We Arrived / Chegamos
interactive fiction
Year: 2015
Year: 2019
Role: Concept, Design, Writing, Development
"We Arrived // Chegamos" is a web based interactive fiction that investigates notions of Diasporic identity and translation through the appropriation of the structure and aesthetics of language learning software. The piece focuses on language translation and attempts at understanding social and cultural situations within a familial narrative.
Concept
ideation and story
The initial concept for the story drew from a desire to subvert the interaction patterns of language learning tools by injecting a personal, familial narrative into a classically abstract structure. The resulting passages ask the reader not only to view the piece as a narrative, but also to attempt to engage with the acts of translation and interpretation.
Sketching the structure and flow of the narrative.
Creating an exhaustive map of the intertwining paths within the story.
Creating an exhaustive map of the intertwining paths within the story.
Imagery
vision sketches
The visual concepts for the piece evoke the dry aesthetics of modern software design, while subtly hinting at a detached vision of a familiar place. In abstracting these personal locales, the setting hints at a story both out of time and place.
Envisioning a story setting, based on the aesthetics of flat software design.
Injecting subtle personal details into an abstracted scene.
Narrative
writing and game design
The narrative of the piece reveals mistranslated passages and partially deciphered constructs, following an autobiographical story that shifts between the point of view of the artist and her mother. The fragmented story structure purposefully places the reader in a liminal state, navigating a duality of cultural and generational experiences.
Installation
thesis showcase
In order to compliment the work's flat design in a physical environment, I created a faux travel agency booth that, in the aesthetic tradition of retro office spaces, conveyed a sense of placelessness and genericism.
Building a physical environment in which to engage with the final piece.
Final piece
design and context
Ultimately, through story and interaction, We Arrived // Chegamos seeks to complicate and critique our existing construction of cultures, nationalities, borders, and the prejudices that accompany them. Using the tool of language, the story investigates these constructs, and how they manifest in individual narratives, attempting to understand how we relate to our histories and languages in a contemporary global context.
Allie Teixeira Riggs
Allie Teixeira Riggs
Allie Teixeira Riggs
Design Researcher and Product Designer
Design Researcher and Product Designer
Design Researcher and Product Designer
Design Researcher and Product Designer