This article is a reflection on the development of Torres Strait Virtual Reality (TSVR), a virtual reality game created to raise awareness of one of Australia’s First Nations people, Torres Strait Islanders. Through the development of TSVR, the author discovered that the processes of cultural protocols, game design and research, intersected and enriched each other to produce a culturally sound and culturally centred game. This article explores project examples of these intersections, such as the converging practices of community engagement and playtesting, and the role of Indigenous cultural influences in game design choices. The cultural focus of TSVR is best represented through the Torres Strait Cultural Tree as a conceptual framework. The Torres Strait Cultural Tree exemplifies how cultural traditions and knowledge can be used to anchor cultural reproductions in new mediums and offers an Indigenous cultural framework for developing cultural-centred games.
ApperleyT. (2006). UnAustralia: Videogames and Australia’s colonial history. Paper presented atProceeding of Cultural Studies Association of Australasias Annual, UnAustralia, 6–8 December 2006.
2.
ApperleyT. (2018). Counterfactual communities: Strategy games, paratexts and the player’s experience of history. Open Library of Humanities, 4, 1-22. doi:10.16995/olh.286
BeckettJ. (1987). Torres Strait Islanders: Custom and colonialism. Cambridge; Sydney: Cambridge University Press.
6.
BrayboyB. M.GoughH. R.LeonardB.RoehlR.SolyomJ. A. (2012). Reclaiming scholarship: Critical indigenous research methodologies. In Qualitative research: An introduction to methods and designs (pp. 423-450). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
CastellanoM. B. (2014). Ethics of aboriginal research. In Global bioethics and human rights: Contemporary issues (p. 273). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
9.
EldenM.ChisholmR. F. (1993). Emerging varieties of action research: Introduction to the special issue. Human Relations, 46(2), 121-142. doi:10.1177/001872679304600201
10.
EluM. (2004). Cooking, walking, and talking cosmology: An Islander woman’s perspective of religion. In DavisR. (Ed.), Woven histories, dancing lives: Torres Strait Islander identity, culture and history (p. 140). Acton, A.C.T: Australian Studies Press for the AIATSIS.
11.
FeldmanS. (2005). Quality assurance: Much more than testing. Queue, 3(1), 26-29. doi:10.1145/1046931.1046943
12.
FongC. S.DeWittD. (2019). Developing intercultural communicative competence: Formative assessment tools for Mandarin as a foreign language. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 16(2), 97-123. doi:10.32890/mjli2019.16.2.4
13.
GaffneyE. (1989). Somebody now: The autobiography of Ellie Gaffney, a woman of Torres Strait. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
14.
GairS.MilesD.ThomsonJ. (2005). Reconciling indigenous and non-indigenous knowledges in social work education: Action and legitimacy. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(2), 179-190. doi:10.5175/JSWE.2005.200300358
15.
GrantN. S.BolinB. L. (2016). Digital storytelling: A method for engaging students and increasing cultural competency. Journal of Effective Teaching, 16(3), 44-61.
16.
GreerS. (2010). Heritage and empowerment: Community‐based indigenous cultural heritage in northern Australia. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 16(1-2), 45-58. doi:10.1080/13527250903441754
17.
HallE. T. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
18.
HarrisonN.BodkinF.Bodkin-AndrewsG.MackinlayE. (2017). Sensational pedagogies: Learning to be affected by country. Curriculum Inquiry, 47(5), 504-519. doi:10.1080/03626784.2017.1399257
19.
HarrisonN.McLeanR. (2017). Getting yourself out of the way: Aboriginal people listening and belonging in the city. Geographical Research, 55(4), 359-368. doi:10.1111/1745-5871.12238
20.
HarrisonN.SkrebnevaI. (2020). Country as pedagogical: Enacting an Australian foundation for culturally responsive pedagogy. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 52(1), 15-26. doi:10.1080/00220272.2019.1641843
21.
HarrisonN. E.SellwoodJ. (2016). Learning and teaching in aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
LapenséeE. (2014). Survivance as an indigenously determined game. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 10(3), 263-275. doi:10.1177/117718011401000305
26.
LawrieM. (1970). Myths and legends of Torres Strait. St. Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press.
27.
LeonardD.BeilinR.MoranM. (1995). Which way kaikai blo umi? Food and nutrition in the Torres Strait. Australian Journal of Public Health, 19(6), 589-595. doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.1995.tb00463.x
28.
LewisJ. L.SheppardS. R. J. (2006). Culture and communication: Can landscape visualization improve forest management consultation with indigenous communities?Landscape and Urban Planning, 77(3), 291-313. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.04.004
29.
LewinK. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1946.tb02295.x
LobanR.ApperleyT. (2019). Eurocentric values at play: Modding the colonial from the indigenous perspective. In Penix-TadsenP. (Ed.), Video games and the global south. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University, ETC Press.
32.
LucashenkoM. (2015). The first Australian democracy. Meanjin, 74(3), 7.
33.
LussierD.GolubinaK.IvanusD.KostovaS. C.RetamarG.SkopinskajaL.WiesingerS. (2007). Guidelines for the assessment of intercultural communicative competence. In LazarI.Huber-KrieglerM.LussierD., et al. (Eds.), Developing and assessing intercultural communicative competence: A guide for language teachers and teacher educators (pp. 23-39). Strasbourg: European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe Publishing.
34.
MartinezC. M.Ingram-GobleA.TwistK. L.ChaconR. (2016). Game remains: A platform design grounded in indigenous knowledge systems for dialogue and composition play. Educational Technology, 56, 11-16.
35.
MathiassenL.ChiassonM.GermonprezM. (2012). Style composition in action research publication. Mis Quarterly, 36(2), 347-363. doi:10.2307/41703459
McCullyJ. G. (2006). Beyond the moon: A conversational common sense guide to understanding the tides. Singapore: World Scientific. doi:10.1142/6015
38.
McLoughlinC.OliverR. (2000). Designing learning environments for cultural inclusivity: A case study of indigenous online learning at tertiary level. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 16(1), 58-72. doi:10.14742/ajet.1822
39.
NathanD. (2000). Plugging in Indigenous knowledge: Connections and innovations. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2, 39-47.
ParkinsonC.JonesT. (2019). Aboriginal people’s aspirations and the Australian curriculum: A critical analysis. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 18(1), 75-97. doi:10.1007/s10671-018-9228-4
42.
PearsonN. (1997). The concept of native title at common law. In Our land is our life. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
RodgersC. (2002). Defining reflection: Another look at John Dewey and reflective thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842-866. doi:10.1111/1467-9620.00181
46.
RuppertN.AdcockL. T.CraveJ. (2017). Digital storytelling: A tool for identifying and developing cultural competence with preservice teachers in an introduction to middle level education course. Current Issues in Middle Level Education, 22(1), 31-36.
47.
SalenK.TekinbaşK. S.ZimmermanE. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
48.
SellarsM. (2012). Teachers and change: The role of reflective practice. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 55, 461-469. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.525
49.
SharpN. (1993). Stars of Tagai: The Torres Strait Islanders. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
50.
ShaulesJ. (2007). Deep culture: The hidden challenges of global living (Vol. 16). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
51.
SingeJ. (1989). The Torres Strait: People and history (2nd ed.). St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.
52.
SmithE. A.BirdR. L. B. (2000). Turtle hunting and tombstone opening: Public generosity as costly signaling. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21(4), 245-261. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(00)00031-3
53.
SmithL. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed books.
54.
SuttonP. (2004). Native title in Australia: An ethnographic perspective. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
55.
SykesJ.FederoffM. (2006). Player-centred game design.Paper presented at theCHI’06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, April 2006.
56.
ThackerayR.HunterM. (2010). Empowering youth: Use of technology in advocacy to affect social change. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15(4), 575-591. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01503.x
WhapG. (2001). A Torres Strait Islander perspective on the concept of indigenous knowledge. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 29(2), 22-29. doi:10.1017/S1326011100001368
60.
WhiteS.FookJ.GardnerF. (2006). Critical reflection in health and social care. UK: McGraw-Hill Education.
