Cognizance is a short-form puzzle game experience created in Unreal Engine 4.
This project was created in collaboration with Milena Satrohan under the group moniker Hex.Hack Games.
Involvement: Game development utilizing Unreal Engine 4, user interface design, scripting using C++, level design, puzzle design, and 3D modelling in Blender
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Cognizance takes place within the desolate stark white walls of an art gallery- however, this isn't just your typical art gallery.
Players can navigate a curated selection of experiential art pieces that revolve around the key design concepts of C.R.A.P (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity). As the user navigates winding hallways, dodges ethereal flying objects, and solves puzzles to progress through the space they find themselves questioning their purpose within the space. Ultimately, they must find their way out but stumble on secrets along the way, such as a discovery of a fourth-wall-breaking gallery room full of documentation of the development of the spaces theyve just explored.
Acting as a sarcastic love letter of sorts to our undergraduate education, this game comments on the stresses and aspirations that are planted into the minds of art students throughout their education, always questioning if their projects were “artistic enough”. This project is a literal take on the aspects that turn any form of art into what may be considered "New Media".
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Cognizance was showcased at Ryerson University's New Media SIM Night, hosted by InterAccess, a non-profit art gallery in Toronto.
An update and revival of this project is currently in the works featuring a full game overhaul as well as support for virtual reality headsets under the title "Recognizance". It is expected to be playable at-home using a web browser or via downloadable .exe for VR.
