Wasteminz

WasteMINZ is a membership-based organisation with an authoritive voice on waste, resource recovery and contaminated land in New Zealand. WasteMINZ approached me in early 2021, they shared their vision for an interactive learning tool/game that would appeal and be accessible to a wide audience. The aim of this learning tool is to educate people on methods to reducing plastic waste within household through a medium that is fun and engaging.

My role within this project was to create high-quality 3D models which then could be rendered as images and used as assets within the game. Blender is my chosen software for any complex 3D modelling, rendering, and animation tasks. I began by modelling a 3D floor plan that I then sectioned so that all areas of the interior were visible.

Kirihou Kore features a 3D floor plan as the landing page which users are greeted by when they visit www.kirihoukore.org.nz. The 3D floor plan is based on a standard one bedroom home, featuring a kitchen, laundry, bedroom, bathroom, living room, backyard, and a mode of transportation, which in this case is a bicycle. To the play the game users must drag rendered images of the 3D daily-use objects into the appropriate rooms, for example, the bamboo peg should be dragged into the laundry room. To measure the impact of the plastic-free alternative a pop up appears with details on how much plastic is saved.

Above are some examples of objects that I 3D modelled and then rendered through Blender for the game. Additionally, I needed the skills to design labels and stickers that could be applied to the 3D model. All labels and item names are in both English and Te Reo to be inclusive to all New Zealanders.

Some items are not only used within the home but also when travelling, for example, when playing the game the metal drink bottle should be dragged onto the bicycle as an 'out and about' item. When the user completes a total of ten items out of the total thirty two within the 3D floor plan they are offered a chance to enter a prize draw.

All of the items are based on realworld alternatives, so that when a user completes the game they can retain ideas on how they can reduce their plastic waste within the home.

To increase the realism of the final images, I developed a lighting studio in Blender and applied a range of high-resolution and detailed surface imperfections and textures to give the objects an appearance of some minor wear and use.