Zach Shirikjian

Journey Through The Mind is a 3D Platformer level created in Unreal Engine 4. Players are placed inside the mind of Mint, as they experience the Main Character’s memories between their birth and their death. Each individual section of the level represents a specific event from Mint's life. The difficulty of the level design reflects the emotional state of Mint, where later sections are more difficult to signify them fighting off a terminal illness. Journey Through The Mind uses environmental storytelling to tell an emotional tragedy which the Main Character experienced, and does not feature any dialogue, cutscenes, or UI elements.​

Exploration and platforming sections are used to drive the narrative forward. The exploration sections are linearly designed, while allowing players to stop and look around their surroundings to piece together the story of how the Main Character passed away. The platforming sections are incorporated to keep players moving forward throughout the level. Journey Through the Mind’s linear level design reminds us that despite our ability to look back at the past and our memories, we must continue forward with our lives, no matter how difficult that is.

Journey Through the Mind was developed for the Level Design final project at Fitchburg State University. Developed during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, themes of nostalgia, tragedy, and grief are explored in the environmental narrative.