Game Concept: "Diamond of Truth Explorer"
Core Idea
Create an interactive game that visually demonstrates your dissertation's geometric and perceptual model by letting players manipulate layered, rotating, and mirrored triangular grids over a virtual globe. The game will let users see how overlapping realities and geographies emerge from the "truth corner," and how symmetry and perception shift as grids rotate or symmetry is disrupted.
Key Features
1. Interactive Globe and Grids
Players start with a 3D globe showing the "truth corner" (high Arctic triangle).
Overlay three triangular grids (top fixed, middle and bottom rotatable).
Players can rotate the middle and bottom grids (clockwise/counterclockwise) and watch overlaps dynamically shift across the globe.
2. Layer and Symmetry Controls
Sliders/buttons to add/remove grid layers (2x2, 3x3, 5x5).
Mirroring toggle to create the octahedral (diamond) structure, showing the "eye" and mirrored pyramids.
Symmetry disruption tool: Gradually remove symmetry (10–20%) and observe how perception of adjacency and overlap changes.
3. Location Highlighting
As grids overlap, highlight which real-world regions are currently within the truth corner (e.g., Greenland, Svalbard, Bering Strait).
Clicking a region brings up info on its role in the model and how often it overlaps with the truth corner.
4. Perceptual Challenges
VR/first-person mode: "Stand" at the eye and look around; mirrored edges appear adjacent.
Cognitive mini-games: Navigate from one region to another using only overlapping sections, or recall which regions were overlapped after grids rotate.
5. Measurement Tools
Ruler tool: Measure triangle sides/areas on the globe, see real-world distance equivalents.
Scaling options: Shrink/grow grid size, instantly see how coverage changes.
Game Structure
Feature What It Shows How It Proves the Model
Rotating Grids Dynamic overlaps, cumulative coverage All regions eventually overlap
Mirroring (Diamond) Octahedral structure, adjacency illusion Perceptual ambiguity via symmetry
Symmetry Disruption Perceptual breakdown, unique mapping Cognitive impact of broken symmetry
Location Highlighting Real-world mapping to geometric sections Geographic implications
VR/First-Person Mode Observer's view from "eye" Experiential proof of adjacency
Implementation Suggestions
Use a 3D engine (Unity or Unreal) for globe and grid manipulation.
For web/mobile, WebGL (Three.js) can handle interactive 3D visualization.
For VR, support basic gaze/point controls to keep navigation simple.
Why This Works
Visualization: Makes abstract geometric/perceptual ideas concrete and explorable.
Experimentation: Players can test model predictions (e.g., symmetry loss) themselves.
Education: Interactive overlays and region info teach both geography and the model's logic.
"Visualization in social science throws light into a dark world of specialisms and obscurity, showing at an instant how all is connected and everywhere is different."
This game turns your model into a living, explorable system—proving your dissertation's claims through direct, hands-on experience.