The wonderful thing about exploring the Indie Megabooth at PAX East is that you’ll often find big ideas in small packages. The other day, I wrote about Dive Kick’s deconstruction of the 2D fighter, and how it resulted in a simple and elegant gameplay mechanic. On the other side of the spectrum — and I’d argue more rare — is Richard Perrin and Melissa Royall’s Journal, a game that tackles big themes through its narrative.
Journal is an adventure game that follows the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find that all the pages in her journal are now blank. While trying to solve this mystery, she encounters many of the hardships that any child can come across. At PAX East, we experienced having to play the middle-man between a parent and possible significant other while also having to navigate the sea of awkwardness associated with keeping a socially-disadvantaged friend. Perhaps what made these interactions so interesting is the fact that they’re not interesting. We can all relate to these experiences. However, it’s for that reason that we rarely play through these in a game. What made me see the demo to the end was this overwhelming feeling that something huge was happening, and I wanted to see how it was going to unfold.
Narratively, Journal makes a big promise. We’re told that the game aims to tackle the idea of how memories may choose to perceive past events while also exploring what our dreams try to tell us.
This isn’t the only complex thing about the game. Journal made me feel relaxed, yet uneasy at the same time. Royall’s art combined with the voice acting and sound are soothing and provide a mellow atmosphere that seemed appropriate for the game. Still, the looming feeling that this girl’s world would soon be crashing around her made me tense.
I was anxious to see and play more.
For a game made by two people, I’m impressed with the themes that this game claimed it would tackle and the mood the game set with its aesthetic and character interactions. Though the demo didn’t include enough for us to see how completely the game would fulfill its “narrative promise,” I’m compelled to see how they attempt to do so based on what I experienced at PAX.
Perrin and Royall have set the groundwork for what could be an incredibly thought-provoking experience in Journal. Watch for its release later this year on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS.
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