Exhibited July 2017 at MOSTEIRO SÃO BENTO DA VITÓRIA in Porto Portugal as part of the Electronic Literature Festival, SALT IMMORTAL SEA is an interactive game/narrative and installation by Mark Marino, John Murray, and Joellyn Rock. Text and story concept by Mark Marino. Interactive design and programming by John Murray. Digital art and visual assets by Joellyn Rock, with digital prints on fabric made possible through the Viz/Lab at University of Minnesota Duluth.

Nine main characters are featured in the story, each represented by a silk sail hovering in the darkness of the installation space. Visitors to the gallery could interact via ipad, their choices illuminating characters and conversations projected into the seascape.

Salt Immortal Sea by Ken Joseph, Mark C. Marino, John Murray, and Joellyn Rock

Opening in the center of the international refugee crisis, this playable story places the interactor in the position of the refugee.  As the tale opens, an explosion sends the interactor from the comfort of a ship into the salt immortal sea.  Rescued by a mysterious boat with passengers drawn from the present and the ancient past. However, one of these passengers has angered the gods, and unless the player can discover which, all will face their wrath.

However, finding that secret is no easy task. Each passenger harbors secrets that pit them against each other in an allegory of contemporary global crisis.  Choosing from one of nine iconic positions, the interactor can explore tales of misfortune while trying to keep the shipmates in balance by collecting and circulating secrets. In this tale, set to a score of oud and drum, we recast figures in the contemporary refugee crisis against the mythos of the quintessential traveler, Odysseus, for the refugee likewise travels cursed, unable to return home.  It is a tale of the eternal return to proxy wars and the challenge of achieving some semblance of world peace.

Salt Immortal Sea can displayed on an iPad, Android tablet, or laptop.  The reading experience can take 5-30 minutes, depending on depth of exploration. Platform: Ink + Unity Displays on IPad, (also PC or Mac).

More digital images created for SALT IMMORTAL SEA below…