“You’ve been living here for as long as you can remember”: trauma in OMORI's environmental design

Younis, Aya; Fedtke, Jana

Abstract

Developed by Omocat and released in December 2020, OMORI is a surreal psychological horror role-playing game. The game follows the titular protagonist Omori as it examines such sensitive topics as suicide, grief, death, and depression. Such traumatic events are triggered in several planes of existence—White Space, Headspace, and Black Space—leading to anxiety, regression, and resurfacing trauma. In our article, we examine such representations of trauma with particular attention to the role of environmental design. The planes represent different approaches to memory, trauma, and repression, which Omori and the player navigate in non-linear, recursive paths. We analyze how each space seeks to illuminate and explore aspects of trauma in its respective atmosphere. Through environmental design, OMORI provides players with three distinct experiences with escapism and trauma that are representative of the experiences of trauma victims, ultimately elucidating the psychological phenomenon on a larger scale to de-stigmatize trauma.

Citation

Younis, A., & Fedtke, J. (2023). “You’ve been living here for as long as you can remember”: trauma in OMORI's environmental design. Games and Culture, 19(3), 309-336. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231162982

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Mar 15, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Journal: Games and Culture
• Print ISSN: 1555-4120
• Electronic ISSN: 1555-4139
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 309-336
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231162982
• Keywords: escapism, OMORI, environmental design, video games, trauma
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231162982