Touching down on a new planet, a group of intrepid explorers made up of doctors, scientists, and a documentary crew discovers a beautiful oasis that would be perfect for a new colony. If only it wasn’t surrounded by plants that mutate any DNA it comes in contact with.
The Wilds was a weekend-long blockbuster Live Action Role Play game that invited participants to explore in and around a campsite in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There, they encountered alien creatures, conducted research into mysterious medical maladies, and raced against the clock to defeat a deadly virus that threatens to literally claim each explorer and turn them into another part of the Wilds.
My work focused primarily on set design and construction with an extremely limited turnaround time. Some sets were to be deployed shortly before players arrived to the site, while others were made to be somewhat more “permanent” points of interest. The event culminated in the dramatic discovery of a bioluminescent patch of exotic plants, at the center of which was a mysterious golden artifact. This discovery happened on a night hike, highlighting the eerily-lit and color changing patch of mutated growth.