Oplevering van Schaamte

An experience on the relativity of social awkwardness and fear of it

Hosted by Tim van Nielen - St Joost Breda

This project is now archived and was part of DDW22

This project is part of
Art Tech Fun Robots eGirls Manifestations

Title screen of Oplevering van schaamte

"Oplevering van Schaamte" is a 4th-wall-breaking, interactive VR-instellation about social awkwardness and discomfort, where the player will follow the story of Bernard and perhaps become aware of the relativeness of their feelings of being awkward and how the fear of it influences one's behavior.

Bernard's story

In the VR experience, you follow the story of an old man named Bernard. Bernard let the fear of social discomfort define his entire life. The fear of what others would think of him was always greater than his own needs and decisions. This has caused him to now be surrounded by dozens of cats at his deathbed as a result of his isolation and alienation from humans. At the end of his life, he finds out that the cats always had their own agenda and that they only took advantage of him. Besides, the cats will eat his body as soon as he dies and closes his eyes. Bernard thus decides to make a pact with the cats. The cats will grant him the chance to relive his memories, if he can step out of his comfort zone and accept the feeling of being awkard. Then, and only then, will the cats not eat him. Depending on his actions, will he die peacefully and surrounded by friends, or will he be catfood?

What will the player experience

The player then experiences the memories of which Bernard is ashamed of and must relive them as Bernard would have wanted. This is often done in an attention-seeking manner that exposes the player to their own potential discomfort. Thanks to the use of VR, both as a medium and as a blindfold, the player is drawn more into their own thoughts. Are they or are they not being watched in this public space and by how many people? Ultimately, this should shed light on one's own perspectives and experiences of social discomfort, and where the player may come to realize that the social awkwardness felt, may not necessarily be perceived as such by others.