Project: Unseen VR
Services: Virtual Reality
When: Q1 2019
Website: dogoodartist.com
Tools:
The Brief
Do Good Artist is a social enterprise that moves the needle on social issues through multi-sector collaborations between the arts and other industries. They partner artists, brands, and organisations to create innovative products and initiatives that raise awareness about social issues and generate opportunities for more inclusive economic development.
Together with Looking Glass Services, Do Good Artist approached us to create a VR experience based on the concept they produced with a group of university students, and to bring Unseen to life.
The Idea
The objective of Unseen, a virtual reality experience to raise awareness about human trafficking, is for the user to learn about the different faces of human trafficking (trafficker personas, methods of coercion, victims) with the goals of empathy building, prevention, identification, and inspiring the player to engage in the fight against human trafficking.
The Experience
We created a multi-route, interactive experience based on the ideas provided to us by Do Good Artist. The user is given the option of experiencing the story of Maya - who along with her mother is ensnared in a trafficking ring after they try to escape domestic abuse and poverty in their home country - or the mother of Victoria, who is searching for her daughter after suspecting Victoria's new boyfriend to be grooming her to be part of the very same trafficking ring.
After being introduced to the story behind their character, the user finds “herself” in a warehouse where they must avoid the patrolling guards and find their mother (when playing as Maya) or daughter (when playing as Victoria's mother). As they navigate the warehouse, they can hear/view various memories that start to provide the user with more and more information about human trafficking through detail of Maya and Victoria’s stories and the stories of others whom they have come across in during their journeys.
To help save on development costs, we utilised the fantastic "Polygon" asset packs from Synty Studios.
More Importantly...
We were thrilled to work with Looking Glass and Do Good Artist on this project, but we all wish it wasn't necessary. If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please do contact the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline for support. If you are in the United Kingdom, visit the Human Trafficking page of Citizens Advice for information and support.