But why smell?

Smell is tied to emotion and memory more than any other sense. Despite this, we pay relatively little attention to smell as a society. The evocative and non-linguistic nature of olfactory experiences often limits our ability to share our experiences. Despite this, the way we relate to our smell experiences shapes our daily perceptions and judgements.

Through Olfi, I acknowledge these complexities, and encourage players to create a social context in which they can be challenged. In gameplay, the stakes are comparatively low. Likewise, through storytelling, we are given an explicit invitation to see the world through someone else's perspective, and perhaps challenge our own.

In a culture fixed on the measurable, smell, and all of its vagueness, do not often receive a seat at the table. Neglecting smell is not a small mistake, as I heard countless times, and it is one that Olfi begins to correct.

Consider for yourself now, when in your day might your behavior change, or beliefs about someone be informed by what you smell?

What is so important about co-examining subjectivity

I wanted to understand what would need to be true for people to get excited about and share their olfactory experiences. I hypothesized that, as with so many other areas of life, externalizing beliefs in a friendly setting would enable people to most openly consider the subjectivity of their world.

Why care about bringing attention to subjectivity? Because unacknowledged subjectivity, masquerading as truth, is the soil in which division, fear, and anger grow. If my game can create even one more tolerant mind, that alone would be a tremendous gift.

Framing a Cloud

When I began, all I knew was that the senses were interesting to me. I’ve always loved to cook, and I recognized smell as the primary mover, but also primary mystery, in my relationship to food. I wanted to learn what roles smell plays in the world, so that I could understand what roles it could play.

After speaking to doctors, perfumers, anosmics, teachers, researchers, artists, sommeliers, and later on, many many gamers, I began to understand our social landscape of smell, and what new geographies I might be able to create within it. This mix of personal interest, research with experts, and experimentation, created Olfi.