Zoología Fantastica in the Mist

Zoología Fantastica in the Mist is a 3D interactive storyworld which brings to life several creatures from Jorge Luis Borges’s fable anthology Zoología Fantastica. Each entry in Zoología Fantastica (or “The Book of Imaginary Beings) describes a different mythological creature from a fairy tale around the world. In our adaptation, Borges guides a little boy through a misty, magical realm in order to help him identify and understand these creatures. As each new creature appears, original music plays, 3D models of the creatures materialize, and a dynamic storyworld environment shifts with the viewer’s movements.

In attempting to adapt this work to a contemporary medium, we were forced to ask: how can we bring a static text to the digital realm without being appropriative? How can we stay sensitive to the various cultures represented within Zoología while still creating a world that children will find accessible and interesting?