VR/ Standalone game
Overview
Towards Increasing peer to peer and self-driven motivation and mental wellness
This game created with an intention to preserve and share knowledge about the lost, the revived, and the sustained art forms of Kerala. The game is based on a storyline that you can play individually through virtual reality or Normal PC mode. In the Simulation game, the player can explore the map of Kerala, choose places and discover handicrafts that have been passed down for generations. The player gets to choose two modes of play; Workshop and Career. The career mode lets the player begin their journey as an artisan. You can learn to collect materials, produce products, talk to in-game clients and sell products. The gameplay is divided into various chapters and the player gets to explore more challenges, discover locked places as they level up, build a community, share their work and ideas with the community. The workshop mode lets the player learn the art and choose challenges. The mode does not level up the player. The game has community space, where players can share their design ideas, 3D models of their created artworks, engage in discussions. This community page can be accessed by non-players through a web portal. People anywhere can gain insights and ideas for design. The design ideas will not have copyrights, so people can utilize them for their creations.
Project
Self-directed inquiry
Involvement
User research, Product ideation, low-fi prototyping
The process
Art is meant to be preserved. These are the few reasons why I ideated on this gameplay.
-
At this age and time, younger generations miss out on learning and understanding traditional art forms. They are more engaged in playing online games as they cover such a wide spectrum of genres with realistic visuals. My intention through the gameplay is to educate, inspire and create a positive impact in them in hopes of them trying to travel and find those destinations they saw through the visuals or try to learn the art form in reality.
-
An alternative to people who love to discover traditional art forms and learn the process of making and those who are unable to travel, reach these destinations, or would like a peaceful couple of minutes away from busy repetitive work.
-
A shared digital commons, a community space where people can share insights into their progress, their findings, their sketches, and 3d models. This community space can be accessed by the local community of artisans or by people from anywhere to gather insights or get inspiration from the players.
-
The game has to be purchased and the funds collected will go to the artisan community when in need.
-
The game is to be promoted by Kerala Tourism.
Low-fi prototype
Here is a glimpse of the gameplay. The gameplay screens are hand-drawn and painted using watercolors. Please note that this is a low fidelity prototype.
Six thinking hats
What next?
-
The gameplay is not restricted to just Kerala, I would like to further open up other states of our Country and focus on similar smaller communities that are unheard of, as we are rich in culture and heritage.
-
Happy to collaborate with like-minded designers to take this further. Reach out!