Introduction

Hello! My name is Varun Bhat and I’m a 2nd year Ph.D. student (woops, this isn’t a job interview. Let me start again). I’m Varun. You pronounce it as Vuh-rune (the h is silent). I’m an Indian who is doing a Ph.D. because 1) it is kind of a personal dream of mine), 2) the world is dying and my research domain could help it die…slower? I’m convinced that a Ph.D. won’t solve the issue that I’m tackling but it’ll help me understand what needs to happen to atleast try.

Where does Art fit?

I’ve always believed that Art is the self-expression of the soul. I remember that one of the more blissful events from my utterly mundane school life, was when I was in our art room– sketching, doodling, or painting. I’ve played video games since I was little (my first game was Dangerous Dave on a Windows 98 or 95 PC). I’ve also been an avid reader for my entire life. The arts have been an integral part of me, and therefore I chose to do my Masters in IMGD to better understand where I fit.

Once I understood that I fit in the programming domain of things, I wanted to use games to change the world. I know, it’s a bit vague, naive and idealistic but that’s how things generally are when you are at the start of the journey. After much experimenting, falling, and stumbling I landed on my current research direction, i.e. using simulations for stakeholder engagement in public policy planning

Who are the stakeholders?

The stakeholders are you and me. Stakeholders are human, and engaging humans is something that games do very well. Hence, it made sense to use simulations to engage and plan policies. Better public policies mean better healthcare, roads, transportation, and the environment = better future for you and me. However, these simulations need to be extremely engaging and one of the ways of achieving this engagement is Design and Art.

One small problem, however – I’m not so good with Art

Art and Me

Art and Me have a nebulous and unfounded relationship. Due to various circumstances, I wasn’t able to explore my artistic side fully which led to a great deal of experimentation. I’ve experimented with audio design, video-making, 2D art, 3D modeling, a bunch of traditional art, game design, animation design, web programming, web design, and many more. I’ve always been something of an experimenter, which is not great for when you need to place foundational roots for an entire medium of expression. A few samples of my experiments:

What now?

Now, I want some consolidation. I’m really stoked about my research topic and my goal is to create a sustainability-based game of my design. I’d also like to get some artwork of mine in said game which brings to my practice intention – to learn some art.

Conclusion

Writing conclusions is such a pain. So, no conclusions here. Abrupt endings only.