Reading: nARratives of Augmented Worlds ​
What are some interesting stories to be told about minerals/gems
- The history behind a famous gem: human interactions, social impact, cultural influence etc.
- The general evolution of gems: How do they become as precious as they are? What influences their value? What's the relationship between gems'v value and economy? What meaning do they have according to different culture/time?
How will AR influence the narrative? Test one story using different narratives and AR technology (mobile, Microsoft Hololens, etc)
AR technology has the ability to combine reality with fictional worlds. Comparing to traditional text-based or image-base ways, AR provides more possibilities that the audience are able to join the experience, instead of watching it as an outsider. The audience will have the chance to choose what they want to explore, or even influence where the storyline is going towards. In this case, the audience will be more active and passionate to be immersive into the story, so that they will expect more from the whole experience.
How might a user leave a persistent ‘mark’ via an AR experience?
I think it is interesting to make a customized experience for each person. For example, tourists love to leave messages or sketches in famous places that they've been to. This kind of personal mark shows that they've experienced it and they have a unique opinion about this place/object. It is also interesting to see marks from various people leaving at a same spot. As a similarity, AR storytelling may provide a chance to let the audience impact the storyline and save the result as a unique memorial for them to keep, as well as exhibit to others.
3 AR experiences that are interested to me
- An AR system at Natural History Museum in London about Rhomaleosaurus
AR makes it much more immersive than common museum tour.
- AR system in Jinsha Site Museum, Chengdu, China
I've been to this museum a few years ago when there was no AR system at all. I find that in the field of historical discovery, there are always many deficiencies to the exhibited objects because of the erosion. What AR can do in this situation is to make them completed again. For example, it is hard to imagine what houses and tribes look like back to thousands of years ago by only staring at a pile of ash and separate components. In this case, AR does a great job helping people actually seeing the scenery.
- Calling Thunder
This project uses AR and VR to show the unsung memory of New York City. I think it's a great combination that brings real world environment and historical elements together. A very immersive storytelling example.