Description:

Mycohaven is a 2D Virtual World hidden deep within Fiordland. It aims to recontextualise what it means to be a young person within a digitally entrenched world and exemplify the importance of understanding ecology and post-digital play. With the loss of physical third spaces in our communities, children spend significantly less time outdoors than previous generations. Online play and toy design that fosters positive interaction and community are imperative to allow young people to create a digital third space of their own. Mycohaven aims to be a place where children can become empowered through online engagement.

Inhabited by mushroom-based spirits, Moss Isle is home to six villages that work together to host seasonal festivals, play together, and learn sustainable practices. The game works on a
real-time clock in line with the southern hemisphere’s seasons, allowing for an integration of localised learning within an ecological lens. This project is based on the harvest and cooking village of Loamshire. The other villages focus on native bird conservation, textiles, construction, geothermal energy and waterways. These are areas in which environmental
care and understanding are vital for a sustainable future. Gameplay, environment design and character customisation are all heavily influenced by children’s need for expression, community, and a safe, neutral and accessible space for young people. The low barrier of entry creates a neutral ground in which players feel like they have agency, allowing them to experience a sense of digital empowerment and feel like their contributions matter within the community.

Players access the world through a one-time purchase of a figurine that digitally connects via Bluetooth stands, counteracting the financially predatory membership schemes found in almost every facet of digital consumption today. Accompanying the figurine is a small pedometer device known as the “Mycometer” which the child attaches to their backpack.

This device allows children to “forage” for in-game rewards, such as clothing items or in-game currency, by increasing their step count and interacting with local council-affiliated walking trails. This creates a world that integrates online and offline play, allows for stronger emotional bonds to form between the child and the game, shepherding discovery and exploration of ways in which they can play in the modern world. Mycohaven, as a representation of these new intersectional methods of play, is a direct and meaningful response to the imposed digitality of the contemporary child.