iSchool Capstone

Exposure: A 3D Interactive Narrative for Creating Empathy for People Experiencing Homelessness

Project tags:

software development

ux & interaction design

Diversity Award
Project poster

Seattle’s young homeless population has long been underrepresented—their stories are largely absent from public conscious. In the University District, young people often face discrimination, stereotypes, and violence from University of Washington students rooted in unaccountable misperceptions. Using Unity, Exposure has created a 3D interactive narrative to challenge preconceived notions of homeless youth and allow an audience of University of Washington students to step into the shoes of a fictional young person experiencing homelessness. The audience will interact with a cast of characters and vignettes based upon stories curated through community-grounded research. By exposing our audience to this community, students are encouraged to confront prevailing misperceptions of young people, develop empathy for them, and engage with movements addressing causes of homelessness. Just as film and literature can communicate lived experiences and motivate social change, the use of an interactive medium will be a novel approach to represent a community long neglected.

Project participants:

Perry Meas

Informatics

Memie Huang

Informatics

David Han

Informatics

Luc Johnson

Informatics