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

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