AR Walking Tour / Game App for iPad

Apple iOS , 2014

Oyster City is an augmented reality walking tour and game that tells the story of the demise and resurgence of oysters in New York City and surrounding estuaries as it relates to larger natural and urban ecologies. We populated Governors Island with AR elements (3-D virtual objects visible through the camera on a mobile device, audio and texts) enabling participants to learn and play as they interact with their immediate environment. Players follow geo-located clues to collect up to ten coins, each with a narrative about a specific site, and unlock an immersive oyster reef. The bulk of the game was created while in residence with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council on Governors Island, NYC, from March – July, 2013.

Oyster City is made in collaboration with Meredith Drum with original Palimpsest software and custom coding by Phoenix Toews. In addition to co-designing all content, architecture and interactions, I was responsible for all 2D assets. (Because of the custom software platform we had limited options for some interface designs). The Palimpsest software enables not only GPS placement of text, images and sounds, but also touch, orientation, and movement events, allowing the participant to act as a performer as well as a viewer.