Neverdream
Concept
Neverdream is an interactive installation that reinterprets a traditional Chinese opera, The Peony Pavilion. From the perspective of Du Liniang in the story, participants experience the narrative using story objects to remix elements of the plot.
The interaction allows exploration between dream and reality in the story and across the boundary between the symbolic and the actual world.
Neverdream attempts to offer a glimpse of traditional Chinese opera to contemporary audiences.
Storyline & Story Objects
Du falls asleep in the garden.
In her dream, she meets and falls in love with a man holding a branch.
Before she dies of lovesickness, she draws a self-portrait. The portrait was picked up by the man who appears in her dream.
The man exhumes her upon her request and Du Liniang is brought back to life. Du and Liu reunite in the real world.
In the spring,Du visits a garden which she has never been to
Mirror
shows what happened in the real world
shows what happened in the girl’s dream
Shadow on the wall:
Domains
Storytelling
Interactive Design
Traditional
Chinese Culture
Research
According to a survey of young audiences age 18 to 27, 71.5% of respondents somewhat dislike or dislike Chinese Opera.
Mei Liang, "A thought-provoking survey on Chinese Opera," Xi Qu Yi Shu, 24: 62-66, 2003.
Why do they dislike?
• Can not understand it.
- abstract stage setting,
- symbolic gestures,
- few theatrical properties
Mei Liang, "A thought-provoking survey on Chinese Opera," Xi Qu Yi Shu, 24: 62-66, 2003.
Design Question
How to reimagine Chinese Opera, making it accessible to millennial audiences in the digital age?
Precedents
Peony Pavillion at MET
by Tan Dun
Sleep No More
by Punchdrunk
Dunsmore's Fixall
by Rees Shad
Prototypes & User Tests
Prototype 1
I made two text adventure games as my first prototype to tease out the plot and relation between objects and pieces of the story they reveal.
Test Result
The nonlinear narrative should be experimented on in my following prototypes.
Prototype 2
I build an installation with real physical objects as the second prototype.
Test Result
75% of users got somewhat sense of the tale from the installation.
90% of users expect more effects, like sound effect, lighting, animation, expect more interaction with 3D electronic artifacts and the shadow.
Prototype 3
For the 3rd prototype, I introduced Chinese Opera hand gestures in the interaction. It contains two parts- an installation mockup simulating how my installation leads users to the interactions and how the first interaction work during the narrative experience, and a storyboard presenting the entire user flow.
Test Result
Making an appropriate hand gesture is hand for users.
Many users didn’t see the relation between the content in the mirror and the content on the wall.
They expect their actions can bring more feedback, like sound effects
