EmotionEcho.exe is a three-stage interactive experience that visualizes how emotional landscapes are shaped and echoed by algorithmic systems like TikTok.
In an era where algorithmic curation dictates what we see, feel, and believe, EmotionEcho.exe asks: What happens when our emotional responses are no longer entirely our own? What if emotion itself becomes data—measured, weighed, looped, and intensified? This project transforms that question into an experiential space, where players don’t just observe emotional feedback loops—they inhabit them.
The game begins with a storytelling tutorial, where users encounter the structure of algorithmic emotion through poetic prompts and subtle interactions. In the second level, the space shifts—emotion becomes embodied. Bubbles representing different emotional intensities begin to form, grow, and collide. Each player decision subtly affects the emotional atmosphere, governed by invisible metrics derived from real-world comment data and emotional sentiment analysis. Emotions, once abstract, now exert gravitational pull.
In the final control room, players are offered a different kind of agency: to visualize the hidden architecture of emotional influence and tweak its parameters. Here, data becomes visible and adjustable. Users gain access to emotional statistics, sliders controlling bias and diversity, and real-time simulations of echo chamber effects. This final stage mirrors the interfaces of algorithm design—offering both empowerment and critique.
EmotionEcho.exe is not just a game; it is a critical reflection on how digital systems shape perception. By embedding data into navigable, emotional terrain, it challenges players to reconsider the boundaries between feeling and feedback, between autonomy and influence.
