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Image of final exhibition. A scene of a remade childhood room with eerie imagery surrounding it. An old television sits in one corner with ripped up tapes sprawled out and plays static. A bean bag with childish writing sits in front of it. In the left corner sits a dresser with crayon drawings all over it, some scarier than others. On top of the dresser sits an old record player playing music thats old. Crayons and cigarettes litter the place. In the middle of the room sits a modern television that plays an animation that has different styles and no plot. On the other two walls are posters that are dark and scary.

Saudade

Savannah Kellner

Undergraduate
Saudade (pronounced saw-dad) is a video game concept that explores the stinging feeling of never being able to go back in time using interactive story elements. Nostalgia is cryptic in its nature, allowing both feelings of happiness and melancholy to reemerge at the same time. It can romanticize dark times, warping our perception in an attempt to heal from trauma. Saudade reflects on my personal relationship with these ideas of nostalgia by using visual language to awaken my long forgotten traumas. The decision to make a video game was an act of nostalgia itself, paying homage to the retro games I enjoyed as a child. The interactive element allows the viewer an opportunity to dig deeply into the story and reflect on their own relationship with nostalgia, as I have.