Carmen Yuen

My Reflection

"My Reflection" is a short, top-down, 2D pixel animated exploration game about a student seeking the answers to her problems in the midst of constant upcoming assignment deadlines. This work explores the themes of self-reflection and mental health. The player will play as Luna who is on a journey to the library to find an ‘all-answers’ book in order to solve all her problems at once. Luna must explore and interact with the world around her if she so desperately needs those answers post-haste. Using keyboard inputs and mouse controls, players must interact with the game’s 2D visuals and objects to reveal letters that are required to unlock the final door and achieve the ending of the game. The goal of this project is to highlight and remind students the importance of taking breaks during stressful times. The concept for this work derives from my own experiences as a student. It is a commentary on my feelings of navigating through schooling and needing to overcome challenges of anxiety, organization and time-management. The title, "My Reflection" was created to keep in mind the idea to continually reflect on oneself. The desire and inspiration to produce this game stems from my aspirations to be a 2D visual artist for game design and wanting to provide a new, different lens to traditional 8-bit gaming as a Chinese-Canadian, female artist. Being exposed to games such as Eric Barone’s Stardew Valley, it sparked great interest in me to produce my own using the 8-bit style. "My Reflection" breaks away from many typical and traditional tropes of 8-bit style games. These tropes include following a male lead, a focus on battling, farming, or platform simulations and using the 8-bit style purely for aesthetic reasons. The game puts a female protagonist to the forefront and winning is not achieved by scoring points or defeating enemies, but in understanding the overarching message: it is to understand the importance of one’s physical and mental health. All of the artwork and animation were done on Aseprite and Clip Studio Paint. The game itself runs on the Godot Engine. Gameplay ranges from thirty minutes to an hour. The game is made available for download through Itch.io’s platform. "My Reflection" has a serious yet sympathetic tone. It combines fantasy with elements of my personal experiences to act as a reminder that reflecting on one’s own capabilities and health in order to move forward is essential.To download and play the game, please click on the link provided below :)