Hardangervidda Virtual Role Play
Visitor Centre Hardangervidda National Park, Norway
The National Park of Hardangervidda is known for its vast nature and roaming reindeer. However, its future is a much-debated topic. This virtual role-playing game takes visitors on a 30-minute Virtual Reality trip through scientific data, future projections, and finally, an in-person round-table debate from different points of view about the park's future.
The park is home to herds of reindeer, wild bears, native vegetation, and other wildlife. Over the years, however, human presence has increased, considerably affecting the wildlife. Debate about the park’s future and resources has ignited, ending in an ethical question: How much is our wildlife worth?
Visitors sit at a circular table where the experience begins with a virtual reality experience. Visitors wear VR goggles (not shown in this image) and are taken on a bird’s eye view journey through the national park in wintertime, encountering its many inhabitants and vast plains.
Once they have explored the plains of Hardangervidda, the visitors return to the room, meeting virtual representations of scientists who share their expertise about the park, illustrating the influence of humans on nature historically and until the present day. Visitors are encouraged to ask the scientists to explain topics in more detail, and it becomes clear to visitors that the future of the national park will be dire if it continues on its current trajectory. One version of the national park’s future is shown to visitors in virtual reality, transporting them away from the room and ahead to 2422, a dystopian future which is only avoidable if actions are taken, starting today.
The visitors return to our time and to the room, taking off their VR goggles and meeting people who represent important aspects of the park's future, including a farmer, a scientist, a mayor, and other inhabitants, on a large screen in front of them.
These stakeholders are engaged in a debate about the future, each representing concerns such as food security, political actions, wildlife conservation, biodiversity, and how this all relates to the future of the national park. Visitors can ask these stakeholders questions to understand their motivations and challenges.
In the end, visitors are provided with a series of questions asking them how they would answer policy questions about the future of Hardangervidda.
Visitors are encouraged to ask the scientists to explain topics in more detail and it becomes clear to visitors that the future of the national park is dire if it continues on its current trajectory.
This immersive experience underscores the critical juncture at which decisions made today impact the destiny of the national park. Interactive design converges with environmental consciousness on this transformative journey to foster understanding, dialogue, and action for a sustainable future.
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The VR experience is just the beginning. After exploring the stunning nature and wildlife of Hardangervidda, participants engage with ecology, climate, and biology professors. Visitors can ask questions following their introductions, deepening their understanding of these critical topics. The VR journey seamlessly transitions into a role-play session, enhancing the overall educational experience.