Untitled Slide

what is an interactive documentary?

non-fiction narratives told on digital platforms which allow the user to augment or change
the story experience

what makes it interactive?

• multiple entry & exit points
• fluid & transmutable
• plastic by nature
• audience has more control 
• time element is variable

why forests?

hawaii, paradise in peril?

hawaii's native forests only 8% left

vision

real-life, beautifully rendered, exquisitely soundscaped, richly textured environments that recreate the experience of getting to and walking through a wild, remote Hawaiian forest.

concept

You are the main character

encounter different
rare Hawaiian forests

meet people who share their stories of the forest

platform

younger audiences don't
watch TV or films

how do you engage these audiences that traditional documentary film doesn't reach?

design an iPad story app for
young adults (12-18 years old)
to get them in a real forest

self-motivated activities,
users explore worlds freely
element of discovery & mystery

integrate video game potentials, serial TV dramatic structure, contemporary YA novel themes

design

RETURN OF THE NATIVE: HAWAII is the first of its kind.

user experience is centered on immersive storytelling

users play the protagonist as a
15-year-old ready for adventure.

they discover stories hidden in
the forest, each a unique path
and user experience

stories

stories about recovered forests that are seeing the return of extraordinary rare birds and plants found nowhere else in the world

told by scientists, hunters, naturalists, Hawaiian cultural experts and historians

sample content

mahalo!