Welcome!

You are about to read, watch, scan, click, and play my thesis on indigenous video games. As you move through the site, here are some tips to help you on your way:

  • This site is best viewed full screen in Chrome or Safari.
  • When you reach the bottom of a passage, click ‘Continue’ to move onto the next section.
  • As you read, you can always scroll back up to revisit the passages you’ve already seen.
  • Many of the links are clickable, so feel free to explore off the site!
  • QR codes can be scanned with your smartphone for a more immersive dimensional experience (Don’t forget to tilt and move your phone around once the link opens! For the full effect, pop your phone into a Google cardboard and put some headphones on).
  • Embedded games can be clicked and played within the site, so be sure to explore them.

 

This site is designed to emphasize iterations, recurrences, and echoes throughout its text. In this way, it evokes the Anishinaabe idea of biskaabiiyang, or returning. In the words of game developer Elizabeth LaPensée,

biskaabiiyang journeying begins by venturing out… Then, through iterative cycles of revisiting or returning, the journey becomes clearer and reveals its interconnectedness. Finally, the journey completes itself and maintains openness to continue infinite loops that further clarify and deepen our knowledge.

—Elizabeth LaPensée, “Transformations and Remembrances in the Digital Game We Sing for Healing,” 4

As you navigate the site, you may find sections and ideas that directly or indirectly echo themselves throughout the course of the text. My hope is that these sections not only deepen your understanding of my site’s content, but allow you to appreciate the experience of a journey that re-iterates itself.