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Mind Cloning
Project: VR Expereince
(by Gabi Avitan, Hodaya Sobol and Noi Sitbon).
During May 2023, the project participated in an Dystopian Exhibition
in the Czech Republic in collaboration with 'Suntar'.
Subject: The VR experience is based on 'Rachel, Jack and 'Ashley too' (Black Mirror). Just like the episode, the VR settings portray a pop singer Ashley whose management team controls her by forcing her to take medication. Moreover, to increase the profits, the singer's managers clone her psyche into a mass produced doll ('Ashley Too').
Concept: The point of the VR game is to recreate the psychedelic process undergone by the singer and help the player identify with her: the game starts with the player realizing that he/she is a famous pop singer locked inside 'Ashley Too' doll.
The Stage
The game starts when Ashley (the player) is on stage, performing in front of a big crowd. S/he can grab the microphone and (by performing in front of huge masses of excited fans) experience the same gamut of emotions a famous pop-singer would be typically swept away with.
Design Significance
The stage design represents the duality of being a pop singer like Ashley. The elements incorporated in stage design comprise metaphoric references to Ashley’s circumstances: the overview of the soccer field filled with fans and endless sky represents the freedom celebrities are often thought to have, while the square panels behind the stage (the slide above) symbolize the caged existence Ashley is bound to in reality.
Dressing Room
After the show, Ashley (the player) finds herself in the dressing room, where her manager (Catherine) forces her to take a pill Ashley knows nothing about. Ashley is then pushed through a secret door hidden in the wardrobe.
The Hidden Room
The secret door Ashley is pushed through by Catherine leads to a lab where her brain is scanned in order to clone her psyche. This data is then transferred to a small chip which will be used in mass doll production.
Rachel's Room
When Ashley (the player) wakes up she finds herself in a strange room she has never seen before. Everything around looks very big.
Ashley Too
Suddenly, Ashley (the player) sees herself in the mirror and realizes that she is a doll locked inside the room of a teenager she was purchased for (Rachel). Escape she must — but how???
It's time to experience the game yourself.
