FuneralPlay

Ruini Shi (CN)

FuneralPlay is a fictitious simulated online funeral platform. It provides a digital domain for mourners to attend a simulated funeral for their lost loved ones. By interacting with a series of themes in a future online funeral, the audience will be directed to think about how digital legacies distributed through Web 3.0 will affect and mediate future human relationships. 

The multicultural cemetery presented in FuneralPlay is an inclusive shelter for the values of the deceased. Whether it be a nerd’s retreat, a classroom decorated with fandom culture, a feng shui master’s orchard, a Dongbei gangster’s midnight hideout, a gallery of cat memes, a dreary mahjong room, or something more conventional: any values, interests, and lifestyle can be cherished within FuneralPlay virtual environments. Some of these scenarios are not typically or traditionally appreciated in mainstream culture, but after death, even marginalized people can find expression through the combined efforts of those they leave behind and FuneralPlay. Users may choose to delete their digital footprints before entering the service, others may secure their digital legacy on FuneralPlay as an inheritance to pass on, and others still might donate their memory to FuneralPlay’s collective Memorial Hall. 

FuneralPlay speculates on a future in which NFTs have already become the new model of reality and every single conceivable item now also exists as an NFT. In the setting of the online funeral, NFTs are given as memorial gifts to be sent to one of these virtual mausoleums. This is facilitated by blockchain technology, as mourners are able to purchase NFTs as tokens of remembrance for the deceased and permanently display them in the digital heaven-like space. Through interaction with the scene, the mourners find hidden clues and uncover them, obtaining prizes and enabling more gifts. The more time they spend in the space, the more rewards they can achieve. 

FuneralPlay is a fictitious simulated online funeral platform. It provides a digital domain for mourners to attend a simulated funeral for their lost loved ones. By interacting with a series of themes in a future online funeral, the audience will be directed to think about how digital legacies distributed through Web 3.0 will affect and mediate future human relationships. 

The multicultural cemetery presented in FuneralPlay is an inclusive shelter for the values of the deceased. Whether it be a nerd’s retreat, a classroom decorated with fandom culture, a feng shui master’s orchard, a Dongbei gangster’s midnight hideout, a gallery of cat memes, a dreary mahjong room, or something more conventional: any values, interests, and lifestyle can be cherished within FuneralPlay virtual environments. Some of these scenarios are not typically or traditionally appreciated in mainstream culture, but after death, even marginalized people can find expression through the combined efforts of those they leave behind and FuneralPlay. Users may choose to delete their digital footprints before entering the service, others may secure their digital legacy on FuneralPlay as an inheritance to pass on, and others still might donate their memory to FuneralPlay’s collective Memorial Hall. 

FuneralPlay speculates on a future in which NFTs have already become the new model of reality and every single conceivable item now also exists as an NFT. In the setting of the online funeral, NFTs are given as memorial gifts to be sent to one of these virtual mausoleums. This is facilitated by blockchain technology, as mourners are able to purchase NFTs as tokens of remembrance for the deceased and permanently display them in the digital heaven-like space. Through interaction with the scene, the mourners find hidden clues and uncover them, obtaining prizes and enabling more gifts. The more time they spend in the space, the more rewards they can achieve. 

www.funeralplay.com

FuneralPlay is a fictitious simulated online funeral platform. It provides a digital domain for mourners to attend a simulated funeral for their lost loved ones. By interacting with a series of themes in a future online funeral, the audience will be directed to think about how digital legacies distributed through Web 3.0 will affect and mediate future human relationships. 

FuneralPlay speculates on a future in which NFTs have already become the new model of reality and every single conceivable item now also exists as an NFT. In the setting of the online funeral, NFTs are given as memorial gifts to be sent to one of these virtual mausoleums. This is facilitated by blockchain technology, as mourners are able to purchase NFTs as tokens of remembrance for the deceased and permanently display them in the digital heaven-like space. 

The website is a prototype of a future funeral scenario in a metaverse environment, which speculates on a near future when diverse ideologies and values are accepted within the setting of a funeral. 

DISCLAIMER: FuneralPlay does not have any actual financial function, and it does not share data with other platforms. 

Director: SHI Ruini 

UI/UX design: HU Ji 

Technical support: mmxiang 

Game design: HAN Qi 

Model design: bkvoxel 

Sound design & music: Ankar Arken 

Assistant animator: SUN Xiaoqing  

Advisor: lambda 

The project is funded by Goethe Institute, The Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and European ARTificial Intelligence Lab, and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport. 

Shi Ruini (CN) is an animation director and crypto researcher. Ruini explores virtual intimacy and creates narratives that interrogate the compatibility between humanity and emerging technologies. She holds a BA in Interaction and Moving Images from the London College of Communication and an MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art. Her animated films have been awarded prizes including the Award of Distinction at Prix Ars Electronica in 2019, and her work has been exhibited at festivals worldwide including Animafest Zagreb, Royal Television Society Award, transmediale, and the Lumen Prize. Ruini is currently a PhD candidate, investigating the possibilities presented by the confluence of crypto and animation.

Shi Ruini (CN) is an animation director and crypto researcher. Ruini explores virtual intimacy and creates narratives that interrogate the compatibility between humanity and emerging technologies. She holds a BA in Interaction and Moving Images from the London College of Communication and an MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art. Her animated films have been awarded prizes including the Award of Distinction at Prix Ars Electronica in 2019, and her work has been exhibited at festivals worldwide including Animafest Zagreb, Royal Television Society Award, transmediale, and the Lumen Prize. Ruini is currently a PhD candidate, investigating the possibilities presented by the confluence of crypto and animation.