Emily is a solo game developer exploring Armenian diasporic memory, identity and speculative futures through immersive virtual environments. She works across cinematic and interactive media, specialising in world-building, spatial storytelling and real-time artistry. With an MArch in Cinematic and Videogame Architecture and a BSc (Hons) in Architecture, she integrates spatial design principles with emerging GenAI-driven workflows to create interactive experiences grounded in authentic cultural and historical representation.
Echoes of Home is a narrative game exploring the transgenerational impact of the Armenian Genocide on the diaspora, particularly the fear of cultural assimilation and the dilemmas of ‘moving on’. Players control Hagop, who feels disconnected from his Armenian roots, as he embarks on a journey of restoration in his ancestral homeland. Inspired by a familial archive of early 1900s Ottoman photographs, he encounters historical figures, architectural remnants and artefacts, reconnecting with and reclaiming his cultural heritage. The game moves between enacting the real and evoking a sense of the ‘lost world’ in its digital and ludic translation of historical truth. In doing so, it proposes a third space: a virtual homeland where Armenian diasporic identity can be reimagined.
Echoes of Home is expected to be launched in 2027 on Steam.
Show reel of Echoes of Home.
Game World Map.
‘Old’ Arabkir, (Arapgir, located in Turkey) geographically sits in a mountainous region characterised by valleys and hills. The fictional world of Arabkir, takes its urban form after its modern day shape, but is scaled up to stretch between its existing location and the north-western border of the Euphrates River.
Building a virtual Arabkir
By importing heightmap data of the surrounding mountains into the game engine and then sculpting the modified plateau of the playable area, EOH is set against a backdrop of the Armenian highlands. Leveraging Kevin Lynch’s principles of urban design, virtual Arabkir is defined by ‘districts, paths, edges, nodes and landmarks’, based on descriptions written in old newspaper articles and surviving journals of citizens of the region.
Development process - world.
Character Design
With advancements in Epic Games' Metahumans, characters in EOH have been created and animated as completely bespoke digital humans. Medzma, based on Mary Jerjian, serves as a key role model to the protagonist, guiding him through his journey. Their relationship is inspired by the exchange of stories between older and younger generations within diaspora communities, where memory is often preserved through conversation.
In honour of Medzma Molly, the matriarch of my family.
