We are currently at the beginning of the third collaboration project between students from the Tokyo University of the Arts and from USC. Despite the obstacles posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, this collaboration has been going on for three years and generated outstanding results. This is a remarkable testament to both the commitment and inventiveness of our students to pursue innovative projects across cultural contexts, and the power of creativity that can overcome even challenges as unimaginable as a virus that keeps the world locked down for, by now, more than two years. The game ideas and final projects that have come out of this collaboration are spectacular and as we are going through the third iteration of this, the ideas that are shaping up are as creative and imaginative as always. Yet again, it is a tremendous pleasure and honor to be part of this collaboration.

The Geidai students’ work represents the best aspect of dreams, of tapping into the most vivid offerings of the subconscious. As artists, they trust the player to bring their own thoughts and experiences to bear, and to honor the subtlety in their work which employ enigmatic causes and effects that operate as both literal and metaphorical puzzles. The images, the movement, and the actions will stay with us for months after playing, not only during unexpected waking moments, but no doubt, in our dreams.