Samurai and the Culture of Japan’s Great Peace
Client:
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
New Haven, CT
These four interactive touchscreen kiosks allow visitors to explore aspects of life during the “Great Peace” of Japan.
Three of the screens expand on rare books that are on display. Swipe through the pages to learn about how to live a “Good Life”, avoid a “Naughty Life”, or learn about foreign influences in a parody of the 47 Ronin.
Another screen is a game, wherein visitors are challenged to find hidden items in two large scenes of the “City of Edo”. There are thousands of people and items! Can you find the targets?
Project Included:
- Interactive design
- Android app development
- Game programming
- Custom pound effects
- Hardware design and installation
Gameplay (“City of Edo”):
Screen Saver Attractor Video (“Good Life”):
Screen Saver Attractor Video (“Naughty Life”):
Screen Saver Attractor Video (“Tojingura”):
More info
The City of Edo
In this fun “find-it” game, your mission is to locate hidden items in two large scenes of the “City of Edo” (what is now Tokyo). There are thousands of people and items! Can you find the targets? Once discovered, the visitor can tap the item to learn more about its significance. There are two sections of the program to match the two large painted panels that are shown in the adjacent exhibit space. Each section has four set items to find in smaller areas, while the fifth item is randomized and allows for the visitor to explore the entire panel. It can be quite a challenge! A “get a hint” button provides assistance if needed. Multi-touch support on a large 27″ screen provides a smooth swiping and scrolling experience.
The Good Life
Follow the story of Zensuke (“Good Fellow”) to learn about how to live a good life. The author of the original text details how, through hard work and caring for your family, one can live a good and satisfying life.
Visitors can swipe through the pages on the screen to read the story, and can also tap on highlighted words to trigger outlines in the scene. A screensaver brings a scene to life with colorization and a 3D parallax effect (colorized version at the top of this page).
This was created on a 17″ Android tablet which provides multi-touch and gesture support with the self-contained nature of a tablet.
The Naughty Life
The story of Itaro and his wife is a lesson to avoid the naughty life. Itaro is cruel and they do not care for their children. Ultimately they pay for their wrongdoings.
Tojingura
This screen shows content from two different texts – one a humorous retelling of the “47 Ronin” story, and the other about foreign influences in Japan.