Compared to immortality, life itself may be the greater enigma.

Traveling Through a Peach Garden is a real-time video game developed independently by Riven Chen using Unreal Engine to generate a dynamic 3D fantasy world. The project explores how societal systems shape human thought and virtual experience, blending eastern philosophy with interactive technology. Inspired by Carl Jung’s The Secret of the Golden Flower, the game introduces two cultivation paths: Five Elements Augmentation, which pursues physical longevity through elemental balance, and the Taiyi Golden Flower Manual, a spiritual route toward ego dissolution and transcendence.

As players journey through surreal dreamlike landscapes, they gather symbolic immortality elements and modify their virtual forms. Each decision moves them toward one of three philosophical endings: the death of the ego, the end of nothingness, or the collapse of the superego. This absurd quest for eternal life subverts rigid contemporary structures, crafting an alternative space beyond institutional logic.

By merging Taoist thought with real-time gameplay, the work becomes a participatory philosophical inquiry. It dissolves the lines between system, self, and simulation, asking not just whether immortality is possible, but whether life—shaped by systems and selves—is any less mysterious.

Traveling Through a Peach Garden was created using Unreal Engine to render a real-time, interactive 3D fantasy environment. The game combines blueprint scripting, custom shaders, and particle systems to generate dynamic, dreamlike landscapes that respond to player choices. All 3D models and textures were created using Blender and Substance Painter, while the narrative and dialogue system was built with branching logic to reflect the player’s philosophical path. Human voiceovers in the game are simulated using AI voice generation, allowing for nuanced, character-driven narration without traditional voice acting. The project merges Eastern spiritual texts with game mechanics, exploring psychological and metaphysical themes through symbolic interaction. All concept, design, and development were completed independently.