Khiem Tran
Lodana
Lodana is a speculative VR device with the aim to kickstart the journey of self-discovery. Users will be able to generate and explore worlds based off of their own life experiences.
Artist/Thesis Statement
Some of the most difficult goals we set are lifelong goals, and we see pursuing them as “the best way to live.” It can take an unfathomable amount of dedication, skill, and mental drive. Taking that first step can be daunting when you realize just what kind of decision you’re about to make, and most people know this feeling to be none other than doubt. Some also call it the fear of failure, and perhaps your emotions twist your goals in a way where it’ll seem like they are impossible to achieve. Doubt can actually neither be a good nor bad feeling, as it prevents you from doing what might fail — but it also prevents you from accomplishing what could be. You’re placed in a stalemate that feels like you’re at a complete standstill in your life.
Of course, this stalemate is metaphorical. You might go about your current daily life, and distract yourself with activities you know you’ll enjoy, what some might call “getting by.“ There’s always this feeling in the back of your mind where you need or want to do something, but you just can’t place your finger on it. As soon as you pry into that thought, you’re pulled away by another distraction. You know all it takes is a first step, but you don’t know where exactly that step is. I want to communicate this feeling of being in a misty fog, and your goal is to find the clearing with a path. So, what will you do to get to that point?
This project conceptualizes “the first step” as an invention; in the form of a virtual reality device. This device will take you into a world generated by your own life experiences, called ‘scenarios’. I want this product to have a caveat, which is that you won’t complete these scenarios on your first try. Ironically, this will make people doubt this product, but that’s because it’s meant to be a representation of the nature of doubt. You’re exploring the unknown, but there’s familiarity in the feelings that it invokes. Like doubt, you will experience that fear of failure, as well as ups and downs throughout this scenario. However, this will also bring revelations to yourself— finally realizing at the end that you took the first step a long time ago by starting this journey.
