Deer Departure – Darien A. Deal
Statement
Deer Departure is an interactive video game telling the story of my journey grieving over my father’s death during my freshman year on a train ride through the foothills of Colorado. The title of the game being a pun on the protagonist’s species and the phrase ‘dearly departed’ paints a cartoonish and naive perspective of death by putting the viewer in the role of a young fawn. The story is told as a visual novel, which forces the viewer to actively engage with the conversations on-screen and make decisions in that moment in order to progress. This means that although textual interaction is the primary way to consume this installation, it is not the only way. The supporting characters that the player meets throughout the game each represent a stage of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ model of the five stages of grief, ranging from denial to acceptance.
By creating a piece that is not limited to the physical gallery, the story being told can be expanded upon in the future through a wider public release. Video games by design carry an interdisciplinary workload which allows visual, audial, and tactile engagement. That interactivity facilitates an emotional bond with the stylized characters on the computer screen. I hope that by being able to put yourselves in another person’s shoes, an empathetic bond can form between people with vastly different life experiences than your own. As well as be able to look back and revisit these emotions outside of the gallery setting.
You can download Deer Departure on your personal computer with this link: https://twinkletalon.itch.io/deer-departure
Bio
Darien A. Deal is a traditional and digital artist who focuses on the representation of the natural world through a fantastical lens. Her work displays flora and fauna in a semi-naturalistic style in order to present a twist on the established conceptions of what makes something ‘magical’. She has displayed work across the United States, but predominantly in Colorado and Tennessee. The materials she uses range from acrylic paints to wire sculpture to tell stories that engage the visual senses as much as the conceptual. Creating that suspension of disbelief through narrative is one of the key ways that her work seeks to become relevant in an ever changing world. Her focus post-graduation is on an exploration of digital media and how technology allows us to expand our artistic practices as humanity through video game development.
