Symbiont is a point & click visual novel in which the player character explores a surreal forest ecosystem through the technology of the internet. As your connections with the inhabitants of the forest grow, your body transforms and entangles with the ecosystem. My goal with this project was to make a visual interactive narrative that challenges anthropocentric perspectives and reshapes how we see ourselves and our place in the complex ecosystems we inhabit.

Artist statement

I use interactive art & storytelling to imagine alternative futures and ecologies,
exploring our relationships with the non-human world (both nature and technology) along the way.
Through these worlds and stories, I express my own questions, emotions and philosophies about being alive today, and how I am always questioning what other people see as normal.
In an age of rapid technological advancement, economic upheaval, xenophobia and climate change, I feel driven as an artist and storyteller to imagine alternatives to the bleak future we are hurtling towards. If we don't imagine a better world, how will we ever be able to build one?
There is a quiet idealism present in my work, even when the stories take place in dystopian settings. The world will not end tomorrow. We will always have the chance to do better.

Ambitions

I want to continue working on projects that aren't afraid to challenge the status quo, both in their storytelling and art as well as their position in the games industry. I also want to keep developing my own interests, passions and knowledge, and continue incorporating those into my work.
While the role of concept artist is what I enjoy doing most, I want to continue to develop my skills in other aspects of game development and storytelling as well.

Learned during the studies

I learned that every person has a unique creative process, fueled by their own interests, preferences and life experiences. My own process doesn't have to fit into a specific box created by outside expectations. Collaborating with people results in interesting creative combinations, as well as a very fun process, and is incredibly fulfilling as a result!

List of publications / exhibitions / prices / concerts / shows etc.

I've released two sci-fi games on Itch.io that I developed together with my friends. I fulfilled the role of artist and narrative designer on both projects.

Intertwine is a narrative platformer about a cyborg exploring a strange alien ecosystem, and learning what other kinds of intelligences think about transformation, death and capitalism along the way.

Diluvium is a narrative environmental puzzle game set in a post-apocalyptic utopian future where the sea level has risen dramatically, and people have built a new, sustainable society living on floating islands.

Both games can be found on my itch.io profile: barbsart.itch.io