Imagine if human touch were a felony. What would that world look like? Ben Cox of Trailblazer Productions is exploring this question in his productions of TOUCH & TOUCH: INCARNATION. Ben joins the Immersion Nation Podcast for an adventure through dystopian futures, cultural change, and the presently evolving idea of human connection. 

Ben has used this dystopian backdrop to raise the question, ‘what does it mean to be human?’. In TOUCH, you are placed into the midst of a rebellious group, fighting the regulation of touch. They use the tagline- “We are electric”. While metaphorically appropriate this mantra also has the obvious layer of scientific legitimacy.

Now, more than ever, the questions of our common humanity deserve attention. This conversation frames the idea that immersive experience is becoming an incredible tool for the exploration of these questions. 

Make it immersive:

Walking dead [18:38]

Chapter notes:

• Favorite immersive world [2:37]
• What is TOUCH? [6:02]
• The tangible future [8:43]
• A social credit score [11:45]
• The day that terminators become real [14:04]
• Silk slipper and barbarians at the gate [15:43]
• Make it immersive [18:38]
• Establishing the world [25:27]
• The psychology of touch (oxytocin) [27:50]
• Value of play [37:40]
• Risk perception and play [39:20]
• Listening in an overloaded culture [44:34]
• Where can you find the show? [47:13]

Selected Links:

TOUCH & TOUCH: INCARNATION
-Instagram
-Facebook

Rigidity: looking at the psychology of immersion
Risk sensitivity / perception
Touch is the first sense to develop