Part of Vespa-Mode
Theme: Narrative design, cultural exploration, interactive storytelling.
Research Contribution:
- Inquiry Focus: How can narrative elements and cultural references enhance the sense of place and identity in immersive riding experiences?
- Disciplines: Digital storytelling, cultural studies, and game design.
- Outputs: Story scripts, interactive dialogues, character backstories, and cultural research reports.
Engagement for New Students:
- Contribute to writing story arcs, character bios, and immersive dialogues.
- Assist in selecting culturally relevant music, visuals, and voice acting.
- Learn how storytelling creates emotional and cultural connections in immersive media.
Spring 2026
Reading published VR narrative work for what makes a virtual place feel inhabited rather than staged — the reference library the Vespa Mode story gets written against.
Questions
- What makes a virtual place feel like somewhere, instead of a set?
- Which storytelling techniques survive the move from screen to headset?
Outcome
- A running series of write-ups on published VR narrative pieces.
Fall 2025
A cultural anthropology lens on immersive storytelling: how virtual reality can deepen human connection through narrative and world design, and what carries emotional and cultural weight when you stand inside the story.
Questions
- How does embodied experience change the way a story lands?
- What do anthropology's tools — participant observation, fieldwork — look like in a headset?
Outcome
- Three retrospectives on published VR narrative experiences, listed alongside.