BuildingWorldsFinalFinal

The virtual world that I created was inspired from one of the readings called "The allegory of the cave". This reading talks about a human who had a chance to leave the cave and saw the real world on its own whereas the others were "trapped" in the cave and watch what the god created for them. However, no one believed in what he explained.

Like the story, I wanted to create a world to reflect on the gender norms of 2016. The new phenomenon, "Herbivore Men", has increased its population in asian countries, which I wanted to provide a world for people to have a better understanding of this type of men. According to Maki Fukasawa, who coined the term, "Herbivore Men" is the idea of the men being "indifferent attitude toward(s) desires of flesh." Also, they are somewhat how people categorize as being "feminine", which I wanted to provide a world for non-herbivore men to understand.

The experience that the player will have is entering a cosmetic store and will observe different skin care products to buy. However, when the player chooses the products, they will not be able to buy them. Instead, they will hear a girl saying "That's so gay" . I wanted to make a work that reflects what the girls think in the real world to provide an uncomfortable truth of the world. The girls would accept and understand this phenomenon, but would not like to have this type of men as their partner. In other words, the girls gender norm has been updated, but not their partner's norm.

Therefore, I wanted provide a playful experience about this gender issue in the web through awareness of this evolving subculture.