Rediscovering West Chinatown

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May 24, 2024

Yifan Kong and Irene Gammel Publish a New Study on Chinese Canadian Heritage and Game Design

Toronto’s West Chinatown, one of the city’s oldest ethnic neighborhoods, embodies the vibrant and evolving Chinese diaspora since the 19th century, marked by buried historical conflicts, immigrant narratives, social discrimination, and cultural erasure. In their study, “Rediscovering West Chinatown: Immersive Game Design Revives Toronto’s Chinese Cultural Heritage,” published in Design for Equity and Justice (Springer), Yifan Kong and Irene Gammel explore how immersive game design can intersect with archival and heritage studies to revive and make accessible these cultural histories.

Abstract:

This project focuses on recovering marginalized stories from Toronto’s West Chinatown. It aims to make these findings accessible through interactive means, promoting inclusivity. By integrating cultural studies, archival research, design, storytelling, and gaming, the objective is to develop an augmented reality (AR) game that introduces participants to forgotten stories of historically marginalized groups. The AR archive connects the historical aspects of Toronto’s Chinatown to the present, while gamification enhances engagement and enriches visitor experiences. This game—called Chinatown Time Machine—aims to recuperate the memory of not only erased architectural features but of historical events in Toronto’s West Chinatown through AR activities, bringing cultural heritage to life.

Keywords:

Toronto’s Chinese Cultural Heritage; Critical Play; Game Design; Marginalization; Augmented Reality

Citation:

Yifan Kong and Irene Gammel. “Rediscovering West Chinatown: Immersive Game Design Revives Toronto’s Chinese Cultural Heritage." Design for Equality and Justice (Springer), 2024.