COURSE: Folklore 100
MEDIUM: Game
Badger through unofficial traditions. Focused hours spent hard at work in academic buildings, though central to the concept of higher education and all too familiar to students, are a mere sliver of this group’s greater identity. Students’ lives encompass much more than administration-sanctioned studies, including most every form of expression from music to athletics, cheers and chants, recreation and transportation habits shaped by Madison’s geography and climate, and rites of passage from the first day on campus to the culminating point of graduation.
To truly experience and explore these aspects of UW student culture, one must delve into deeper lore and traditions than are shared by staff on a simple campus tour. However, since only a relatively small group of individuals has the opportunity to enroll at the University of Wisconsin, there is a need for greater access to this student culture. Since the lives of UW students are so multi-faceted, an optimal means to experience their traditions should, in turn, be very interactive and engaging, ideally including exposure to the real places and people involved—a fitting application for ARIS. An ARIS game will allow non- or future-students the opportunity to travel to significant student-based points on the UW campus, while virtually interacting with individuals and collecting and assembling items. This will grant the user access to virtually take part in defining activities of the Badger student body via photographs and video and audio clips.
Course Assignment from Folklore 100 with Professor Ruth Olson:
Each team created a presentation of some aspect of folk culture that they researched, documented and analyzed. The group elected to make their presentation as a place-based “game” for mobile devices created with Augmented Reality Interactive Storytelling (ARIS).
Why are we using ARIS?
- It is open source
- It can be downloaded for free from the App Store
- It is easy enough for students, teachers and community members to use
- It already has a number of tours and games available for public use
- It can be played either on-site (with a mobile device) or through Quick Travel (on a mobile device, but off-site)
This project is no longer available for viewing.