ENIGMA

Abstract

Losing sight of one's own identity has become increasingly prevalent in today's society between the emergence of the digital age, the isolation of living through a pandemic, and the loss of ‘self’ one often feels while going through a profound life change. The pursuit of self-knowledge and authenticity have long been linked through the philosophical works of countless great minds. Influenced by the works of Sartre, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Descartes, ENIGMA is an interactive stop motion experience that not only begs the audience to recognize their own authentic selves, but also builds a community of users who are going through the same process of self-authentication. In order to achieve this, ENIGMA explores empathy through decision making as the user is led through a gritty world of both craft and glitchy CG imagery. ENIGMA is simultaneously about the process of finding one's own authenticity and building an honest and vulnerable community through that process, in equal importance. Through the story told within ENIGMA and the decisions the users make in regard to their treatment of the world, empathy is encouraged as a tool for understanding both oneself and the world at large.