PILL: Narrative game - cultural protocols in the real world - breaking down barriers

Pitch
I propose making a web-based game where the user can choose between different characters over the world (ex. a woman from Afghanistan, a child from Singapore, an agricultural worker from Kenya) to show the cultural protocols they are subjected to either due to religious or political constraints (ex. prominence of marriage, reduced barriers to school, or requirements of joining military forces). After choosing the character, it will take the user through different scenarios those demographics experience in their day to day life.

Through this project, Iā€™m excited to bring to light the struggles of historically underrepresented groups that are left behind, as a contrast to our technological innovations today.

Other notes

  • Curious about the best way to scope this! There are so many stories and experiences to highlight. I wonder if I should make this more focused, ex. focusing on the systemic barriers women face all over the world to make it more consistent.
    To research and learn more about the space, I plan to conduct interviews with people who align with the characters for the game, along with augmenting this with existing research and cultural protocols

My background - more about me on my website. Iā€™ve worked primarily in design & engineering and also love creative writing & building fun websites. Iā€™m graduating university and have a free summer, so thought this would be a great way to spend it on a topic Iā€™m quite passionate about and use my web + writing skills to visualize it in an interesting way. Also aligns with the goals of ā€œProtocols and patterns of conflict (ranging from military and policing to economic and cultural)ā€.

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