Penguin & Seal

Penguin & Seal is an interactive installation built for play. A tall screen holds a small, expressive 3D world — a penguin on the ice, a seal underwater — and the characters respond to whoever steps in front of them. No controller, no instructions: you move, they move back.

Concept

The piece is designed to disarm. The characters are warm and cartoonish on purpose, so that walking up and “talking” with your body feels natural to a child and to an adult alike. The interaction is the reward — the delight of realizing the thing on screen is watching you back.

How it works

A camera reads the visitor’s movement and drives the animation in real time, so the penguin and seal track and answer gestures as they happen. The vertical format keeps a single character life-sized and face-to-face with the player.