- VR Installation: Unreal Engine, Actors extracted from World of Warcraft, 3D-printed game assets, AR
- Time: 2019
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“Pets’ Island” uses the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) “World of Warcraft” as a basis to critically reflect on what animality might mean within the magic circle of the game. A central question it addresses is what animals from the games do when they are not currently “summoned.”
The installation consists of a VR-video game component where you can visit a fictional island where the pets and mounts can teleport themselves to be completely useless. You cannot interact with them but they act in the world.
Another component comes from a speculative design experiment to change objects in the game that would have an influence on game mechanics. The “companion rocket” is an object made to transport your avatar and one humanoid player character. More-than-human NPCs such as pets have to walk or fly behind the rocket, bound to an invisible rope. The rocket is now altered to make space for them.
See the rocket here (works best on mobile):