I would like to express my deep gratitude to my mentors for the great help and support they have provided throughout this artistic research project.

I am very grateful to Professor Trond Lossius and Professor Steven Bachelder for all the valuable advice, feedback and encouragement during the final year of this project. I would like to thank Professor Gabo Arora for providing knowledge and expertise during the challenging Covid years, and I am deeply grateful to Professor Maureen Thomas, who graciously agreed to be my mentor when I began on this journey of artistic research. It has been a valuable experience to be in such great hands. Special thanks also to Professor Martin Hargreaves for helping me with his expertise and encouragement in the final phase of the project.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to The Norwegian Film School and Innlandet University College for giving me this opportunity to study for a PhD in artistic research. I would particularly like to acknowledge the support provided by Fredrik Graver, Ann-Iren Bratt, Janicke Langvik Vibe, Linda Tangen Bjørge, Darshika Karunahara and Christian Fonnesbech. My sincere thanks also to DIKU and the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme.

I am particularly indebted to the Norwegian Lebensborn children for their support for my transmedia work since 2013, and would especially like to mention Tove-Laila Strand, Thorleif Blatt, Gerd Fleischer and Jorunn Skoglund. I am in awe of your courage and strength. A big thank you also goes to Professor Doctor Ingvill C. Ødegaard (formerly Mochmann, née Ødegaard) for her tireless work for Children Born of War, and for her help in establishing the foundation The Children Born of War Project.

My sincere thanks go to the team at Sarepta Studio AS and CEO Catharina Bøhler for their patience in introducing me to the exciting world of game design and for being such amazing development partners, and to the team at Encircle Games AS for always being ready to help with my VR ideas. Thank you also to Rafal Hansl, Olve Askim and Kristian Pedersen for your creative input and advice.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my partner Svenn Jakobsen for sharing my enthusiasm during the high points, and for providing much-needed emotional support and motivation during the lows. You are the best!

Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to my father, Kjartan Festøy, in gratitude for being my most important mentor – always believing in me and encouraging me to think bigger and go further.