Heartree is an interactive tree installation that reconnects players to the natural and Indigenous histories of Brunswick through touch, audio and play. It is a part of a bigger project called Playable City Brunswick that was completed in collaboration with the Moreland City Council. The purpose of the project is to reconnect people to the “lived experience” of Brunswick through urban play.

Different soundscapes play when players physically touch the tree trunk (to feel the “heartbeat” of the tree), or the six ropes that hang from the branches. Multiple players can play Heartree simultaneously to create different layered soundscapes. Heartree plays on the idea that it is only through our connection with the land, does it reveal its past stories to us. What if every tree had a story to tell?

Heartree was completed as part of my third semester studio project for the Master of Animation, Games & Interactivity program at RMIT University. An artbook was created to document the project.

The installation was shortlisted as a Freeplay Independent Games Festival Awards finalist in the Experimental Game category in 2021.

Additional Credits & Info:

Sound Design (installation): Israel Carter

Videography (trailer): Alexander von Hofmann
Director & Editor (trailer): Helen Kwok
Playtester (trailer): Chad Toprak

Awards: Freeplay Independent Games Festival – Experimental Game (Finalist)