Lindolpho's Box of Ephemera
Artist Statement
Our hidden hero was the great-grandfather of two of our team members, Gabi & Giulia, and his name was Lindolpho Espeschit. Born in 1896, he was a journalist and writer from Brazil who published his first book and biography at the age of 98 years old, four years before his death at age 102. He was chosen for the rich stories and accounts he left behind in his book, and his great–granddaughters' wish to explore his legacy and the history of their German ancestors' migration to Brazil. While our main source of inspiration was his book, we also interviewed one of his last remaining daughters and explored a large archive of photos, footage and memorabilia different members of the family have kept along the years.
Lindolpho himself described his biography as 'pieces of his soul that were left over' from many places and crossroads in life.
In our prototype, we explore the idea of uncovering these fragments through the art of collage, where the creation process itself represents his great-granddaughters' journey in revisiting vignettes of his life and finding new meaning in his legacy.
About Gabi
Gabi is an Experience Designer from Brazil who loves to combine storytelling, play and human-centered design to craft products and experiences that strive to create little moments of happiness and social connection. She is passionate about intergenerational storytelling & exploring the intersection between art, play & technology and its potential role in the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Gabi is a USC Games alumna and the creator of award-winning project Healing Spaces . She currently lives and work in Germany 🇩🇪, where she joined the jam from.
About Giulia
Giulia is currently in the last semester of her master thesis' in Ethnic and Migration Studies at Linkoping University in Sweden. She is interested in exploring creative ways to tell people's stories, especially when related to the world of migration. She was born in Brazil and lived all of her life abroad across various countries and cities. Giulia joined the jam from Portugal 🇵🇹
About Katie
Katie is a Software Engineer from the United States who loves creating fun and engaging interactive experiences. She met Gabi at USC while pursuing a masters in Interactive Media and is also an alum of RIT's game design and development program (go tigers). When not developing new features for Second Dinner's Marvel Snap, she enjoys rock climbing and going on adventures. Katie joined the jam from Los Angeles 🇺🇸
Credits
Collage images and visual assets from personal family archive, Envato Elements, Acervo Jornal Minas Gerais and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
SFXs from Envato Elements.
Music 1. Tico Tico no Fubá, Orquestra Colbaz, Zequinha de Abreu (1931) 2. Serra da Boa Esperança, Francisco Alves (1937)
Inspired by Lindolpho Espeschit's book 'Pelos Caminhos do Brasil, o que encontrei: Histórias que me contaram, história que pesquisei, histórias que vivi'
Third Party Libraries:
Comments
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Hello, I just played this game, and I have a few things to say.
First, my favorite thing is that it just puts your right in the experience, it does not give you a tutorial or something like that. Second, I think the simplicity of it is one of the most beautiful part of this work. I wouldn't call this just a game, I would call this art. It is SO BEAUTIFULLY DONE I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. And it gives you a piece of history that many of us don't know. I'm a fellow Brazilian and seeing people like you bringing such important and thoughtfull material into the world is absolutely amazing. Thank you for the efforts and keep being sucesfulll out there! Going to definitely read his book. I also think you must feel a connection to his work due to the similar stories you share. Isn't it interesting to think about how y'all unconsciously traced the same path as him?
Blessed to all of you.
Hello! Thank you for playing and for your kind comment! I'm glad you enjoyed our project. I'll pass this along to Gabi and Giulia since I'm not sure if they get notified about comments on this page. :)
Hi there! 🙂
Wow, thank you so much for your kind words and feedback! It makes us so happy to hear that our work resonates with a fellow Brazilian 🤗
Giulia & I have been abroad and moving around for many years, and in his book, we definitely found 'pieces of ourselves', I'd say. This longing (or saudade 🙂) for places and the past is something that is incredibly present throughout his work, and something that we immediately connected with.
For me, personally, it was also an opportunity to share a side of our Brazilian heritage that most are unfamiliar with - and this is something we hope to enhance in our next iteration!
Thanks for playing & supporting our work! 😉