A New Kind of Wonder

BACKGROUND Patrick Macasaet, through his architectural studio ‘Superscale’ was one of three selected participants to be part of the Federation Square Experience Lab Program for their experimental multi-reality immersive experience research project, ‘A New Kind of Wonder’, that utilised gaming technologies and environments as didactic immersive experiences. The research asks: how can immersive experiences help audiences better understand contemporary issues and be more than entertainment. CONTRIBUTION ‘A New Kind of Wonder’ is a research project in experimental multi-reality immersive experiences that was developed through gaming technologies and environments. It developed five inter-connected elements: 1 provocative ideas-led narratives, 2. physical immersive environments, 3. encounters and micro-narratives, 4. open world wandering games, and 5. virtual archive. The immersive experience reimagines relationships and ideas of our cultural and built environments at the intersection of emerging technologies, city, culture, climate, and country. SIGNIFICANCE Experience Lab is a program led by Federation Square that is designed to support artists and creatives from the Victorian community. The program is aimed at developing new experiences that set a benchmark within the creative industry, surprise and delight visitors to Fed Square and cement a brand new experience within the Melbourne landscape. The program’s Fed Square Judging Panel, featuring experts from the creative industry included Peter Tullin, Tamasein Holyman and James Boyce. They selected 3 projects from EOI submissions and provided $10k funding grant as well as one-on-one mentoring by industry experts. The research outcomes were exhibited and presented at Federation Square as part of an industry and public showcase.