Blooming in the bones of the dead

In 2022, there were almost three billion video game players in the world, making video games a highly effective means of sharing and communication that can reach a large part of the globe. While many games try to use this influence to communicate important contemporary messages such as climate protection and biodiversity, the majority of gamers are looking for more action and entertainment, making violent and brutal games the most popular. This project is based on the observation that while no game promoting biodiversity conservation, so-called "educational" games, could be sufficiently attractive to have a real impact, a game that effectively raises awareness would have to show the violent effects of taking environmental resources and nature and appropriating them in order to highlight the consequences of certain actions we all take. The game Blooming in the Bones of the Dead presents three tragic and violent stories in a setting that contrasts an increasingly rich and luxuriant house with an increasingly faded and destroyed environment. By exploring the three rooms of the house and discovering the stories step by step, the player is plunged into a tragedy where the resources of the environment have been decimated for the benefit of the inhabitants who once lived in the house. After exploring all the rooms and seeing all the stories in the manner of a fun and inconsequential game, the player finally realises that the house's wealth has destroyed the environment, and there is no turning back. By associating violent stories with unhappy endings and biodiversity disasters, the game aims to raise players' awareness without being seen as a boring educational game.

Category
Design Studio
Place
Zurich
Year
2023
Author(s)
Bay Xingyu, Wu Qingyuan, Zuber Clara
Team
Arno Brandlhuber, Bing Liu, Jolene Lee, Meghan Rolvien, Severin Bärenbold, Olaf Grawert, Pan Hu
Contributor(s)
newkinco
Teaser
Time and Space Diagram
Prologue
Kings of Earth 1
Kings of Earth 2
Walls
Door
Ghosts of Forest 1
Ghost of Forest 2
Walkthrough