From tragedy to charity: 9.03m is the short game helping those left behind by the Tohoku tsunami

Objects that players find on the beach hide glittering butterflies that then flutter off, leaving a trail that leads to the next object and story of loss.

9.03m ends with a dedication to the “unique men, women and children” who lost their lives in the the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. ‘Unique’ being the operative word: the aim of this short piece of interactive storytelling is to commemorate the individual tragedies behind the vast, unfathomable figure in its title.

It’s the brainchild of Karl Inglott, a graduate from the University of Abertay in Dundee, and director of Space Budgie, a studio founded in January of this year. “Originally I was doing my dissertation on this project,” he tells us. “That’s where I got the idea, though prior to that I had already been thinking of games with a message in them. Reading articles on [the tsunami] was difficult; it triggered something in me. I suppose I’m quite an emotional person so if I see people in a struggle of some kind I find it quite upsetting.”

Inglott was aware, however, that the almost unimaginable figures quoted in the reports felt sterile and impersonal, which prompted him to create a piece that would help people empathise with and reflect upon stories of personal loss. In 9.03m, players begin on the edge of a San Francisco beach (the location was chosen because detritus from the tsunami has continued to wash up on US shores in the two years since) before slowly walking towards silhouetted, ethereal figures, which disappear to reveal different objects: a football, a music box, a pocket watch and, most movingly of all, an empty carry cot. Examine the object closely and you’ll locate a butterfly, which then flies off, leaving a starry trail. The camera traces its path to another figure, another individual story of love and loss. It’s sparse, subtle and quietly moving, a short contemplative piece that achieves its goal in a mere 15-20 minutes.

It feels quite delicately crafted, and indeed, Inglott informs us that the finished experience is quite different from its original incarnation. The timing of its discoveries was particularly carefully measured, Inglott tells us. “At first, the length of time between objects didn’t give people a chance to properly reflect. And at one stage, we only had three or four objects on the shore. After graduating, we ended up changing a lot of the assets. The silhouettes of people, for example, were all textures rather than 3D models.” It’s also something of a guided experience, which, Inglott explains, stemmed from the game’s message becoming lost or less transparent than in its original, more exploratory form.

Inglott cites thatgamecompany’s Journey and Flower as influences, as can be seen in the game’s minimalist art style.

So how did he determine which objects to use? “The ball came first,” says Inglott. “There was a story in the media about how they found a football with a name written on it and ended up sending it back to its owner. We didn’t want to relate anything to individual [victims of the tsunami] because that would be insensitive. But I needed them to relate to western and Japanese audiences. For example, the music box is perhaps a more traditionally western object, but if we’d had something more specific to Japan then western players might fail to relate to that as much.” It was particularly important to cater to a western audience, Inglott explains, because it’s less easy to directly relate to a tragedy that occurs overseas. “I think certainly more mature audiences can relate to the idea of finding objects that belonged to somebody who’s passed away that will trigger memories of that person.”

Its striking, minimalist aesthetic and sparse piano music – which, crucially, doesn’t detract from the moments of silent reflection that Inglott hopes players will observe – are redolent of non-traditional games like Journey and Dear Esther, and the designer happily acknowledges the influence of thatgamecompany. “Journey and Flower were my main inspiration, not just in the way the narrative is portrayed [in those games] but to a degree the tone, and how the visual aspects and the story flow together. The art style was also inspired by Rothko, partly because I didn’t want players to focus so much on the visuals – they’re there, but they’re not a major focus, and not what I was trying to achieve.”

Inglott’s team at Space Budgie is now working on a more traditional game named GlitchSpace that is currently in alpha, though he’s been encouraged by the response to 9.03m to consider a similar project commemorating the 100-year anniversary of World War I, which, if all goes to plan, he aims to release to museums as an interactive exhibit.

Meanwhile, 9.03m continues to be a force for good: not only is it a fine, respectful salute to those who passed away in Tohoku and the surrounding prefectures, but half of its sales revenue from Steam will be given to Aid For Japan, a charity set up to help children who lost their parents in the disaster. A fitting tribute, indeed.

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