2. The 3 Ideas (Pre-pitch)

1. Take My Heart/Listen

Purpose: Meant to evoke shared nostalgic memories between strangers, so that they feel more connected to other human beings.

Deliverable: An installation where the user is beckoned to a podium on which rests a human-sized, anatomically accurate (ish) beating heart.

Interaction: The user is given instructions to pick it up, which will trigger audio to play from the podium - sounds such as the humming of a childhood lullaby, the sizzle of breakfast on a frying pan, etc. The user is then invited to either record their own sounds, or suggest new 'memories' to be added to this collective 'memory bank'. Recordings will be vetted at the end of each day of exhibition and added to the exhibit. This way, users can have different interactions on different days of the exhibit.

Feasibility: In a technical standpoint, the project is relatively straightforward, since the proposed artefact and interactions can be achieved using an arduino, an accelerometer (to detect the heart being picked up), and other light/motor effects to add to the pulsing action of the heart. I'll need to figure out how to sculpt and cast in different materials to get the right 'feel', but Julian's assured me that that isn't too hard. Finally, if I moved forward with this project, I'd like to try to apply for ethics approval to interview people around me (adults with informed consent on the project), in order to collect a diverse set of memories and stories, in order to create an experience that isn't biased towards my personal upbringing.
Draft concept for Take My Heart

2. The Game of Life/In My Shoes/Roll with Me? 

Purpose: To highlight the everyday inconveniences that people with disabilities face, whether they're trying to navigate the city streets in a wheelchair or cooking while visually-impaired. I'm hoping that this game can bring about awareness and a little bit more empathy in people.

Deliverable: Desktop single-player game built in Unity with clear visuals where the user tries to navigate through different scenarios such as:
- Navigating through the crowded streets of London in a wheelchair, facing obstacles such as stairs and having to push through crowds of people
- Preparing a meal, from chopping to frying to serving, while blind (hints given when the player mouses over certain areas, but be careful where you touch!)
- A game related to hearing impairment?

Interaction: The player has to complete the different challenges while trying to beat a countdown or with a limited number of 'lives'.

Feasibility: The technical aspects of building such a game on Unity aren't too challenging, since I have a bit of experience with my pixel game A Twist in Time made in level 5. The vision-impairment game is more challenging, as is the time needed to create all the assets and animations needed.

Visual style reference (Kurzgesagt, 2018)

3. Paranoia

Purpose: To reveal unconscious biases people have, as uncomfortable as they might be with it.

Deliverable: A responsive online web game, based off the Implicit Association Test, where users need to quickly fill in the blanks to different scenarios with what they assume the answers are.

Interaction: The user plays the game and is given a score in the end on how likely they are to have implicit bias against a certain group of people

Feasibility: I'm honestly not very confident with this idea, and it's not very fleshed out. I also wonder at the scientific verifiability of what I'm gonna make - I don't want to end up misrepresenting information. From a technical perspective, I'm also less confident in making a game that's gonna be on a website, but I think if I chose this it should be a responsive online web game for maximum reach.


References: 
Greenwald, T., Banaji, M., Nosek, B. (1998). Project Implicit. Available at: http://www.projectimplicit.net/about.html
Kurzgesagt - In A Nutshell (2018). Plastic Pollution: How Humans are Turning the World into Plastic. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS7IzU2VJIQ

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