals?
Local traditions evolve through cultural exchange.
A shared sense of belonging
Festivals connect cultural identity, shared rituals and collective memories. Their value lies in how people participate together, and how traditions adapt without losing their meaning.
Local traditions in a global context
Festivals retain local significance while absorbing new influences, bringing traditional practices into dialogue with modern life.
Finding my way back to familiar festivals
01 / BACKGROUND
Reconnecting with festival memories
Journey began with childhood memories of celebrating festivals and a wish to reconnect with traditions that had grown distant. Festivals carry shared rituals, memories and belonging, yet urban life and globalisation can weaken these connections even when celebrations remain visible.
Festival evolution in time
Agrarian roots
Seasonal changes and agricultural cycles once gave many festivals their rhythm and practical meaning.
Cultural & spiritual roots
Festivals carry shared beliefs, rituals and memories.
Globalisation & cultural homogenisation
Global media and consumer culture can replace local traditions with standardised celebrations.
When traditions lose their context
As everyday life moves away from agrarian rhythms, rituals become harder to sustain and their deeper meanings less familiar.
Everyday life moves away from agrarian roots.
Cultural meaning becomes less familiar.
Why do we need festivals?
Local traditions evolve through cultural exchange.
A shared sense of belonging
Festivals connect cultural identity, shared rituals and collective memories. Their value lies in how people participate together, and how traditions adapt without losing their meaning.
Local traditions in a global context
Festivals retain local significance while absorbing new influences, bringing traditional practices into dialogue with modern life.
Making tradition relevant again
02 / RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
What the conversations revealed
Interviews revealed a fading festival atmosphere and a generational gap. Community participation and digital storytelling offered ways to reconnect, as long as the traditions kept their cultural meaning.
Who I designed for
I explored two younger audience groups: people seeking familiar cultural roots, and people looking for more relevant, interactive ways to engage.
Cultural roots
A connection to cultural roots, family and friends that fits modern urban life.
Explore & play
Visual, interactive experiences and a role in preserving culture.
From cultural loss to rediscovery
The mindmap connected cultural loss, younger audiences and symbolic language with exploration, puzzles and memory fragments.
Original mindmap · Open the image for full-size detail.
A journey of restoration
Players decode symbols and use cultural objects to uncover festival stories.
Original player journey · Swipe on smaller screens.
From festival motifs to symbols
Festival motifs became a visual language for the game.
→
UK · Guy Fawkes Night
→
China · Lion Dance
→
Germany · Oktoberfest
→
Japan · Gion Matsuri
Rediscovery through play
I chose exploration, symbolic puzzles and forgotten festival fragments as ways for players to rediscover cultural stories through their own actions.
Making tradition relevant again
02 / RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
What the conversations revealed
Interviews revealed a fading festival atmosphere and a generational gap. Community participation and digital storytelling offered ways to reconnect, as long as the traditions kept their cultural meaning.
Who I designed for
I explored two younger audience groups: people seeking familiar cultural roots, and people looking for more relevant, interactive ways to engage.
Cultural roots
A connection to cultural roots, family and friends that fits modern urban life.
Explore & play
Visual, interactive experiences and a role in preserving culture.
From cultural loss to rediscovery
The mindmap connected cultural loss, younger audiences and symbolic language with exploration, puzzles and memory fragments.
Original mindmap · Open the image for full-size detail.
A journey of restoration
Players decode symbols and use cultural objects to uncover festival stories.
Original player journey · Swipe on smaller screens.
From festival motifs to symbols
Festival motifs became a visual language for the game.
→
UK · Guy Fawkes Night
→
China · Lion Dance
→
Germany · Oktoberfest
→
Japan · Gion Matsuri
Rediscovery through play
I chose exploration, symbolic puzzles and forgotten festival fragments as ways for players to rediscover cultural stories through their own actions.
Making tradition relevant again
02 / RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
What the conversations revealed
Interviews revealed a fading festival atmosphere and a generational gap. Community participation and digital storytelling offered ways to reconnect, as long as the traditions kept their cultural meaning.
Who I designed for
I explored two younger audience groups: people seeking familiar cultural roots, and people looking for more relevant, interactive ways to engage.
Cultural roots
A connection to cultural roots, family and friends that fits modern urban life.
Explore & play
Visual, interactive experiences and a role in preserving culture.
From cultural loss to rediscovery
The mindmap connected cultural loss, younger audiences and symbolic language with exploration, puzzles and memory fragments.
Original mindmap · Open the image for full-size detail.
A journey of restoration
Players decode symbols and use cultural objects to uncover festival stories.
From festival motifs to symbols
Festival motifs became a visual language for the game.
→
UK · Guy Fawkes Night
→
China · Lion Dance
→
Germany · Oktoberfest
→
Japan · Gion Matsuri
Rediscovery through play
I chose exploration, symbolic puzzles and forgotten festival fragments as ways for players to rediscover cultural stories through their own actions.
Turning cultural memory into play
03 / DEFINE & CONCEPT
Journey turns forgotten festival traditions into an exploratory puzzle adventure. Players decode symbols, recover memory fragments and gradually bring a fading world back to life.
Game flow
The flow connects onboarding, exploration and puzzle solving to a final outcome. The original diagram keeps the menu branches, memory loop and alternative endings together.
A new game introduces movement, navigation and the first riddle; Continue returns to an existing journey.
Decoding symbols reveals readable text and memory fragments, opening new areas and feeding the core gameplay loop.
Key decisions and a final puzzle lead to full revival or failure, before the post-game return.
Game storyboard
Nine original sketches define the journey: six scenes follow the story from awakening to renewal, followed by three sketches of the puzzle and decoding interfaces.
Story progression
01
Opening scene: The awakening
02
Discovery of the first tablet
03
Through the forgotten path
04
The trial of the forgotten culture
05
The festival’s true form
06
The festival’s renewal
Interaction sketches
07
Puzzle mechanism
08
Symbol decoding interface
09
Decryption of festival culture
Turning cultural memory into play
03 / DEFINE & CONCEPT
Journey turns forgotten festival traditions into an exploratory puzzle adventure. Players decode symbols, recover memory fragments and gradually bring a fading world back to life.
Game flow
The flow connects onboarding, exploration and puzzle solving to a final outcome. The original diagram keeps the menu branches, memory loop and alternative endings together.
A new game introduces movement, navigation and the first riddle; Continue returns to an existing journey.
Decoding symbols reveals readable text and memory fragments, opening new areas and feeding the core gameplay loop.
Key decisions and a final puzzle lead to full revival or failure, before the post-game return.
Game storyboard
Nine original sketches define the journey: six scenes follow the story from awakening to renewal, followed by three sketches of the puzzle and decoding interfaces.
Story progression
01
Opening scene: The awakening
02
Discovery of the first tablet
03
Through the forgotten path
04
The trial of the forgotten culture
05
The festival’s true form
06
The festival’s renewal
Interaction sketches
07
Puzzle mechanism
08
Symbol decoding interface
09
Decryption of festival culture
Turning cultural memory into play
03 / DEFINE & CONCEPT
Journey turns forgotten festival traditions into an exploratory puzzle adventure. Players decode symbols, recover memory fragments and gradually bring a fading world back to life.
Game flow
The flow connects onboarding, exploration and puzzle solving to a final outcome. The original diagram keeps the menu branches, memory loop and alternative endings together.
A new game introduces movement, navigation and the first riddle; Continue returns to an existing journey.
Decoding symbols reveals readable text and memory fragments, opening new areas and feeding the core gameplay loop.
Key decisions and a final puzzle lead to full revival or failure, before the post-game return.
Game storyboard
Nine original sketches define the journey: six scenes follow the story from awakening to renewal, followed by three sketches of the puzzle and decoding interfaces.
Story progression
01
02
03
01
Opening scene: The awakening
02
Discovery of the first tablet
03
Through the forgotten path
04
05
06
04
The trial of the forgotten culture
05
The festival’s true form
06
The festival’s renewal
Interaction sketches
07
08
09
07
Puzzle mechanism
08
Symbol decoding interface
09
Decryption of festival culture
A spirit that carries forgotten stories
04 / CHARACTER & EXPERIENCE
Character design
A mysterious festival spirit connects the game’s visual language to its story. The design moves from a line draft and white model to a warm, symbolic character seen from several angles.
Line draft
White model
Final render
Front view
Side view
Back view
An abstract figure with a mystical connection to ancient traditions.
The form evolves as players uncover cultural symbols and stories.
Robe and scarf patterns blend motifs from different festivals.
Warm colour gradients express the return of fading traditions.
A mysterious festival spirit
Age unknown · Embodiment of the festival spirit
The character is the physical manifestation of forgotten cultural traditions and fading festivals. It journeys across barren lands to revive lost traditions and rekindle the spirit of ancient celebrations. As it gathers festival relics and uncovers forgotten stories, its form evolves.
Animation concept
Idle
A gentle glow surrounds the character; faint symbols pulse softly on its robe.
Walking
New symbols briefly light up on the attire, then fade.
Interacting
Light flows from a relic into the body, and a new symbol becomes part of the robe.
User journey map
The intended experience moves from detachment and curiosity towards empathy, reflection and a personal connection to cultural traditions.
Intended player experience · Five stages connect cultural awareness, emotions and anticipated player thoughts.
A spirit that carries forgotten stories
04 / CHARACTER & EXPERIENCE
Character design
A mysterious festival spirit connects the game’s visual language to its story. The design moves from a line draft and white model to a warm, symbolic character seen from several angles.
Line draft
White model
Final render
Front view
Side view
Back view
An abstract figure with a mystical connection to ancient traditions.
The form evolves as players uncover cultural symbols and stories.
Robe and scarf patterns blend motifs from different festivals.
Warm colour gradients express the return of fading traditions.
A mysterious festival spirit
Age unknown · Embodiment of the festival spirit
The character is the physical manifestation of forgotten cultural traditions and fading festivals. It journeys across barren lands to revive lost traditions and rekindle the spirit of ancient celebrations. As it gathers festival relics and uncovers forgotten stories, its form evolves.
Animation concept
Idle
A gentle glow surrounds the character; faint symbols pulse softly on its robe.
Walking
New symbols briefly light up on the attire, then fade.
Interacting
Light flows from a relic into the body, and a new symbol becomes part of the robe.
User journey map
The intended experience moves from detachment and curiosity towards empathy, reflection and a personal connection to cultural traditions.
Intended player experience · Five stages connect cultural awareness, emotions and anticipated player thoughts.
A spirit that carries forgotten stories
04 / CHARACTER & EXPERIENCE
Character design
A mysterious festival spirit connects the game’s visual language to its story. The design moves from a line draft and white model to a warm, symbolic character seen from several angles.
Line draft
White model
Final render
Front view
Side view
Back view
An abstract figure with a mystical connection to ancient traditions.
The form evolves as players uncover cultural symbols and stories.
Robe and scarf patterns blend motifs from different festivals.
Warm colour gradients express the return of fading traditions.
A mysterious festival spirit
Age unknown · Embodiment of the festival spirit
The character is the physical manifestation of forgotten cultural traditions and fading festivals. It journeys across barren lands to revive lost traditions and rekindle the spirit of ancient celebrations. As it gathers festival relics and uncovers forgotten stories, its form evolves.
Animation concept
Idle
A gentle glow surrounds the character; faint symbols pulse softly on its robe.
Walking
New symbols briefly light up on the attire, then fade.
Interacting
Light flows from a relic into the body, and a new symbol becomes part of the robe.
User journey map
The intended experience moves from detachment and curiosity towards empathy, reflection and a personal connection to cultural traditions.
Intended player experience · Five stages connect cultural awareness, emotions and anticipated player thoughts.
A world brought back to life
05 / GAME EXPERIENCE
Colour follows the restoration
Muted earth tones shift to mint, pink and coral as festival memories return.
01 / Fragmented
02 / Rediscovered
03 / Renewed
01 · The awakening
Movement and exploration begin in a sparse, deserted world.
The barren desert reflects fading traditions; crumbling ancient structures hint at festivals’ former life.
02 · The first tablet
Among weathered ruins, the player discovers the first festival tablet.
This first cultural clue begins the player’s reconnection with forgotten traditions.
03 · The forgotten path
A surreal city grows more complex as the journey progresses.
Pink skies, lilac towers and mint paths make returning memories visible.
04 · The trial of the forgotten culture
A glowing emblem fills the ceremonial chamber with mystery. Mint columns, pink walls and warm light suggest the festival’s potential rebirth.
Inside the chamber puzzle
01 · Rotate the mechanism to align cultural symbols.
02 · The mural responds to each rotation.
03 · Fit collected pieces into the lower-right grooves.
Festival tablet puzzle
Story clues and engraved symbols reveal a hidden festival message.
01 · Match the four tablets to their sculptures using discovered clues.
02 · Slide the yellow-ball levers to adjust slots or reveal hidden features.
03 · Decode the ordered symbols to reveal the festival’s meaning.
Chronicle of echoes
New symbols and relics are automatically organised in the book.
Mark important pages for a quick return.
Scene illustrations update as discoveries connect places and relics.
05 · The revelation
Decoded language reveals the festival’s traditions and history, embodied by the glowing orb.
An orange orb draws attention against mint architecture.
06 · Festival renewal
The once-barren world returns to life, colour and celebration.
Vibrant coral and pink complete the shift from loss to renewal.
A world brought back to life
05 / GAME EXPERIENCE
Colour follows the restoration
Muted earth tones shift to mint, pink and coral as festival memories return.
01 / Fragmented
02 / Rediscovered
03 / Renewed
01 · The awakening
Movement and exploration begin in a sparse, deserted world.
The barren desert reflects fading traditions; crumbling ancient structures hint at festivals’ former life.
02 · The first tablet
Among weathered ruins, the player discovers the first festival tablet.
This first cultural clue begins the player’s reconnection with forgotten traditions.
03 · The forgotten path
A surreal city grows more complex as the journey progresses.
Pink skies, lilac towers and mint paths make returning memories visible.
04 · The trial of the forgotten culture
A glowing emblem fills the ceremonial chamber with mystery. Mint columns, pink walls and warm light suggest the festival’s potential rebirth.
Inside the chamber puzzle
01 · Rotate the mechanism to align cultural symbols.
02 · The mural responds to each rotation.
03 · Fit collected pieces into the lower-right grooves.
Festival tablet puzzle
Story clues and engraved symbols reveal a hidden festival message.
01 · Match the four tablets to their sculptures using discovered clues.
02 · Slide the yellow-ball levers to adjust slots or reveal hidden features.
03 · Decode the ordered symbols to reveal the festival’s meaning.
Chronicle of echoes
New symbols and relics are automatically organised in the book.
Mark important pages for a quick return.
Scene illustrations update as discoveries connect places and relics.
05 · The revelation
Decoded language reveals the festival’s traditions and history, embodied by the glowing orb.
An orange orb draws attention against mint architecture.
06 · Festival renewal
The once-barren world returns to life, colour and celebration.
Vibrant coral and pink complete the shift from loss to renewal.
A world brought back to life
05 / GAME EXPERIENCE
Colour follows the restoration
The world brightens as festival memories return.
01 / Fragmented
02 / Rediscovered
03 / Renewed
01 · The awakening
Explore a barren desert and crumbling ruins, traces of fading traditions.
02 · The first tablet
Among ruined pillars, the first tablet reconnects the player with forgotten traditions.
A first chance to reconnect with forgotten traditions.
03 · The forgotten path
Follow the surreal city’s pink skies and mint paths as cultural memory returns.
Pink skies, lilac towers and mint paths make returning memories visible.
04 · The forgotten chamber
Mint, pink and warm light frame a mysterious festival emblem.
Inside the puzzle
01 · Rotate to align cultural symbols.
02 · Watch the mural respond.
03 · Fit collected pieces into the grooves.
Festival tablet puzzle
01 · Match four tablets to sculptures using clues.
02 · Slide the yellow balls to adjust slots.
03 · Decode the symbols to reveal the festival message.
Chronicle of echoes
The book organises symbols and relics, bookmarks discoveries and records visited scenes.
05 · The revelation
Decoded stories reveal the festival spirit: an orange orb against mint ruins.
An orange orb draws attention against mint architecture.
06 · Festival renewal
Coral, pink and lively streets mark the festival’s renewal.
Vibrant coral and pink complete the shift from loss to renewal.
What play can leave behind
06 / FEEDBACK & REFLECTION
What play can leave behind
06 / FEEDBACK & REFLECTION
Reflective experience storyboard
Reflective experience storyboard · An illustrated scenario of how play might prompt cultural reflection, rather than a record of observed behaviour.
Reflective experience storyboard
Illustrated reflection scenario · Open the original for detail.
What resonated
Players valued the evolving festival spirit, the gradual pace and the chance to reconnect with traditions.
What resonated
The evolving spirit and gradual discovery encouraged curiosity about traditions.
What needs refinement
Feedback called for clearer instructions and symbol decoding, richer backstory and more interaction. Mid-game puzzles also need better calibrated difficulty.
What needs refinement
Clarify symbols and instructions; deepen mid-game puzzles, story and interaction.
Where I would take it next
The next iteration would connect festival stories more clearly to life today, refine puzzle guidance and explore distinct abilities unlocked by each festival symbol.
Where I would take it next
Connect traditions to life today and explore festival-specific abilities.
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