LOST VOICES - CHILDREN OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
Virtual Reality Experience
Addressing Climate Action Through VR
Virtual Reality
Narrative Design
UX
Addressing climate change and environmental degradation is an urgent issue. Despite growing awareness, many people struggle to grasp the full impact of human activities on the planet. Traditional educational methods often fail to emotionally engage individuals or drive home the immediate need for action. Moreover, there is a generational disconnect, with young activists' voices often being overlooked or dismissed.
Challenge
"Lost Voices - Children of The Anthropocene" bridges this gap by offering an immersive digital experience. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this 3D cross-platform experience—accessible via mobile, computer, and VR—allows users to explore the consequences of inaction. Through the poignant messages left in old phone booths by young activists, the experience fosters a deep emotional connection and urgency to act.
Solution
Access Lost Voices
“This experience allowed me to feel exactly what it would feel like if we don't start to act and take care of our planet. I have completed it several times, and every time I found a tear rolling down my face”.
Lisbet - owner of My African Dream, Spatial
Narrative Engagement
Immersive Storytelling and Discovery
"Lost Voices" uses a bleak future scenario to create a challenging and engaging narrative that actively draws users into the story. The experience encourages critical thinking and reflection on the messages encountered, with interactive elements and a discovery process that provide a satisfying sense of exploration and insight.
World Building
The experience immerses users in a dystopian future shaped by climate inaction, built using the Unity game engine to leverage its powerful capabilities for creating realistic environments. By utilizing the Spatial SDK, the experience offers cross-platform and device accessibility, ensuring a seamless experience across different devices.
Dystopian Setting
The experience begins near a desolate building, immediately immersing users in a world shaped by neglect and overuse of resources. The oversized gasoline tanks prominently displayed serve as a stark reminder of the overreliance on fossil fuels and their role in driving climate change. A gas mask hanging on the wall symbolizes the poisonous air resulting from pollution, hinting at a future where clean air is no longer a given but a luxury. In a corner, a light powered by a battery generator flickers, subtly highlighting the scarcity of energy in this dystopian world. A large TV screen is set up for events on climate action, contrasting the urgent need for discussion against the backdrop of irreversible damage.
AI Art Driven Narrative
The walls of the ruined building are adorned with specifically AI-generated art depicting the severe effects of climate change, such as displaced refugees, burning forests, barren landscapes, and rising oceans. This powerful visual narrative sets the tone and vividly illustrates the real-world impacts of climate change.
Immersive Audio Enhancing Impact
The use of 3D sound adds to the sense of immersion with audio elements such as wind, flies, and distant fires enhancing the desolate atmosphere. This soundscape deepens the emotional impact and underscores the severe consequences of climate inaction
Emotional Engagement
This experience underscores the need for collective action on climate change, highlighting the impact of ignoring environmental warnings. Through use of a social platform it fosters a shared commitment to positive change and encourages users to consider their role in a broader societal context, promoting communal responsibility.
Collective Responsibility: Inspiring Climate Action
"Lost Voices" uses VR's ‘tangibility’ and ‘realism’ to create emotional engagement, making climate change feel immediate and personal. By immersing users in a realistic, desolate future, it evokes empathy and responsibility, encouraging reflection on the consequences of environmental neglect.
Transformative Narrative Design
Narrative design helps organizations across sectors engage diverse audiences and strengthen their identity through immersive storytelling. By using compelling narratives, entities can highlight their commitment to important causes, differentiate themselves in their industry, and showcase leadership in responsible practices.
Earth Day 2024
Lost Voices was commissioned for an official Earth Day 2024 event, "Earth Is Talking, But Are We Listening?", which featured a talk on the current state and potential future of our planet, followed by an immersive, interactive experience using "Lost Voices" to emphasize the consequences of climate inaction. In collaboration with the “Bridging Worlds” collective, the event brought together participants from South Africa, Canada, the USA, Japan, and Ireland, uniting a global audience in a shared commitment to addressing environmental challenges through innovative storytelling and digital co-creation.