Research Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The primary research for this project stems from two entirely solo city trips I undertook: My daily routines were remarkably similar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sensory Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n During these two journeys, I gradually came to realise: The embodied experience flows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emotional Transition<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Amsterdam’s emotional starting point is tension. Yet it was precisely then that I realized: This realization allowed me to truly ‘enter’ the environment for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vienna’s turning point was quieter still. In that instant, it struck me: For the first time, I sensed that “stillness itself is a way of being”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Memory as Gathering<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The clearest images in my recollection They seem ordinary, yet I find myself wishing time would pause for them again and again. During these two journeys, I gradually came to realize: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Design Translation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n These two solo journeys have cemented my core design choices: In the city, I needn’t “accomplish everything in one go”. This made me realise: This has become the foundational logic of my game design: Solo Trip as Lived Experience Research Research Context The primary research for this project stems from two entirely solo city trips I undertook:Amsterdam (Easter holiday) and Vienna (Semester Week 7).Both trips lasted four days and three nights, undertaken entirely solo, yet with distinct mentalities.Amsterdam was the first foreign country I arrived at alone.The city where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Amsterdam<\/strong> (Easter holiday) and Vienna<\/strong> (Semester Week 7).
Both trips lasted four days and three nights, undertaken entirely solo, yet with distinct mentalities.
Amsterdam was the first foreign country I arrived at alone.
The city where I decided to do solo travel to observe my 21st birthday is Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/01\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20260104151211_172_168-1-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Neighborhood caf\u00e9s serve brunch at 11 a.m.
Walking around and taking the public transport (bus\/tram\/metro\/train).
No strict plans, just letting my body flow with the rhythm of the city.
This parallel structure provided a comparative research framework:
Under differing emotional starting points, would solitude still yield comparable psychological states?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Emotions are not triggered by events, but continuously shaped by sensory environments.
At the level of soundscape, it is not specific words I recall, but recurring everyday sounds:
traffic lights\u2019 chimes, trains pulling in and scraping against rails,
the hum of coffee machines in caf\u00e9s, the rustle of newspapers being turned, and the near-total stillness of night.
These sounds did not make me feel lonely, but rather imparted a stable, secure sense of freedom\u2014 I was simply part of it all, needing no attention.
Visually, both cities favouried natural light and muted colors,
though Vienna\u2019s medieval architecture presented an opulent grandeur
that contrasted with Amsterdam\u2019s open fields, streams, and tulips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/01\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20260104154315_175_168-1-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I quicken my pace when moved, yet permit myself complete stillness when weary\u2014 sitting beside sculptures until closing at Vienna\u2019s Kunsthistorisches Museum, or watching water perpetually pass by Amsterdam\u2019s canals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Arriving alone in an unfamiliar country for the first time, my anxiety deepened after purchasing the wrong train ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if I made mistakes, no one would blame me.
Here, I possessed immense room for error, free to continually experiment and adjust without being defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/01\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20260104161129_188_168-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
On the third floor of the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
I sat on a bench between two Baroque sculptures,
watching visitors come and go while I remained still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
these sculptures had remained unchanged for centuries,
unmoved by how people viewed, interpreted, or judged them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
are not the ‘highlight moments’ of the journey,
but two utterly ordinary instants:
\u2022 In a Viennese brunch spot,
holding a steaming latte while watching white pigeons drift past the window<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/01\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20260104195510_191_168-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Amidst Amsterdam’s Keukenhof Gardens,
standing alone amongst tulips in full bloom<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/jy3c23\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/66\/2026\/01\/\u5fae\u4fe1\u56fe\u7247_20260104195511_192_168-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Precisely because they are not highlights,
but rather reassuring fragments that can be revisited in imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Memories are not targets to be actively collected, but rather the natural outcome of relaxation and stillness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Slow pacing
\u2022 Non-goal-oriented exploration<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Restaurants and sights missed today often reappear along tomorrow’s path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goals need not be completed immediately;
Life and experience themselves permit multiple paths and outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Players needn’t advance towards a single solution,
but through sustained presence and participation,
naturally arrive at meaning through exploration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"