Urhobo: Language, Identity, and Design

Urhobo: Language, Identity and Design is a 3D web-based game design project that explores how technology and digital storytelling can preserve and promote the endangered language and cultural heritage of the Urhobo people of Nigeria's Niger Delta in Delta State. Inspired by UNESCO's warning that about 40% of the world's languages are at risk, this project responds with a creative intervention that merges traditional storytelling and new technology. The project dates back to the pre-colonial era of 1930 to 1960, a time when Urhobo culture was stronger than it is now. The experience opens with a 3D low-poly rendering of an environment with mid-sized houses in the suburbs of Oviore-Ovu community in Urhobo land in Delta State. While exploring the environment, the user will encounter interactive language-learning models of objects and poetry that reflect aspects of Urhobo mythology and folklore. Based on a human-centered design approach, integrating Cranz's Ethnography, Ellen Lupton's Design is Storytelling, and IDEO's 3 "I"s, the design emphasizes accessibility, offering intuitive navigation for a broad audience, from Urhobo community members to global cultural preservationists. By combining art, language, and technology, this project demonstrates the potential of game design as a tool for safeguarding Indigenous languages and identities. It aims to preserve Urhobo heritage as well as inspire similar efforts across marginalized cultures worldwide, fostering empathy, connection, and deeper understanding through new digital media.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Creative Technologies

Department dc:contributor.department

Art and Art History

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Akusu, Efe

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Drum, Meredith

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Paine, Rachael Laura
• Nedic, Dajana

• Game Design
• Interactive Design
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Human-Centered Design
• 3D Modeling
• Art
• Web
• New Technology
• Urhobo
• Delta State
• Language
• Cultural Preservation
• New Media Art
• Play
• Storytelling
• Spatial Audio

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:44050

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/135465