This project was part of my Master Degree study work. For this assignment, we were asked to design a fragment of a game that should be glitchy and is around the main notion we are working around which was a syncity. A secret pirate game syndicate in Edinburgh that we were able to tune into. The game fragment was the end series of 3 other moves. One of which is the Card Maze animation.

SynQuest Opening screen

In my game, I wanted to play around the basic shapes and their meanings in Islamic art. So, I started with the circle which is related to the ideas of origin, unity, oneness. Also, the circle resonates with the tawaf [circling Kaaba] and the twirling of Sufi dervishes. Hence came the twirling motions of the first level.

SynQuest Level 1 screenshot

In the second level, I used the triangle which is a symbol of the three elements of knowledge: the known, the knower and the act of knowing. Thus, the player had to figure out the card that would complete the sequence of the already known three cards.

SynQuest Level 2 screenshot

In the third level, I used the square which is a symbol of the physical world. So, I hid some clues between 3D volumes that the player had to move around and interact with the physical world I created for him/her.

SynQuest Level 3 screenshot

In the last level, the player reached the hexagon which is the symbol of heaven and that is the reward for finishing this segment of the game.

The game was designed using Macromedia Director and the scripting language of lingo. The software and the language are no longer used.