Galaxy of No Smiles

This is a print and play analog game about PTSD and its effects on the relationship between a Vietnamese refugee and his son symbolized through the Vietnamese legend of the Milky Way Galaxy.

I was inspired to create this game based on my dad's experience with PTSD from the Vietnam War and how it affected my relationship with him. There were times where there was an emotional distance between my dad and I, and I could never understand why he was the way he was. That also led me to become nonchalant towards my dad. It was when I finally took the time to understand my dad and his past that I finally got to connect to him at a deeper level.

This game was made for the 2023 School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology (AHT) Game Jam at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The theme of the above game jam was Collaboration, where a student that was not an Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communications (ATEC) major had to act as a consultant for a team to guide the narrative, mechanics, and/or art of the game. As the main consultant for the narrative and mechanics in my team, I was a Cognitive Science major and guided the game to implement a game concept that revolves around mental health. Based on my experiences being the son of Vietnamese refugees and my knowledge of mental health disorders, I decided to focus on PTSD in the Vietnamese diaspora for the game. Based on my knowledge and research of PTSD (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/box/part1_ch3.box16/) and how it affects the Vietnamese diaspora (source: https://diverseelders.org/2019/07/16/war-trauma-and-the-mental-health-of-vietnam...), the trauma caused by the war leads to a very high rate of PTSD among Vietnamese refugees, yet PTSD is seen as a weakness among Vietnamese people due to the stigma of mental health disorders. This stigma causes sufferers to hide their issues and can lead to inter-generational trauma. I tied this into the game mechanics and narrative of the game by creating a cooperative game where a father and his son must reconcile by facing their trauma together in a healthy manner.

The main consultant for the art of the game was Amel Ismail, a Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) major. She researched Vietnamese art history, Vietnamese art style, and Vietnamese culture to create the art of the game.

The member of my team that was an ATEC major was Caleb Whorton, who refined the game concept and implemented additional mechanics under the guidance of my research to create an interesting game. He also balanced the game mechanics using statistical analysis.

Many thanks to Eri Hilao, Jacob Greene, and Ryan Armstrong for playtesting and critiquing the iterations of the game!