Home Planet

Project partners: Sustainable Arts In Leeds (SAIL), Megaverse, York St John University, University of Hull, Environment Agency

SAIL, a network of creative and cultural organisations from Leeds, has collaborated with Sheffield-based Megaverse, to turn climate change education into an interactive experience.

Home Planet blends eXtended Reality (XR) and creative storytelling, backed by evidence-led research to create an interactive VR experience that explores the potential impacts of flooding in Hull.

The project takes the ‘rollercoaster’ of emotions experienced by individuals completing SAIL’s Carbon Literacy Training (CLT) and turns this into an immersive experience.

A VR prototype, which was built using an animated 3D simulation in Unreal games engine, Home Planet takes users through lows of discovering the reality of the situation, followed by the highs of learning new information, feeling educated, confident and equipped to take climate change action.

Project partners engaged with local stakeholders and industry specialists to create an evidence-based scenario, immersing users in a version of what the future could look like if we take no action to address climate change.

Home Planet takes users on a journey through emotion, education, enlightenment and empowerment to create a lasting feeling of motivation and retained behaviour change. 

The project is one of three grants awarded through the XR Stories Climate Change Challenge. Each project received research and development funding to explore how immersive storytelling and technology can be used to address key climate change topics and shape the climate change narrative. 

Categories: Technology