Museums parade as halls of cultural authority, but as any kid who has ever tried to sleep over in a planetarium can tell you, they are only what the visitor makes of them. Montreal-based comic artist Paloma Dawkins has memories of compulsively exploring the Natural History Museum near her childhood home in Ottawa. In her new virtual reality game, the Museum of Symmetry, Dawkins invites the user to use her psyche- delic, intergalactic museum space to travel through the colour wheel on their own terms.
“We wanted it to be purely experiential,” says Dawkins, who worked with programmers and designers at the National Film Board and Casa Rara Studio to make the game happen. While so many games ask you to “master something,” she “wanted everything in this space to be intu- itive.” The 20-minute game is on tour in Canada and beyond and is available to download on STEAM and VIVE now. Check out medias- pace.nfb.ca/museumofsymmetry to see more!
