Description

We scoped the initial concept and pulled together the project team for Participatory Chinatown, a 3-D immersive game designed to be part of the master planning process for Boston’s Chinatown. Residents assumed the role of one of 15 virtual residents and worked to complete their assigned quest—finding a job, housing, or place to socialize. Sometimes the language skills, income level, or other circumstances of their resident made their task more challenging. Residents were then tasked with considering the future of the neighborhood by walking through and commenting on proposed development sites. This game-style meeting is a recognized process of the 2010 Chinatown Master Plan. This game was created through a partnership between the Asian Community Development Corporation (Asian CDC0, the Engagement Game Lab (EGL) at Emerson College, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), and Muzzy Lane Software (ML).