Memory Room (a little bit of spoilers)
"Memory Room" is an interactive virtual reality (VR) experience that was submitted as my final project in the Digital Media program at Tel Aviv University's Tisch Film School. The project was supported by the Blavatnik Foundation.
"Memory Room" features the semi-autobiographical story of myself, as a soldier who fought in Iron Swords war in Gaza strip. In the beginning, Ofra tells us that her son, Oded, was killed in action during the war. She organized his room as a memorial space for him (something not widely done in Israel, although very discussed by media). We, as players, can visit Oded's room. We can play his CDs collection, read his notes, wear his sunglasses, lit a candle and even hear his official life story voiced by Dan Kaner. Every item in the room was made from real objects in my bedroom at my parents' house.
During that visit we hear Ofra's notes regarding our behavior- she may encourage us to do something or tell us more information about Oded's life. By walking outside the room, we learn that Oded wasn't the first one in the family to fall in a war- Ofra's brother, Reuveni, was killed few decades earlier. Combining these two tragedies, we also wonder about her character as a sister and a mother, old scars and new wounds.
Unlike other memorial spaces, this experience is inviting us to do, and by doing, we reveal a hidden plot- Oded's inside thoughts and self-disappointments, his locked away will, Ofra's inner thoughts while waiting for any kind of news, and the end of the story. The more we do, the more we discover.
In reality, after serving 9 months in the war spending on 3 tours, I was finally able to create my project for my master's degree. The previous concept that I had pre-war was very ambitious and titled but few of my lecturers as "the biggest project that was ever pitched in our program". From that idea remained only the demo for a futuristic apartment. It was influenced by Covid-19 as the most important event of our times. After October 7th, when 1163 people were massacred, including my high school teacher, Ravid Katz, I was called for duty. Although my political views didn't change, the artistic needs along with the attention for topics were changed. So many projects were asking how to honor and remember, using mostly the physical environment. Therefore, my decision to create another project emerged.
I see myself as a person allowing others to joke with. I thought that if I choose a real soldier who died, visitors will feel uncomfortable to move objects in the room, even it can reset with a simple press of a button. In addition, I had a unique story to tell- the will is real! I wrote it in the first days of war to ensure that my belonging will do good. By telling my squad about that paper, they stopped ignoring me and started to care for me. We came from polarized parts of society, and were united by fear, beliefs, goals, and laughter (with hours of Backgammon games).
For more User Experience design information of the project, see My UX Diaries.
