Shuxin He
SAVE ANTARTICA
Save Antarctica is a VR experience that adapts users to experience the consequences of climate change and melting glaciers. The main goal of this VR prototype is to allow users to embody a penguin and experience the life of the penguins in future Antarctica.
DEMO Video
THE PROBLEM
With global warming intensifying, Antarctica is melting at a speed that is visible to the naked eye. At this rate, the survival of a large number of polar animals will be highly threatened and the environment that humans depend on will also be destroyed over time. Some human activities in Antarctica, such as harvesting Antarctic species for economic benefits and leaving rubbish, have also contributed to the destruction of Antarctic ecology (“Human impacts in Antarctica”, 2020). However, due to the special geographical location, Antarctica for most people is a place they will never reach in their whole life, and fewer can access the wildlife in Antarctica.
So how can the general public be aware of the impact of climate change and human activities on Antarctica, so as to take decisive action to fight climate change and protect the polar ecosystem?
Our Solution
Research by Ahn et al. (2016) has revealed that individuals embodying wild animals to experience the natural environment can cause the mental overlap of themselves and other creatures, thereby raising the feeling of empathy and closeness. Virtual Reality precisely provides the opportunity for people to take the perspective of animals and set foot in the distant Antarctic
By deeply involving the Antarctic environment and interacting with other lives , an emotional connection will be built between players and the natural environment. Ultimately, this VR experience intends to allow players to rethink the relationship between themselves and other lives, thereby leading to the personal realisation that eco-friendly action needs to be taken.
The Story
The story happens in the 2050s when global warming has become extremely severe. It begins with the player strays into the Antarctic from the TV in the living room and enters a penguin's body. The player needs to explore Antarctica and investigate clues that humans left to find the way back home. Fortunately, players will meet a local guide (NPC), an interesting penguin friend, to guide them smoothly explore the virtual world.
When the player enters the Antarctic scene, the penguin friend will greet the player and invite the player to participate in their food competition. As human fishing for krill and global warming make shelled species such as krill difficult to survive, penguins have to compete for their food. Meanwhile, the Penguin friend will give the player a letter, which seems to be left by someone who explored Antarctica. The letter serves as a clue for players to investigate the Antarctic world and motivate them to keep exploring. On the way looking for food, the player will encounter a crying female penguin, and her child is drawn into the sea. This is because glaciers melt so fast that Penguin cubs are at a higher risk of drowning. After helping Mother Penguin rescue her child, as a reward, the player will receive the second human letter, which also recorded the threat of the melting glacier to the little penguin. Finally, under the guidance of penguin friends, players will come to the former human camp. Here remains some living waste left by humans and some records of exploring Antarctica. The player would find the last letter here. The writer’s fleet seemed to have died due to the glacier melting and broken ice. At the end of the letter, it wrote:" maybe it is not too late to change." After that, an exit will be opened at an old TV set discarded by humans, and the player can return to the living room (human life) from there.
The Interaction
The main interaction for the player to interact with the objects/NPCs in the virtual world is gaze-ed triggers. For all the objects that can be interacted with, there is an icon to imply players to gaze at it. In addition, this VR experience applies dwelling gaze teleportation for the primary locomotion interaction as it facilitates control of the moving routing of players and can effectively reduce motion sickness. Players will move to different spots to experience the plot under the guidance of the penguin NPC.