IncreasedAnimalRightsAwarenessthroughImmersiveRole-Playing:PETAandDemodernRelyonVRandAIinNewGameApplication
In the social simulation "When They Came For Us," humans must convince superior aliens of their rights
Norfolk, Va. / Stuttgart / Hamburg, 06.08.2024 – Feel what animals feel: PETA is taking innovative steps to raise awareness of the needs and rights of animals. In the year of PETA Germany's 30th anniversary, the world's largest animal rights organization is using Gamification and Virtual Reality (VR) alongside Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve this. In the new VR-AI application "When They Came For Us" (available now for download in the Quest Store) for the VR headsets Meta Quest 2 & 3, the situation of animals in the animal industry becomes tangible and palpable by putting humans in an unfamiliar role: their needs and interests are denied by a supposedly superior intelligence.
The virtual scenario: The player is abducted by an alien species into a spaceship. This species is determined to use the captive according to their will. The immersive role-playing game consists of an intense two-person dialogue: The alien emphasizes its power and superiority, while the abductee must convince the extraterrestrial with arguments to release them. Each conversation is unique, and the user quickly realizes what it must feel like to be completely at the mercy of humans as an animal. Is the duration of about seven minutes enough to persuade the alien to grant freedom? Time is ticking.
"With our immersive role-playing game, we want to prompt reflection on our treatment of animals and introduce the vegan lifestyle as an easy way for positive change," says Christian Coslar, Head of Marketing and Creativity at PETA Germany e.V. "The suffering that sentient beings in the animal industry endure every day is unimaginable. That's why we have made a comparable situation experienceable for humans through VR and AI. The difference is that users remain unharmed – unlike the billions of animals worldwide, for whom the depicted circumstances are not a game but a bitter reality."
The concept and realization are backed by the technology agency Demodern. PETA and Demodern had already implemented the visionary, haunting, and award-winning real-time virtual reality experiment "Eye to Eye" together in 2018.
Goal of the dialogue: Promote antispeciesism through argumentation
"The combination of VR and AI technology creates an intense immersive social simulation. A personal, empathetic experience that sustainably encourages players to think and reflect," says Alexander El-Meligi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Demodern. 'When They Came For Us' is our first project where we extensively use AI. The application impressively demonstrates the possibilities that AI-supported character deployment opens up for companies and brands – as an innovation and technology agency, we want to actively shape this trend."
About PETA
PETA's motto is: Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way. The organization opposes speciesism – a form of discrimination where animals are devalued based on their species. PETA's goal is to strengthen compassion for animals, stop animal cruelty, and establish animal rights to help every animal lead a better life. PETA USA is the world's largest animal rights organization with over 6.5 million supporters. Other partner organizations are active in Germany, Asia, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, India, and the Netherlands. In 2024, PETA Germany celebrates its 30th anniversary.
About Demodern
Demodern is Germany's most frequently awarded agency for creative technologies and one of Europe's leading innovation agencies. Founded in 2008 by Kristian Kerkhoff and Alexander El-Meligi, the company develops communicative solutions for the digital age and supports international companies, their brands, and products from strategic consulting to operational implementation. The range of services includes spatial computing and immersive augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality experiences, AI applications, web technologies, and interactive installations to the development of metaverse platforms. Around 70 digital experts work at the Cologne and Hamburg locations for clients such as Nike, IKEA, SAP, SNIPES, Roland Berger, PwC, Ergo, Beiersdorf, and BMW/MINI.