Between Selves is a 3D side-scrolling puzzle game prototype about two separated parts of the self learning to move through the same inner world. The project began with my research into dissociation. I was particularly inspired by The Haunted Self, which proposes the theory of structural dissociation: an individual may split into the Apparently Normal Part (ANP), which continues daily life, and the Emotional Part (EP), which carries unresolved emotional responses.

I translated this relationship into two playable characters, P1 and P2. P1 moves through the visible world, trying to continue forward, while P2 exists as a shadow-like presence on a parallel path. P2 explores another layer of the environment and activates temporary structures such as steps, bridges and vines. P1 then stabilises these unstable paths, turning them into something that can be crossed.

Through this interaction, I wanted to visualise dissociation as more than fragmentation. The game becomes a process of shifting perspective, waiting, returning and reconnecting with another part of the self.