Terms of Service
Version 2026-05-29, effective 2026-05-29
1. Nature of the service
JOURNEYWAYS is a collaborative sandbox narrative game engine. It is designed for deep, cooperative storytelling where participants build characters, explore a shared world, and document their journey in private journals. The design is thematically neutral, so players can bring their own diverse worldviews into the narrative. There are no rigid win or loss conditions; the experience focuses on character evolution and collective narrative.
2. Code of conduct
JOURNEYWAYS is a collaborative space welcoming of all participants, regardless of religious or spiritual background, ethnicity, race, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, or physical ability. The game is designed to be a safe, respectful environment where people of diverse identities can explore narrative “becoming” together. Harassment, hate speech, or behaviour that undermines the safety or comfort of others is not permitted.
3. Research context
This digital engine is developed as a research project at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in the School of Social Justice (GRSJ). By using the service, you acknowledge its academic context. The project studies how people build and tell stories of identity and becoming, and its research method is the analysis of player narratives. Rooms are either for research or for open play; you choose when you create one, and a research room names its researchers and may ask a few optional demographic questions when you join. How the content you create may be used in that research, always in anonymised form, who can read it, and how demographic answers are kept, are set out in our Privacy Policy. Data handling and retention follow that policy and are designed to minimize and protect participant data.
4. Who can use JOURNEYWAYS
JOURNEYWAYS is intended for adult participants. We keep registration low-friction and do not ask your age when you create an account, so we do not verify it. Where a specific research study requires a minimum age (usually 18 or older), that requirement is stated and checked when you join the room for that study, not at registration.
5. Consent and changes to these policies
When you register, we record that you accepted the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy then in effect, including which version you accepted and when. If we make a material change to either policy, you will be asked to read and accept the updated version the next time you sign in before you continue. Each page shows its current version and effective date at the top.
6. Acceptance
By creating an account and using JOURNEYWAYS, you agree to these Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.