"How Deep Is the Dark Water?" is an experimental game that imagines a war across the strait. The player, guided by a man on the run, slowly wanders through memories and visions constructed by the context of war and individual experiences. At the same time, the player discovers another layer of meaning of war for individuals, cultures and nations by discovering the hidden messages in each scene.

From historic dwellings to steam trains transporting displaced people, from air raid shelters filled with fear and violence to burned cultural traditions, from confrontations with the ghosts of refugees underwater to the emotional orgy of social media, what is always present in this game is the trail behind the man on the run who represents a helpless individual and an object that cannot be possessed or perceived clearly. As a response to the tensions of the world, this work does not directly depict war, but tries to let the player feel the separation, fear, violence and trauma of war in the process of chasing the man on the run. Water is an important image in the work and is present almost everywhere. The black water of the sea carries not only the sound of bombings, but also individual nostalgia, love, hate, and confusion.

How Deep Is Dark Water? creates an interactive scenario that allows the player to read texts (or short poems) hidden in the game space, using the right mouse button to zoom in on an object, look away, and in some cases see the text superimposed on the object. This technique stems from the artist’s long-standing concern and experimentation with reading texts in virtual space, and is in tune with the special meaning of reading in this work – the texts are the faint repercussions that lurk beneath the surface of historical events.

How Deep Is Dark Water? is presented in black and white, except for a few things accentuated with color in an attempt to achieve a simple but weighty quality. Minimalist and without a clear narrative, the work explores the ability of video games to mediate reading and affect, guiding the player with cinematic interactivity and connecting the act of “wandering” in video games with individual feelings in times of war.