Janavi Padala

Media Arts & Sciences and East Asian Languages & Cultures major

I am a game designer, developer, composer, and storyteller. My work lives at the intersection of emotion, narrative, system, and sound. I aim to create games that prompt players to reconsider, even if just for a moment, concepts they previously took for granted. Video games are a uniquely effective storytelling medium because players are not just passively watching the narrative unfold - they are driving it in real time. I want each player to come away with an experience responsive to their actions, shaped by their choices, and unquestionably, uniquely theirs.

I'm inspired by games like Celeste, Papers, Please, and Consume Me - and by the indie development teams behind them who are unflinchingly committed to exploring vulnerabilities and ethics, even if it means deviating from the norm. Like them, I'm committed to telling personal and political stories - crafting nuanced gameplay spaces for growing, unlearning, and reimagining.

Chime In!

video game

Jewett Sculpture Court

computer monitor and keyboard, with a person sitting in front of it wearing headphones; the screen has a lilac vertical app-like rectangle on a brown field with text 'Chime', a photo of a reclining tabby cat, text 'it's tiramisu!! <3', and buttons for 'Back' and 'Share'

At Wellesley, there is a misconception that we are immune to misinformation. That we are too looped into social media's flows, too in-the-know, too discerning, too liberal, too conscious, too whatever to fall into its jaws. I wish that were the case.

Chime In! is not just a game about political misinformation. It's about personal agency, complacency, and the ways opinions are formed. People act with their hearts - and they must. It is emotion - hope, rage, or grief - not fact, which compels action. I seek not to question that.

Misinformation, crucially, needs strong emotion to spread. It is that split second of fear or conviction that gets people talking and rethinking. Chime In! is designed to make players think more critically about the lasting effects of media consumption. It shows that what a single person puts into the world can influence public perspectives, and encourages players to be more mindful of what they choose to espouse. It is about rabbit holes and mob mentality and how quickly falsehoods can spiral out of control. It is a call to reflect, to listen, and to speak with intention in our increasingly cluttered media landscape.

orthographic digital illustration of an interior space with shelves, tv, couch, bed, black cat; the room floats in a white void; text along the top reads 'You have 110 seconds until it's time to Chime In!'

digital image of two framed pictures with a clock between them above a gray box with inset black box to the right of white text: 'GUIDE: You can view 1 more channels today with your current subscription'; below is the time 3:00 pm; below that are gray stripes with black text, including dark gray with 'The Beacon' and then all light gray with 'Candor,' 'The Free Patriot,' 'The Daily Pionner,' 'The Phoenix'

computer on a small table, with a person using the keyboard and mouse and looking at the screen at right; on the screen is a 'BREAKING NEWS' window with globe graphic, 'LIVE' icon, and text box explaining the game

to see more work by Janavi: janavi.padala.org

<< previous artist | back to within reach | next artist >>

Page updated

Report abuse