PICKRICK
This virtual reality experience reenacts a non-violent protest in the Civil Rights movements in 1960s in Atlanta, Georgia .
In 1965, three non-violent African American activists, Charles Wells, Albert Dunn, and Woodrow Willis, were denied entry to a restaurant owned by a segregationist future governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox, after the Civil Rights Act passed. During the confrontation, Maddox violently pushed the activists away from the property and shouted at them. The restaurant where the confrontation happened, the Pickrick Restaurant, was later purchased by Georgia Tech when it closed down.
In this experience, the interactor is readily immersed by impersonating one of the activists. The violent acts of Lester Maddox, the Pickrick restaurant, and the protestors who stood against them are concretely presented, and the interactor is challenged to behave non-violently when facing the aggressive confrontation.
Interaction
In this virtual reality experience, the interactor impersonates one of the activitists. In order to finish the experience, they needs to follow a non-violent protest protocol throughout this confrontation:
keeping hands up — the interactor has to refrain from sudden hand movement.
holding non-violent gestures — the interactor has to keep the designated buttons pressed throughout the experience to hold a non-violent gesture — open palm facing outward. If the buttons were released, the gesture will become a fist.
avoiding any physical contact — in this experience, avoiding physical contact involves dodging and stepping back, even if the contact is initiated by the aggressor.
Failure to follow the protocols will fail the experience — the non-violent protest will fail, and the experience will restart.
Facing the intense aggressions viscerally represented in virtual reality, the interactor has to suppress their instinctive reactions against the aggressions. This lack of power puts the interactor in the similarly vulnerable position as the activists, and thus provokes empathy and reflections toward the history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Personal Contribution
This project is a collaboration between Olivia Hughes, Monica Jeon, Ryan Winstead, and myself. I personally designed the game/interaction mechanism, and implemented the gameplay.