Dreaming The Prairie, version 2.0.0

• UPDATED VERSION: This is the release of DTP2.0.0.

• Explore the incredibly detailed world of Bell Bowl Prairie from the miniature perspective of a queen bumblebee.

• Journey between different species of plants, browsing amongst their flowers.

• Reveal 'secrets of the plants' when you trigger the release of pollen.

• Relax while playing this game and immerse yourself in a world of marvels as if you are the size of a bumblebee. Our science+art project aims to enable people to connect with the world differently and to realize that beauty can be accessible no matter what size you are.

>>Coming in late-2026: We will be doing a build for macOS. Check back later in the fall if you are a Mac user and want to fly around the prairie as Rusty!

Gameplay:

Gamepad Controls:

PC Keyboard Controls:

A/Left Arrow = Move Left
D/Right Arrow = Move Right
W/Up Arrow = Move Forward (away from the camera)
S/Down Arrow = Move Back (towards the camera)
Spacebar = Move Upwards
Left Shift = Move Downwards
CTRL = Speed Up
Move the mouse to change the camera angle, or steer her movements.
E = Pollinate the flower when you see the word "Pollinate". 
Q = Continue to explore the prairie.
Z = Credits

The onscreen diagram in the upper right corner will automatically switch from keyboard to gamepad when the software detects the appropriate controller.

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1. Explore Bell Bowl Prairie from the miniaturized perspective of Rusty, the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee Queen. Rusty will fly when she is in the air, and crawl when she is on the ground.

2. Her mission is to forage on Bell Bowl Prairie for the resources to nourish a new colony of bumblebees. Follow the glowing beacons—using her super power to see ultraviolet light!—to locate plants rich in nectar and pollen.

3. Guide Rusty to the flower beckoning her to approach, as it has the richest stores of pollen to offer. (Hint: there are 20 species living on the prairie.)

4. As she approaches, you can hear the voice in her head as she recognizes each species of plant by name.

5. When you are close enough to alight on the bloom, you will see a prompt to pollinate the flower.

6. Trigger the release of pollen to reveal a little bit of botanical magic.

When Rusty's mission has been accomplished, you can hit the ESC key to exit.

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Backstory & Credits:

Dreaming The Prairie uses a game engine as a platform for storytelling and story-asking. Located in Illinois, Bell Bowl Prairie—an 8000 year old ecosystem—provided critical habitat for a number of rare and endangered species including the federally protected rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), and a number of rare prairie plants. A contested expansion of Chicago Rockford International Airport ('owners' of the land) destroyed a large portion of the rare and fragile dry gravel prairie. The game allows the player to explore the beauty of the former prairie through the third-person POV of a rusty patched bumblebee—encountering immersive aspects of the virtual habitat along with texts and sounds—since entry to the prairie is forbidden.

This project is a collaborative effort developed through multiple iterations; it could not exist without its valuable team members:

Mak Hepler-Gonzalez: Lead Ul/UX Director, Level Designer, VFX/3D/Foliage Artist, Asset Optimization & Workflow Instructor, Concept Development  

Joslyn Willauer: Lead Environment Artist, Foliage Artist, Level Designer, 3D Artist  

Zoë Morgan: 3D Artist, 3D Rigger, Lead Game Rigger & Animator, Interaction Programmer, UX Designer, Lead Quest Technician, Concept Development  

Kathryn Schaffer: Prairie Plant Texts

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Charlotte Guan: Lead Character Artist (creature design & rigging), Phase 1 Project Manager  

Kayla Kim: UX Designer, Quest Technician, Asset Optimization  

Brigid O'Neil: 3D Artist, 3D Rigging, Asset Optimization, Concept Development  

Kayla Taylor: Assistant Producer, Lead 3D Artist, Asset Optimization, Concept Development

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Michael Swierz: Prairie Research Consultant  

Contributing Artists: Diana Jiang: Project Intern, 3D Artist; Jane Tao: 3D Artist  

localStyle:
Marlena Novak: Producer, Creative Director, Conceptual Director, 3D Artist, Voice  
Jay Alan Yim: Co-Producer, Sound Design, Original Score Composition, Concept Development, Entomology Advisor
[about localStyle]

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This project is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency), the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Northwestern University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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We acknowledge and honor the many indigenous nations with historical ties to the Rockford Region including the Anishinnabe, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe Nations, as well as the Ho-Chunk, Sac and Fox.

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System Requirements:

We have been running the game successfully on a variety of differently configured computers—all running Windows 10—such as:
• AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 16-core; 128GB; GeForce RTX 3060 12GB GPU
• Intel Core i9 7940X 3.1Ghz 14-core; 64GB; NVIDIA RTX A4000 16GB GPU
• Alienware laptop with Intel Core i7-7820HK 2.90GHz; 32GB; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design GPU

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Updates in v2.0.0: a brand new plant! White Prairie Clover, plus a smattering of tiny mods and improvements

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