Augmented Reality Installation By Sarah Zainal Abidin
Title: Adventure in Cakeville
The installation aims to create a fun and immersive environment using a popular classic fairy tale as the inspiration for its narrative. It will deviate away from its traditional format with my own take on the story and characterizations.
Concept:
Hansel and Gretel is a fairy tale story most people have heard of during their childhood. It has evolved into many different versions, however, the main idea is that the siblings were lured into a gingerbread house to be tricked; Gretel into a slave; Hansel into a meal by the evil cannibal witch.
This narrative is fused with many different elements such as presenting it in a physical space, which involves the player to move around the coded map and having the ability to control the main protagonist, Gretel, just like role-playing adventure games. This method of control will allow the story to develop in a non-linear manner, providing a different experience for every player and every time it’s being played.
Installation Set-Up: •
A large screen visualizer with an inbuilt camera will be placed facing the coded map to show the 3D layout of the area, Cakeville, and generate random character behavior.
Above: Without a visualizer only the person using the handheld device can see the layout.
Above: With the placing of a visualizer, other people can see the virtual image of Cakeville as well.
Interaction:
•
Navigating: The coded map will be projected as an interactive three-dimensional street view on the handheld device’s screen with buildings and houses made of desserts such as cupcakes, cookies, jellies, candies, etc. The view will rotate or move with the movements of the player.
In order to move Gretel, the camera will have to be pointed at the intended location on the map using the crosshairs on the device’s screen to aim. Upon tapping the screen, the Gretel avatar will proceed to walk to that spot.
It is possible to enter buildings by opening and walking into the door. The screen will then switch to indoors ‘x-ray’ view of the particular building. This is done to search for items and also to complete quests such as finding and saving other children.
•
Action choices that will pop-up when an interactive element is tapped on includes, “View”, “Pick Up”, “Use On”, “Open”, “Close” and “Talk To”.
Goals & Sub-story:
The following goals have to be completed so that Gretel can unlock the gates of Cakeville in order to find her way home. The goals can be completed in any sequence to unlock the final quest, which is to find a key in order to escape Cakeville. •
Find brother
•
Kill all bad apples
•
Save other children
•
Final Quest: Defeat evil witch by trapping her (which will unlock a sub-story: The secret of why the evil witch became that way. It happened when she, her husband and their nine pet cats were caught in a tragic situation whereby they were trapped indoors due to an avalanche that submerged their home in snow. The husband died first of starvation. And the hungry cats started to feed on his corpse. Reluctantly, she did the same to survive until the snow melted and she could finally be free. The event made her sadistic, crazy and cannibal. The witch pleaded for mercy when they were about to kill her and promised that she will change her ways and turn good if they let her live. She convinced them by directing them to find a key, which unlocks the gates of Cakeville so that they can go home.)
•
End: They unlock the gate of Cakeville and escape. When they look back, Cakeville was set ablaze by the witch and she set herself on fire as well.
Characters: •
Hansel, Gretel, Witch, Bad angry apples
•
Other children victims
•
Clue givers/helpers: Squirrel, Goose, Small deer
Rough Sketch of Some Characters:
Three- Dimensional Look: All characters will have a similar feel to the Gretel image below when they are developed into animated, three-dimensional format.
Example of Map Layout:
The symbols will be interpreted as edible buildings. The threedimensional street layout is then displayed on the handheld device’s screen.
Instead of display the symbols, the screen will project the characters and building images.
Above: Symbols will track the angle and location of buildings.
Above: Showing how the screen will project the symbols and character.
Interaction Example:
Above: When an object with interactions is touched, it will open up actions. For example, a door might allow interactions such as “View”, “Open” and “Close”.
Menu Items:
Above: Pressing the device’s button will activate menu options such as “Inventory”, “Goals”, “Conversation History”, and “Save Progress”.
Inventory Option: Gretel can collect items along the way which will them be stored in the inventory.
Above: When an inventory item is clicked, its options are displayed such as “Use on” and “Give To”. This allows the object to be able to interact with other items.
Inspirations & References: •
Hansel & Gretel story
•
ARhrrrr Augmented Reality Shooter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNu4CluFOcw
•
Augmented Reality Game- Joe Warpin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS_igJZWtIU
•
Sims3
•
Fallout3
•
Monkey Island 2 on iPhone/iPod