Religion, a very global phenomenon, can take many unfamiliar forms. One of those forms is the mystical Carribbean practice of Vodoun, melded together from Catholicism, West African mysticism and Native American religion. The tenets of the religion are often misunderstood and have led to such misconceptions of Vodoun practitioners as merely vectors for the black magic that they're engrossed in.

NEW ABSTRACT

ONE LINER (Take one of these and make it a zinger):

Ritual and rites of passage reflect the importance of the community through the expression and reinforcement of shared values. Would a person have a greater understanding of a practice if they were able to interact in it's social space? If a person were able to "play" through the ritual, learning the importance of the rite in a social and cultural setting, would they gain more appreciation for the diversity of belief in the world?

Bokor is a adventure game that explores the rich narrative opportunity of Vodoun practice, addressing rituals and potential spiritual power within Haitian communities in order to discover new social commentary through the metaphor of creating a zombie. This game is targeted toward gamers who are specifically interested in new interactive experience that provides valuable information about culture, society and religion.

Did you know that zombies are real?

In my game, you play the part of the bokor, the sorcerer, a mystical policeman who serves the gods of the primal world. You participate in a sacred ritual and practice secret magic to raise a corpse from the dead and put it to work. But something about this experience is not right. What are these memories that haunt you?

less is more.

RE-EDITED

Did you know that zombies are real?

In (NAME OF GAME), (USERS) play the part of the bokor - the sorcerer and mystical policeman who serves the gods of the primal world. It is the goal of the user to participate in a sacred ritual to raise a corpse from the dead. But the user quickly finds conflicting memories about this experience.

Uncover the haunting memories for yourself.

ANIMATE A CORPSE!! Reanimator...

Why?
-what's the value
-who is it for?
-personal

Assumptions
-what are they?
-how did they change?

WHY

The value of Bokor is that it expresses the interesting and unique facets of religious and spiritual practice as an interactive form. It approaches the topics of tolerance and ritual by examining a fringe belief system. Ritual is something that people engage in everyday and it is important to remind people that there are social and cultural reasons for doing things that don't separate them so much from other people. Also, it seeks to enlighten people about the value of unique spiritual practices; each practice has a place in society, a source and a legitimate reason for being. I believe that there are so many rituals that are unrecognized because they happen everyday. As a result, there is a lack of reverence and sincerity with which we go about doing things.

I also wanted initially to make a game about the experience of creating a zombie in the Haitian/ Vodoun method. I read the book The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis, which narratized the first-hand experience of Dr. Davis's experience exploring the source of the Haitian zombie.

Assumptions
1. That the facets of religious practice are interesting to others.
2. That there would be utility in representing practice as an interactive simulation, rather that accepting the ritual as it's own interactive entity.
3. That it is important to remind people that there are social and cultural reasons for doing things.
4. That people would enjoy perfecting their abilities in the role of sorcerer, and that they would be informed about vodoun practice by playing the game.
5. that they would enjoy playing the game in any form, which is always an assumption tat is hard to answer.

These assumptions changed over the course of iteration. Some of the changes are minor, but some

For Monday:

1. Strunk & White
2. George Orwell

Find and Read

3. Artist/Designer/Maker
(Essay, Artist Statement, Interview, Etc.)
Make sure you pick a passage where the artist is talking about making something.

Rituals are a compelling window into faith and belief. They are practice, sprituality, belief based activities that exist in the social spehere. Specifically there is Liminality and Communitas, factors of ritual spoken about by Victor Turner, that particularly address rites of passage and the importance of the community in expressing and reinforcing shared values.

Religion, a very global phenomenon, can take many unfamiliar forms. One of those forms is the mystical Carribean practice of Vodoun, melded together from Catholicism, West African mysticism and Native American religion. The tenets of the religion are often misunderstood and have led to such misconceptions of Haitian practitioners as merely vectors for the black magic that they're engrossed in.

An inclusive experience within, and to some degree an anthroppological study of, any ritual process gives the observer more context for its legitimacy. Would a person have a greater understanding of a practice if they were able to interact in it's social space? If a person were able to "play" through the ritual, learning the importance of the rite in a social and cultural setting, would they appreciate the diversity
of belief in society?

Bokor is a adventure game that explores the rich narrative opportunity of Haitian vodoun practice, addressing rituals and potential spiritual power within Haitian communities in order to discover new social commentary through the metaphor of creating a zombie.