A symbolic operating system for story-based living.
Part digital ritual engine – part artistic practice – part self-regulation toolkit.
Project Overview
MythOS is a transmedial art and research project that reimagines daily life as a mythic quest. It blends interactive storytelling, emotional regulation, and symbolic ritual into a living system — hosted at real-life.quest.
Built for emotionally intense, story-oriented minds, MythOS offers:
- Ritual scrolls for emotional transitions
- Symbolic UI elements inspired by mood, memory, and myth
- A layered system that evolves with the user
How My Symbolic Operating System Works
At the core of MythOS is a set of interactive ritual scrolls built in Twine — poetic, nonlinear experiences that guide the user through emotional shifts or symbolic actions. These are paired with:
- A markdown notebook-based Player Folder
- IFTTT triggers for mood → ritual pairing
- A future roadmap toward “Party Mode” — collaborative, asynchronous rituals
MythOS is a modular and adaptive symbolic operating system. You don’t follow it — you grow with it.
Philosophy & Background
This project draws on theories from:
- Narrative psychology
- Trauma research and emotional long-term potentiation (eLTP)
- Ritual studies and symbolic cognition
- Systems thinking and interaction design
I designed its symbolic scaffolding to help users re-story their lives, regulate intense emotions, and restore coherence when fragmented.
“You’re not broken — just written in a language the world forgot how to read.”
Core Elements
- Ritual Scrolls: interactive Twine-based tools for symbolic action
- Mood/Ritual Mapping: triggers designed via IFTTT and internal symbolic UI
- Living Lore Links: some scrolls unlock when an artifact is found
- Digital + Analog Interplay: scrolls, rituals, and field journals are interconnected
Installation Phase
Phase 0.1: Solo Rituals + Interface Scaffolding
- First scroll: The Sanctuary
- Mood-to-ritual linking system
- Site now live: real-life.quest
Phase 1.0 and beyond:
- Multiplayer expansions (Party Mode)
- Lore Circle integrations (hosts of scrolls/artifacts)
- Emotional state tracking prototypes for research (opt-in)
Formats & Exhibitions
MythOS components can be exhibited as digital installations, projection-based scrolls, or physical ritual stations paired with live fragments. Collaborative residency or curatorial inquiries welcome.
Why a Symbolic Operating System?
For neurodivergent and story-oriented minds, language is survival.
MythOS is a homecoming — not to who you were, but to who you are becoming.
It isn’t just an app. It’s a living artwork.
A self-guided myth.
A system for remembering yourself.