Boundary Free is an interactive VR installation that
promotes mutual communication between the handicapped and the society. It is one
of the “TEDY” (Technologies for the Elderly and Disabled people by Youths) projects
which sponsored by Hong Kong Jokey Club. Before creating the VR, I did the "a week in the wheelchair" experiment, and tried to stand in the
perspective of the disabled to perceive the world, so as to obtain some
experience and creative inspiration.
A WEEK IN WHEELCHAIR
Press ︎ to
watch video Documentation (Source: Vimeo )
In this experiment, I was most impressed by the
experience of Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok, where I walked slowly in
a wheelchair among a crowded people, being cast with all sorts of sympathy and
weird attention. Thus, my time and space seemed to be isolated from others. This special experience is my inspiration source of “Boundary Free”.
TOPIC STUDY
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
GAME SCENE DESIGN & MODELING
I chose the Sai Yeung Choi Street South in
Mong Kok as the prototype of game scene, then modeled buildings according to the
Google Map. These buildings keep the Hong Kong high-density and colorful style, meanwhile, retain various billboards.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
CHARACTER RIGGING & ANIMATION
GAME SCENE:
INTERSECT
Pedestrians will hit the player in the
wheelchair, preventing the player form reaching the end of the road. The
Intersect is a relatively realistic and cruel, because everyone else in the game
moves fast and freely except the player. It embodies the real world of cold.
GAME SCENE: COINCIDE
Coincide is a comparatively equal world, and
all the characters in the game sat in the wheelchair, including the
participant. A more idealized and peaceful scenario is depicted compares to the
Intersect .
GAME SCENE: PARALLEL
Parallel is to create a unearthly and
upside-down world. The disabled walking in a world of their convenience,
however, other pedestrians are trapped by roadblocks. At this moment, the
identities of the disabled and the pedestrians have been transformed.
EASTER EGG
I specially designed some hidden messages
in each scene, for example, the road sign is different in every game level. For
Coincide, it has changed from "Sai Yeung Choi Street South" to "Datong
Road", which indicates an equal world that everyone is the same with being
sat in a wheelchair. “Datong” is from Confucius's "World Datong”, which depicts
a utopian society without discrimination. In addition to street signs, I also designed
the different props, music and light for different game world. There are still some
interesting Easter eggs left for the participants to hunt.
