joonie da pebble

please click "restart" before you play!

This game was based on one of my obsessions of collecting pebbles and rocks! :) I had lots of pet rocks growing up. The last place I went to collect was Nitobe Garden at the UBC Vancouver campus which inspires this story-game's setting and vibe. When I sat in Nitobe to be at peace, I realized that if you spent some time listening and seeing the nature around you, it could be vigorous and violent to a being much smaller than myself. 

I wanted to juxtapose this story about characters who are literal pebbles, that are chill...that just sit — that do nothing in a zen garden, that are terrorized by nature...and an old woman who is simply on stroll, kicking rocks. I tried to focus on and engage with the concept of struggle when creating this as a game, per Greg Costikyan's working definition of a game, but it was difficult to do so since the game I had in mind is more narrative or simulative, rather than having emphasis on goal orientation. The craft elements that I wanted to focus on were setting and voice, because I really wanted this story-game to be just "vibes," with a cute little plot about an anxious little pebble. Like npckc's Space Frog, it's a simple pick-your-path story to just sit and chill with when your brain feels like it’s a rushing river, when in reality, it might just be a babbling brook. During play-testing, I asked friends to play it through, both friends who typically wouldn't enjoy something like this and friends that would, as per a piece of advice given to me by Nat Mesnard to consider the audience/player of your game. It was clear that my game was very narrative forward, however I was encouraged to bring "goal" back in mind to improve it. 

I'm definitely not finished with this guy yet. I'd love to expand it further! And I would've loved to make illustrations every passage... :)