Youth and emerging artists in Winnipeg are learning to design simple games as part of this year's Fall and Winter 2024-2025 arts incubator program thanks to support from the OpenAI Researcher Access Program.
As part of the Fall and Winter 2024-2025 Art Borups Corners and its Winnipeg Arts Incubator program, artists and community members are learning to create a simple yet engaging text adventure game titled “Travel to Winnipeg.” This project serves as a dynamic component of a season themed around storytelling, bridging the gap between narrative and technology while setting the stage for more complex virtual reality galleries.
The inspiration for “Travel to Winnipeg” stems from classic text-based adventure games like “The Dawson Trail,” which was released in the early 1980s. “Dawson Trail” was a pioneer in interactive storytelling, combining adventure elements with historical contexts and allowing players to navigate the challenges faced by early Canadian settlers. The reliving of these stories through modern tools provides an exciting opportunity for students to delve into interactive programming while honoring the rich history of the fur trade and exploration in Canada.
Gamification is one of the concepts the group is learning about this fall and winter. During this project, artists learned foundational coding concepts, focusing on JavaScript and HTML to create an engaging narrative-driven experience. They gained practical skills in developing user interfaces, managing game states, and implementing decision-making scenarios, all while collaborating with peers to refine their creative ideas. This fall and winter, they will apply these simple skills to learning how to create virtual reality (VR) environments to exhibit and tell stories and showcase their photography and videos produced over the last year.
One of the exciting facets of this project is the integration of AI tools, supported by the OpenAI Researcher Access Program. Instructor Jamie Bell, an interdisciplinary artist and educator from Winnipeg, expressed his thoughts on the role of AI in education. “This project shows that you don’t need to be a professional coder to create a unique game experience,” he said. “Artists can leverage AI tools to assist them in the creative process, allowing them to focus on storytelling rather than getting bogged down by technical details.”
Bell further emphasized the significance of blending art and technology: “The future of art and creativity rests not only in traditional media but also in the ability to harness digital tools like artificial intelligence, which is everywhere these days. When we explore how to demystifying coding, we’re opening doors for artists who aren’t coders to explore new mediums and forms of expression.”
The storytelling theme has empowered students to weave narratives into their projects, enhancing their understanding of how stories can be conveyed through interactive formats. Participants reported a sense of accomplishment and pride as they saw their text adventure come together. Feedback highlighted the ease with which they could incorporate historical narratives and gameplay mechanics, all made possible through the power of AI. The team commented on how it revolutionized their understanding of coding and creative possibilities, paving the way for more complex and immersive projects in the future.
“We wanted to have some fun this year fusing our art program with some emerging technologies, but we also wanted to look at old game styles and how we could revisit them to tell stories and narrative flow. In some ways, these old games are almost a form of oral history in their own right,” he said with a laugh.
As the program continues to explore the creation of virtual galleries, participants will build on the skills gained from “Travel to Winnipeg.” This fusion of storytelling, creativity, and technology signifies a promising future where narrative and interactivity come together to enhance the learning experience. The goal is to learn the basics and introduce code to artists and community members who don’t come from a technical background.
“This was a fun little experience,” said Bell. “But after working on it together, we thought maybe we’ll do another one where instead of using made-up storylines, we might actually integrate real history drawn from historical sources like old HBC post journals and trip logs. We’ll see.”
For more information about the Fall and Winter 2024-2025 Art Borups Corners program and the Winnipeg Arts Incubator program, please visit http://artsincubator.ca or by email at info@artsincubator.ca
Click here for a short lesson plan you can use with links to code.
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