Artist Randall Okita guides players through an interactive virtual pilgrimage tracing his grandfather Yonezo Okita's 1935 journey from Hiroshima, Japan, to Canada, amid war and state-sanctioned racism. This casual adventure redefines personal storytelling by blending mechanical sculpture, film, and stage techniques in virtual reality. Family archives lend haunting realism to 2D and 3D hand-crafted sets inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, along with evocative character design and seamless choreography.
Surprising moments of interaction carry players across oceans and through years in a space of magical theatre and generational echoes. Okita stays close during the story's darker turns, inviting participation in this act of imagination. Free-to-play indie fans seeking emotional, reflective experiences will connect with its gentle narrative flow.
In 1935, Yonezo Okita left his home in Hiroshima, Japan, and began a new life in Canada. Then war and state-sanctioned racism changed everything—he became the enemy. Three generations later, his grandson, artist Randall Okita, leads us on an interactive virtual pilgrimage through an emotional geography of immigration and family to recover what was lost.
The Book of Distance blends techniques from mechanical sculpture, film, and stage to redefine personal storytelling in virtual reality. Family archives add a haunting layer of realism. 2D and 3D hand-crafted sets reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints, evocative character design, and seamless choreography combine with surprising moments of interaction to gently whisk us across the ocean and through the years.
Okita invites us to participate in this generous act of imagination: a space of magical theatre and generational echoes. He never strays too far from our side as we move through the story’s darker moments.
