Habiba El-Sayed
Unstolen
In this game, House Group Effigy serves as the main map. Like the original object, each area of the map is connected through tunnels that can be accessed through a portal in the middle. It is likely this object was modeled after Los Guachimontones, a Teuchitlán ceremonial site in Jalisco, Mexico.
As an homage to the Mesoamerican beliefs that likely informed the design of the object, the game has 3 planes that the player can explore. First, the heavenly plane which is represented by the floating island of the main map. Next, the earthly plane is each of the 4 main areas the player will have to clear. Finally, the underworld which be accessed by entering through the central portal and will only unlock once the other 4 areas are complete.
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As game developers and artists, it is our responsibility to critically examine who’s stories we tell and how we tell them. That is why Unstolen does not posit the player as someone who has come to save a world and its inhabitants, rather the player is there to explore and assist with a celebration through the completion of minigames and returning talismans.
A cut-scene in the beginning of the game will place me in the narrative as an observer who connected with the object at a museum. Drawn to it’s communal and architectural form, I attempted to learn more about it. However, looting has made the object’s history hard to pinpoint and left open to misinterpretation. As a Guyanese-Egyptian person, colonialism, looting and the literal objectification of our bodies hits very close to home. I began to connect to the object on a more personal level and hope to respectfully approach House Group Effigy as a way to tell this shared story.
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The game consists of 5 levels that represent the things that cannot be stolen from a culture. Each level will consist of a mini game that are AR/VR interactable. These levels are still in development but click the GIFs for some key themes!
Food:
An ever-expanding table, passed down recipes, abundance.
An ever-expanding table, passed down recipes, abundance.
Resilience:
Once All 4 main areas are cleared, the level in the centre of the map will unlock, allowing the player to enter the underworld. More challenging mini games that can be completed with the help of game characters met along the way.
Once All 4 main areas are cleared, the level in the centre of the map will unlock, allowing the player to enter the underworld. More challenging mini games that can be completed with the help of game characters met along the way.
Storytelling:
Vessels for stories, mythologies, and familial tales.
Vessels for stories, mythologies, and familial tales.
Mending the Museum (2023)
Workshop Series:
Narrative Charm
Blackout Poetry
Play it Forward
Cloning and Paper Clay
Clay|Sound|Powah
INFO
About the Collective
Members of the Collective
For all inquires, please email mendingthemuseum@gmail.com
Brand identity, website design and development by Natasha Whyte-Gray, 2023.