A multi-player game focused on personal decisions that act on sea level rising
Rising was a research project funded by Tisch Initiative for Creative Research in Tisch School of the Arts. This project was divided into four main parts - game design, data modeling, installation and physical interaction.
Team: Two Technical Artists, Two Programmers, One Researcher, One Game Designer
My Role: Programmer - Researching / Physical Computing / Fabricating / User Testing / Accounting
Tools: Arduino - RFID / Button / LED Strips
Project Duration: Three Months
Throughout their participation, the audience made choices while observing a projected timeline, spanning from 2022 to 2035, highlighting the project's focus on future sea level changes and global warming concerns.
Video link here
(Video)
Team and Duration
A diverse team of six members with varying academic backgrounds, spanning interactive media arts, interactive telecommunications, data science, environmental science, and game design, collaborated for a duration of three months on this project. The culmination of this project was an exhibition hosted at the Bobst Library in New York City.
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Installation and Research Basis
The installation was informed by research conducted in the Arctic and New York City regions, with simplified data models serving as the foundation for the parameters' changes within the project. These models elucidated the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and sea level rise in these specific areas, which, in turn, influenced the interactive responses within the installation.
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Audience Interaction
The audience's interaction with the installation commenced with an introductory narration via headphones. Subsequently, participants selected cards representing various societal roles, including working-class individuals, middle-class citizens, the upper class, companies, and policymakers. The chosen roles had a direct impact on carbon dioxide emissions, thereby shaping the overall experience.
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Installation Responses
The installation generated a range of responses, including dynamic changes in the narratives projected on the screen for individual participants and various visual and auditory cues for the collective audience. The LED strips illuminated based on selected activities, a visual representation of melting icebergs and rising sea levels unfolded, alarm sounds were triggered at critical sea level thresholds, and an animated virtual environment mirrored the sea level's changes. The LED strips aimed to immerse participants in the concept of sea level rise, while the avatar symbolized the inhabitants of the Arctic region, impacted by the direct consequences of ice melting.
