Introduction
“Shen” means “god” in Mandarin. She-N is an interactive narrative game that reimagines forgotten female deities, blending Chinese cosmology with a globally interconnected world. Inspired by Shanhaijing but mapped onto the entire Earth, the game invites players to explore mythic landscapes and extinct species, uncovering erased legacies of female gods. The game challenges patriarchal narratives, weaving folklore and alternate history to reclaim divine feminine power across cultures and time.
This proposed project reclaims lost histories and uncovers the hidden achievements of female champions. Whether through fiction, fairytale, mythology, games, or immersive experiences, my work explores speculative feminism—imagining new possibilities for female roles in contemporary and near-future worlds.
The concept of She-N originated from my abandoned project, The Ancestor Catcher, where a protagonist of Miao descent collects the spirits of ecosystems, ancestors, and deities throughout her diasporic journey across China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and the United States. This narrative was rooted in my own Miao heritage and encounters with Hmong communities in the U.S. However, as I refined the concept, I sought to expand beyond a single ethnic lens, embracing a broader framework.
“Shen”是中文“神”的拼音。《妽：她是一个神》 是一款互动叙事游戏，将中国宇宙观与全球世界观融合，重新想象被历史遗忘的女性神祇。游戏灵感源自《山海经》，但将书中的世界观投射在整个地球上，让玩家探索充满神话生物与灭绝物种的奇幻景观，揭秘被抹去的女性神祇的传奇。游戏挑战父权叙事，通过编织民间传说与另类历史，重塑跨文化、跨时代的女性神性力量。
这一项目旨在找回失落的历史，发掘被掩盖的女性英雄事迹。无论是小说、童话、神话、游戏，还是沉浸式体验，我的作品始终探索“未来女性主义”（speculative feminism），想象女性在当代及近未来世界中的全新可能性。
《妽》的概念源于我早前的未完成项目 The Ancestor Catcher，其主角是一名苗族血统的少女，在她跨越中国、越南、老挝、泰国及美国的流散旅程中，收集万物生灵、祖先和神祇的魂魄。这一叙事植根于我的苗族背景及我在美国与赫蒙（Hmong）社区的偶遇。然而，在打磨概念的过程中，我选择将视野拓展出单一族群的框架，拥抱更广阔的文化视角。
Workshop: In Search of the Godmama
工作坊：搜妽记
“In Search of the Godmama” is an experimental workshop designed to gather research, inspiration, and collective storytelling for my developing game project, “She-N: She is a God.” This game invites players to explore mythic landscapes and extinct species while uncovering the erased legacies of female deities.
In this workshop, participants will engage in one-on-one conversations to identify goddesses from their respective cultures and religions that share common traits. They will first discuss these deities’ characteristics and then follow prompts to draw or write on a specially designed world map. As the final step, they will collaboratively weave a narrative linking their goddesses.
The workshop’s evolving map reflects how landscapes are shaped by memory and myth rather than existing as fixed territories. Participants will build on one another’s stories, revealing how mythology shifts through retellings and differing perspectives. Dialogue choices and research methods will influence how deities take shape, emphasizing how history is defined by those who tell it. Rather than following a linear timeline, the narrative unfolds in a cyclical or braided structure, where past, present, and mythic time converge.
Ultimately, participants’ contributions will form a shared mythological worldview—one that feels both familiar and unexpectedly new.