Defined experience and transformational goals\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Established the garden-care metaphor for dementia\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Conducted early research and expert consultations\u2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Created an initial experience draft and pitched to ETC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
We began with the idea of pitching a project to the ETC that would fully take advantage of the CAVERN space. Our goal was to design an immersive, interactive installation that creates a transformative experience for the general public, inspired by the cognitive and emotional disruptions caused by dementia. We chose dementia as our core topic for several reasons. First, it is a growing social issue, with the number of patients continuing to rise. Second, increasing public awareness of dementia is important for helping people recognize early signs, seek treatment sooner, and potentially slow the progression of the disease. Third, there is a rich body of existing research on dementia and caregiving that can inform our design. Finally, the brain as a subject allows for a high degree of artistic freedom, making it well suited for abstract and experiential expression within an immersive environment. We started working on this project in October, 2025. and spent the early phase gathering input from a wide range of perspectives. We spoke with PhD students who focus on dementia research, professional caregivers and caregiver trainers, as well as professors whose work centers on transformational game and experience design. Based on these conversations, we iterated on our initial design drafts and eventually pitched the project to ETC faculty. We were fortunate to be selected to continue developing this project during the spring semester. Before the semester officially began, we accomplished several foundational milestones: defining our experience goal and transformational goal, creating a draft walkthrough of the audience journey, developing initial visual concepts, proposing an example interaction, and conducting preliminary research on dementia and dementia caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Our current design uses the metaphor of caring for a garden to represent caring for a person with dementia, rather than directly portraying the disease itself. On the CAVERN screens, guests enter a garden environment and are invited to take on the role of caring for that space. The garden continues to decline over time, no matter what you do. There is no way to \u201cwin\u201d this experience. That inevitability is intentional, and reflects the emotional reality of dementia caregiving: the effort is constant, the responsibility is heavy, and progress is not guaranteed.\u2028\u2028We aim to design at least three different interactions for guests to explore within the installation. The first interaction uses a physical watering can: guests can water flowers projected in the garden to revive wilted plants. A Vive tracker will be mounted inside the watering can, allowing the system to track its position in physical space. This is a feature of the CAVERN that enables the projected environment to respond to where the guest is located and how they move within the space, making the interaction feel grounded and spatially connected. Over time, if the flowers are not watered, they will begin to wilt again. This interaction is meant to reflect the ongoing and continuous nature of caregiving, emphasizing that care is not a one-time action but a sustained effort. Additional interactions will be designed and developed as the semester progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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