Co-Designing a Virtual Reality Game to Promote OvaHimba Traditional Attire

This study explores the co-design of a Virtual Reality (VR) game aimed at promoting the traditional attire of the Ovahimba community. The research addresses the decline in the wearing of traditional attire among the Ovahimba youth due to factors such as formal education, societal stigma, and limited resources, which threaten the cultural identity of the Ovahimba. The study's objectives include discovering the underlying reasons for the decline in traditional attire among youth, reviewing past literature on efforts to promote traditional attire, and using virtual reality to co-design an educational game that encourages wearing traditional attire. The VR game aims to preserve traditional knowledge, educating Ovahimba youth on the cultural significance of attire and addressing the public misrepresentation of their culture. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was employed, involving focus group discussions, narrative analysis, and iterative development cycles with Ovahimba youth, elders, and key community members. Through these methods, a VR educational game was co-designed, enabling players to interactively dress a 3D model according to cultural guidelines for life events such as marriage and widowhood. The game combines immersive gameplay, cultural narratives, and community-validated design to foster cultural pride, correct public misrepresentation, and engage the youth in preserving their heritage. This innovative approach highlights the potential of VR as a tool for cultural preservation and education.