A new kind of documentary emerges when a film narrative meets interactive gameplay. This hybrid, often described as an interactive documentary transferred into the realm of video games, invites players to uncover answers by exploring levels that blend gameplay with real-world perspectives. In this project, the journey begins with a creator team led by Mario-Paul Martínez Fabre and collaborators Vicente J. Pérez, Damià Jordà, Fran Mateu, and a broader collective from the Center for Art Studies at Elche and Miguel Hernández University. The effort grew from a longstanding interest in how games imprint culture and how preserving their legacy matters, a theme that the team has explored across previous media projects and screenings, including a recent theatrical release.
This production is under the direction of students in the fourth year of the Audiovisual Communications degree at Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH). It unfolds as a graphic adventure where a world exists in which video games have seemingly vanished. The protagonist, a pixelated figure named Tiki who bears a playful resemblance to classic ’80s Hawaiian video game aesthetics, undertakes a quest to uncover the reason behind this disappearance.
Fictionally framed within the Massiva Group’s creative output, the scene-setting visuals and documentary fragments hint at a larger narrative. The project positions itself as a long-term experiment in blending documentary insight with game-like progression. It represents a rare fusion in Spain and beyond, a response to the idea of making a documentary that also entertains and engages the audience through play.
As the work moves forward, the player can navigate between screens, projections, and evolving levels that host animated characters and other game elements. The documentary portions appear as the player advances, presenting brief, compelling interviews with prominent figures in the field. Voices from cinema, journalism, and game culture surface in short documentary capsules, featuring well-known directors and commentators who speak to the history and future of video games.
Enrique Urbizo, a noted filmmaker, is among those interviewed in the project, which also includes cultural journalists and game industry figures who lend their perspectives on how video games intersect with culture and memory. These documentary interludes are designed to be accessible for players who want to quickly learn, while others can linger and seek additional context across different playthroughs. The aim is to offer multiple routes through which a player can assemble their own understanding of why video games might be fading from contemporary culture and what could be done to preserve them.
The creators emphasize a design philosophy that makes documentary segments easy to locate, yet still invites exploration. A single playthrough can branch into diverse paths, allowing players to craft their own mini-documentary as they explore the broader themes and artifacts that the game presents. The project contemplates whether a game can educate without becoming tedious, balancing humor with genuine commentary. References to classic games and familiar objects or musical motifs are woven into the fabric of the visuals, while playful nods to obsolescence underscore the dialogue about preservation and change in the medium.
According to the team, the characters and environments are conceived to evoke nostalgia while driving a contemporary message. Through a mix of interactive exploration and narrative bite-sized documentary pieces, the work invites audiences to consider how games have shaped culture and what that means for future conservation and study. In this sense, the game becomes a vehicle for informal knowledge sharing and cultural reflection rather than a straightforward celebration of the medium.
The project initially debuted as part of an exhibition and catalog that presented a book-and-object collection centered on the theme of game culture. The exhibition, which toured Valencia and featured international contributors, provided a platform for early feedback and critical dialogue about the relationship between video games, documentary storytelling, and cultural memory. The ongoing presentation frames the work as a dynamic, evolving conversation about how games persist in the cultural imagination and what steps might help safeguard their legacy for future generations.