A textual world
Climbing, falling, and landing on overwhelmingly large, red ominous text -- the gaming mechanisms in The Universe is a Lonely Place serves to parrallel the narrative as a means for communicating the challenges of loneliness. The in-game evironment being used as a tool is reminicient of the insight in Chapter 5 of Gone Home? Walking simulators and the importance of slow gaming of Reed's book, Adventure Games: Playing the Outsider, where it is explained that, “[Game] environments are platforms for understanding" (Reed et al 125). By this, it means that the player is able to extract substantive insight into the topic of loneliness not just through the textual narrative, but also the non-verbal ways in which we engage with the narrative in-game. Whether it is climbing which shows an exhausting task, falling which communicates helplessness, or simply big red text as a visual indicator of danger, this game communicates the challenges of loneliness through the way we traverse the gaming environment.
It is interesting to note that the game is set in our solar system. This familiarity in environment and knowledge of other planets in our solar system allows us to be connected enough to have an entry into understanding, but the vastness in scale of the solar system with us as just an individual assists in making the player feel alien even when visiting the familiar planet of Earth. Framing us as an alien intruder who can't connect to those on the planet they visit propagates the same feelings of otherness that is felt by someone suffering from loneliness. It can feel hard to reach out for help when theres vast voids of space around and feeling unconnected to any palce you visit. This challenge of lacking connection is explored through a platonic, romatic, and self-connection lens (depending on which planet you visit). Using the game environment to better understand loneliness thorugh the insight of people feeling alien and disconnected allows us to understand the source of why mental health issues have been so stigmatised. Those suffering don't feel that they can reach out so it is a complicated and often un-engaged with issue that's often left untreated, which lets stigma ruminate, which reinforces the barrier of sufferers reaching out as they may fear being miunderstood.