With calls for police reform and protests across the United States, computer software engineer Bryant Young is hoping to use virtual reality (VR) to fight racism.
“Our America” puts the viewer in the driver’s seat as a Black father requires his son to college. Along the way, they are pulled more than by the police, major to life and death alternatives.
“The audience has to go through these different scenarios, whether it’s subtle or overt racism, and has to navigate these different conversations and interactions properly,” explained 25-year-old Young.
When Young was 16 years old, his dad took him to get his 1st automobile, according to the game’s description on fund-raising web site Kickstarter. As his dad was driving them property, police pulled them more than. When Young reached to open the glove box for the registration, he stated the officer was prepared to pull out his gun, a frightening moment but one that did not outcome in violence.
“I am really focused on just trying to bring light to a situation that a lot of people are not aware of and give people a chance to experience what it’s like to be Black in America,” he stated.
Recent days have observed protests more than the killing of Daunte Wright by police right after a routine website traffic quit just miles from exactly where George Floyd died final May. Floyd died in handcuffs with his neck pinned to the street beneath a police officer’s knee. Both Wright and Floyd had been Black.
“Our America” caught the eye of 3D computer software firm Unity Software Inc, which awarded Young a $25,000 grant.
“I think there’s something incredibly important about the power of real-time 3D in immersive storytelling that we cannot find in other pieces of technology,” stated Jessica Lindl, Unity’s vice president for social influence.
Video games have also helped share the experiences of other marginalized groups, such as refugees fleeing civil war.
Bryant and his group hope to have “Our America” completed by September.
()