About
Unplaces is a game that explores ethereal dreamscapes—locations that exist solely within dreams. Built using the Miro whiteboard app, the game takes shape through a Mappa Mundi, a medieval European world map. Each marked location on the map corresponds to a unique mini-game centred around a specific dream-inspired place.
The inspiration for this game comes from multiple sources, primarily Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges' short story The Library of Babel. Both works explore the concept of imagined or impossible spaces, sparking my curiosity about how to design an experience within places that don't exist—one that deviates from traditional game structures while still functioning as a game. The idea of mapping dreamscapes, mainly through a Mappa Mundi, was influenced by Imaginary Cities by Darran Anderson. This approach allows for creating a world that blends mythology, abstraction, and personal dream logic rather than adhering to conventional geography.
This game is part of my ongoing project, The Engine is the Massage, a series of video games created in non-traditional game engines. Miro's functionality, particularly its ability to link one main board (the map) to other boards (individual dreamscapes/games) and inherently collaborative nature was the reason why it was chosen for this project.
This project was funded by Ontario Art Council(OAC) Media Artists Creation Projects
Bibliography
Calvino, I. (1978). Invisible cities. Borges, J. L. (1941). The library of Babel. In Collected fictions (pp. 112–120).
Anderson D., . (2017). Imaginary cities. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
