Research Director:
Associate Professor Chihiro Hiramatsu, Faculty of Design
Keywords:
Plants, games, Ohashi Campus

　Campus life on the small Ohashi Campus of Kyushu University, located in a residential area, is quietly colored by a diverse variety of flora. Much of that flora has been systematically cultivated by gardening experts, adapted to the local environment and scenery, and the dispersal of seeds by the birds who are attracted by this flora has resulted in a realistic miniature ecosystem. The diverse flora of Ohashi Campus create an ideal environment where one can experience biodiversity without having to travel into untamed nature. However, many of the visitors to the campus likely perceive this diversity of flora simply as “plants.”

　The Design Futures Course which began with the 2020 academic year includes classes to observe the diversity of the familiar flora of the campus and learn of the mechanism of DNA that gives rise to the diversity of life, and the connections between living things. Fig. 1 shows the DNA sequence of the RuBisCO gene, which is found in the chloroplasts of individual plants and plays an important role in carbon dioxide fixation during photosynthesis, as well as a phylogenetic tree showing the relationships between different plants based on differences in these DNA sequences. This class aims to improve students’ understanding of the students for the familiar living things that coexist on the campus, living things that are commonly overlooked, increase our awareness of the connections between living things, and obtain hints for designs and conceptual frameworks for the coexistence of a wide variety of organisms.

Fig 1: A DNA sequence and phylogenetic tree obtained from the flora on the campus.

As part of a program connected to the Center for Designed Futures of Kyushu University, we also planned a game that enables players to enjoy the phenomena woven by the campus flora in a virtual space as a way to enable a greater number of people to grow closer to and more familiar with the plants. Volunteer students from the Design Futures Course, the Media Design Course, and the Acoustic Design Course participated in the planning and creation of the game. The project is being run with support from the Center for Designed Futures of Kyushu University and the Agriculture DX program, with Kazuo Asahiro, a specialist in the conservation of green environments, and Hiroyuki Matsuguma, serving as advisors. We first had Professor Asahiro give a detailed introduction of the flora of the campus. Plant-like characters with numerous different personalities emerged from the many anecdotes about each. One example is Ginkei, seen in Fig. 2., a plant-and-bird-like creature based on inspiration from the leaves of the Osmanthus x fortunei bush that fills the campus with a delicious fragrance during the fall.

Fig. 2: Osmanthus Ginkei

Another example is the Boston ivy, which actually covers many campus buildings, that plays an important role in the game (Fig. 3). Also, there are plans to have the main character, who embodies the colors symbolizing the five courses of the School of Design located on the campus, run around the campus in preparation for a festival.

Fig. 3: Ohashi Campus covered in Boston ivy

Fig. 4: The main character of the game

The objective of the game to prepare to host a festival reflecting the nature of the School of Design and Fukuoka. The game is currently under development aiming for release in the near future. We hope you come and enjoy this worldview once the game is completed. And if you ever have a chance to actually visit the Ohashi Campus, take a look at the plants in the real world and experience the wonderful diversity interwoven by the plants, that seem tranquil at first glance.

This research received a small grant in FY2022 from the Center for Designed Futures of Kyushu University.