In collaboration with the US Department of Energy, I worked on an interactive simulation with a team at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver, BC. The simulation makes vivid future scenarios developed by Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Energy and Environmental Security Directorate. The experience takes place in a 3D environment where the player is presented with a familiar scene set in the present day and a future scene set in 2032.

I was the lead on story and content development, writing and sound design for the project. I also assisted with game design, visual design, and production.

The simulation depicts a present-day reality and the same space in 2032. At the outset of the simulation the future is bleak; it represents the worst outcomes of the various scenarios. The player interacts with characters in both the present-day and the future. As they interact with them and learn their story they can influence their mindset as it relates to the environment and their world view. If the player makes the correct choices in the conversation puzzles then they incrementally improve the future ultimately shaping a better world.

The project is an attempt to humanize and personalize some of the abstract issues in this area and to help bridge the attitude behaviour gap that often exists with issues that reach far in to the future.

Here’s a short documentary about the making of Precipice:

The simulation was built in the game engine Unity leveraging traditional game design methodology and the research of the office.

The team at the Centre for Digital Media consists of artists, game designers, writers, and programmers.

Go here to download the game.