Batsy's Heroic ADventure
Bats are some of the most misunderstood animals in our environment. Austin is known to have the largest population of Mexican free-tailed bats. Numerous research articles have highlighted the importance of bats in our ecosystem and their contributions to maintaining ecological balance (“The Night Life”, 2022). Despite this, misconceptions about bats still prevail. In Texas alone, free-tailed bats are known to save farmers more than 22 billion dollars in pesticide use each year. Bats prey on costly crop pests such as corn earworm moths, armyworm moths, and cucumber beetles. They also lower the populations of disease-carrying bugs like mosquitoes and protect crops such as corn, rice, macadamia nuts, and cocoa (Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, 2017).
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As America’s most rapidly declining warm-blooded animals, bat populations are in danger. Misconceptions about the diseases they harbor have led to numerous bat colonies being deliberately destroyed. Bats carry no more diseases than other animals; however, unfounded speculations combined with misleading research only strengthen the stigma against them. Attempting to carry out bat conservation efforts without combating this stigma and fear is futile (Lu et al., 2021).
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This VR game and it's online counterpart, aims at creating insights into the lives of bats and the vital role they play in ensuring ecological balance along with the dangers to their survival. VR is an influential medium for changing attitudes and behaviors. It gives the opportunity to do things that are difficult or impossible to do in the real world. Embodying a bat to understand their daily activities will not only provide a unique experience but also sensitize the participants to their importance and the perils they face (Bailenson, 2018).
VR VERSION OF THE GAME
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The user is represented by the avatar of a bat flying through Austin in the VR game. As the bat, they will eat mosquitoes in order to save Austin's residents from overpopulation of pest populations!
Research has shown that even when participants embody virtual avatars radically different from their own bodies, they report strong feelings of immersion, presence, and ownership over their virtual bodies. They also experience high levels of enjoyment (Krekhov et al., 2019a). The Proteus Effect establishes that individuals start to think and act in a way that matches the body they inhabit (Yee & Bailenson, 2007). If a user has the avatar of an animal, they will attempt to think and act like that animal thus developing empathy. When participants embody the avatar of a bat or watch a 360-degree documentary about bats, they are more likely to empathize with the species. Empathizing with other animals allows us to deconstruct the anthropocentric viewpoint we have all learned growing up. By understanding and paying attention to the multitudes of creatures around us, we begin to realize that other species matter equally. Accordingly, participants understand the behavior of other creatures and engage more intimately with environmental and conservation issues. Strong effects of bodily ownership can cause profound changes in the users’ emotions and behavior.