East of the Rockies is an Interactive Story About Canada’s Japanese Internment Camps
Instead of running away from history, a new app wants to teach about a sad and not well known part of World War II history.
East of the Rockies shines the light on Canada’s Japanese internment camps during the war. Along with the United States, Canada forced thousands of citizens to remain in the camps simply because of their race.
The new app is an interactive narrative experience that uses augmented reality technology. It’s told from the perspective of Yuki, a 17-year-old girl forced from her home and made to live in the Slocan Internment Camp.
Yuki and her family will adjust to life at the camp as normal as possible. You’ll interact with the app by tapping, swiping, inspecting, and zooming in on different pieces of the scene. That will activate a piece of the first-person spoken narrative from Yuki’s journal.
The unique project started with Joy Kogawa. The 82-year-old author, who spent time at a Canadian internment camp, wrote Obasan. That book told the story of the camp from a child’s perspective.
And the author teamed with developer Jam3 to create the original story of the app.
Designed for the iPhone and all iPad models, East of the Rockies can be downloaded now on the App Store for free.
While the AR mode is spectacular, the app can also be played without the technology.
Even though it might be some people's inclination to try to forget the Japanese internment camps, it's an important part of history that everyone needs to truly understand. And East of the Rockies helps shine the light on what truly happened.
