DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/NPTV-J368
Defense Date
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Dean's Office Qatar
First Advisor
Diane Derr
Second Advisor
Marco Bruno
Third Advisor
Sam Meekings
Fourth Advisor
Neihan Yaqoob
Abstract
'Strength' for Pakistani women is often defined as compromise, sacrifice, and silence. This definition has shaped intergenerational struggles in which women's self-narratives are constructed through suppression. Inherited Wounds seeks to address the trauma of suppression by creating a safe space for expression that fosters reflective and emotion-driven dialogue between Pakistani mothers and daughters.
Using interactive storytelling and embodied play, I developed a choice-based, narrative-driven video game and accompanying gesture-based controller. The game unfolds across childhood, marriage, and motherhood, mirroring the cycle of intergenerational struggle. Navigating choices in the game requires physical, intimate cooperation. The game uses the protagonist’s life as a lens for mothers and daughters to reflect on their own.
Engaging in this reflective play helps Pakistani women reclaim their agency by unpacking and deconstructing the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Inherited Wounds is an invitation to transform silence into dialogue, endurance into change, and suppression into expression.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-9-2025