TreesNYC

TreesNYC is a low resolution prototype. It is designed to suggest game mechanics for a casual game with content from New York City's vast database on its sidewalk trees. In the prototype a single player is cast in the role of a Parks Department employee during a day on the job caring for the trees on one city block. The object of the game is to achieve a high score by completing horticultural tasks and, by end of game, to learn about and address all of the locale's arboreal needs. Tasks include watering, feeding, trimming, and planting. The player must choose and operate necessary tools on the main avatar, a Parks Department tree maintenance truck. The goal is to bring trees into the forefront of the conception of urban spaces, with some additional understanding of the forces that can support or stress urban ecosystems. Our collaborator was an instructor from The New School architecture faculty. The next iteration will more fully embody a curriculum for middle school based on the ecology of trees in The City of New York.

Credits

  • Kan Yang Li
  • Charles Earl Love Yust
  • Natlie Fizer
  • Louisa Campbell
  • Claire Smith