Screenshots: A Place Called Ormalcy

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Screenshots is a regular feature by Simon Groth, highlighting a project, app, or other resource of interest.

A Place Called Ormalcy
by Mez Breeze

Meet Mr Ormal, a happy-go-lucky law-abiding citizen of Ormalcy, a Utopian world full of contented creatures and happy citizens. Happy, happy citizens.

Right from the beginning, something is off in A Place Called Ormalcy. Its nonsense  language, garish colours, and warped illustrations might come across as camp if not for the clear sinister undertone that becomes more overt as the story progresses. Each chapter is presented in its own VR environmentand the technology adds to the unsettling nature of the piece. These three-dimensional spaces, suspended in a void and frozen in time, enable the reader to zoom, rotate, and deconstruct. You’re left with the feeling you can access parts of a picture book that should be hidden from view.

Told in a storybook style over seven short chapters, A Place Called Ormalcy is a clever allegory using a child-like sensibility to evoke a chilling tale of authoritarianism and conformity.

http://mezbreezedesign.com/vr-literature/a-place-called-ormalcy/

Simon Groth is a writer and editor whose works include Infinite Blue (with Darren Groth) and Hunted Down and Other Tales (with Marcus Clarke). With if:book Australia, Simon created a series of award-winning experimental works including the 24-Hour Book, live writing events at writers festivals around the world, and works of literary remix.