🌊 LarkQuest XR


is a gamified VR mudlarking experience and AR-chive 
that is designed to foster and rebuild a strong connection 
between the community and the City of London through 
artefacts and anecdotes that are excavated from the 
foreshores of the River Thames


PARTNER : Royal College of Art + Museum of London Docklands
KEYWORD : Game Design, XR, Field Research, Community Engagement
TEAM : Dunni Fadeyi, Haowen Ma, Mengna Gao, Wei Yi
YEAR : 2024



🌊  Context : Ocean and Cities 


LarkQuest XR was developed as a part of the Grand Challenge 2023/24 unit at the 
Royal College of Art for their New Economic Models for the Ocean (NEMO) initiative 
as a UNESCO Ocean Decade Implementing Partner.

The project aimed to examine and address the wicked challenges that prevail in the designated boroughs of London, United Kingdom, under the theme of ‘Ocean and Cities’, thereby helping the city build a more empathetic and resilient relationship with its waterbodies and environments.

Adopting co-design and place-based approaches, our brief revolved around the 
‘City of London’, a self-governed district located within Greater London which is not
only home to renowned cultural landmarks, financial institutions, and legal powerhouses but also steeped in history with its roots tracing back to a square mile, first established 
by the Romans as Londonium.







🔍  Identified Problem Area


Despite the heavy footfall of regular workers, visitors and residents, communities 
& individuals are largely disconnected and disengaged with the rich historic and
cultural tapestry of the City of London

There is a lack of awareness, responsibility and action around restoring the
depleting health of the River Thames owing to the ignorance towards the impacts 
that the health of the river could have on the health of the city and its communities

🔭 Opportunity Space : Mudlarking


River Thames, once the largest port in the world is also the longest continuous
archaelogical site in Britain - cumulating countless objects discarded or dropped by 
communities that frequented.
 The dense, anaerobic mud of the River Thames has helped 
preserve these objects in their original states for years.

Mudlarking refers to the act of scoping & searching the foreshores of River Thames, 
in a hunt to discover historic artefacts, recover relics and excavate stories that date 
back to Medieval & Post-Medieval times.










🥽  Introducing LarkQuest


LarkQuest XR is a gamified treasure hunt and AR-based museum archive that has been meticulously crafted and co-designed with real-life Thames Mudlarks and Museums to inspire a sense a sense of respect and responsibility towards the River Thames, the City of London and a shared heritage of the Community. 

This three-level experience has been designed to deliver a journey packed with high engagement, hands-on immersion and rich information

 
(built with Unreal Engine 5)



🗿 Level 01: Dig Deep


Set against the iconic backdrop of the City of London, you are challenged with the task of collecting as many objects of intrigue along the shoreline before the next tide hits and you run out of time. While you forage the foreshores, answer questions right to unlock boost tools like shovels, metal detectors or torchlights to help you dig faster.




📜  Level 02: Immerse


After collecting a plethora of items, you are tested with the task of classifying and sorting them as Historic Artefacts, Recyclable Objects or Items of Trash. 
At the end of this quest, your collection score will let you unlock a series of  immersive stories attached to your favourite finds, for example:

- Select the Roman Clay Pot to witness the rise & fall of the Roman empire and civilization
- Select the Plastic Bottles to learn the mind-numbing realities of how discarded items have been clogging the River Thames and threatening its biodiversity
- Select the Oyster Shell to learn about how it can be recycled to aid conservation efforts carried out by local environmental organisations like the ZSL and ENORI


🏛️  Level 03: AR-chive


Next, you gain access to the AR-chive, an archeological museum that houses your latest finds amongst an infinite repository of virtual artefacts that has been curated by 3D scanning artefacts from the Museum of London, Docklands and from the personal collections of Thames Mudlarks







🎞️  Behind the Scenes: Stakeholder Engagement, Research & Fieldwork


Our process and ouctome were heavily influenced by the stakeholder
and community enagament-driven insights that we gathered along 
the way. We used a combination of methods and tools including:

Observational Research
Desk Research (Books, Articles, Blogs, Publications)
Field Visits (along River Thames shores, Museum of London, ZSL)
Maptionnaire Surveys
Expert Interviews (with Thames Mudlarks, Thames Festival
      Trust Director, Council Representatives)
 VR Workshops and Consultations


Mudlarking by the Thames, Field WorkMuseum of London Docklands