Callum Benfell

Multidisciplinary designer and storyteller 


Work

Method Recycling
Policy NZ
Torotoro
Sam & Spoons
Common Ground
Beansprout
Bella
Mozart! Poster


Wellington, NZ
Email
LinkedIn







Torotoro

Wonderlab NZ
UI/UX Design, Illustration
2023

Brief

Wellington design agency Wonderlab were looking for an engaging way to demonstrate their virtual reality capabilities to prospective clients. VR is increasingly used in the tourism industry to showcase potential destinations to consumers. Because a large proportion of their clients are central and local government, Wonderlab wanted a demonstration of how this technology can be useful for promoting Wellington and New Zealand in a fun, creative way. They emphasised that it should be short, entertaining and immersive.

This meant I had two parties in mind when working on Torotoro: Wonderlab itself, and its clients (mostly local and central government).


Solution

Torotoro is a gamified, virtual reality tour of Wellington. The player must explore the city’s streets, searching for a pigeons’ three lost hatchlings that have been scattered throughout the CBD by Wellington’s infamous wind. The experience generally takes around 15 minutes, and is completed when all three hatchlings are found and returned to their worried mother.

This solution centered the technology’s key value points, and demonstrated how VR is well-suited for promoting tourism destinations in creative ways.   





In-game screengrab: the first hatchling
In-game screengrab: the second hatchling
In-game screengrab: the third hatchling
Character illustration: Pīwakawaka
Character illustration: Pigeon
Character illustration: Kererū
Character illustration: Bellbird
In-game screengrab: introductory cutscene
Prompt illustration: “click + drag the mouse to look around”