Torres Strait Virtual Reality: A Reflection on the Intersection between Culture, Game Design and Research

Abstract

This article is a reflection on the development of Torres Strait Virtual Reality (TSVR), a virtual reality game created to raise awareness of one of Australia’s First Nations people, Torres Strait Islanders. Through the development of TSVR, the author discovered that the processes of cultural protocols, game design and research, intersected and enriched each other to produce a culturally sound and culturally centred game. This article explores project examples of these intersections, such as the converging practices of community engagement and playtesting, and the role of Indigenous cultural influences in game design choices. The cultural focus of TSVR is best represented through the Torres Strait Cultural Tree as a conceptual framework. The Torres Strait Cultural Tree exemplifies how cultural traditions and knowledge can be used to anchor cultural reproductions in new mediums and offers an Indigenous cultural framework for developing cultural-centred games.