Check Out Aja Duniven’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aja Duniven. 

Hi Aja, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Do you remember when we were kids? We played for hours and pretended our way into new worlds, roles, and experiences? As an only child, I used to sit in my closet with all my toys and stuffed animals and entertain myself for hours, making up stories and exploring infinite possibilities birthed from my imagination. The living room turned into a lava field, and I would leap from rock-to-rock climbing on furniture and leading my friends through an obstacle course of our creation – our minds free to roam.

I’d turn into a dinosaur, eating trees to have fun finishing my broccoli and I saw the world as an infinite and beautiful place. One day my mother told me of a darkness that filled the world. She urged me not to rush growing up because, as an adult, I would see the truth. I laughed thinking how ridiculous she sounded. I had already experienced the truth that the world was a magical and infinite playground and I couldn’t wait to be an adult and gain access to even more incredible experiences.

It wasn’t until I skinned my knee falling off my bike and witnessed my friend being bullied on the playground for wearing glasses that I realized something wasn’t right. As my connection to my imagination faded, the real world began to take hold and slowly the darkness crept in.

I learned of unimaginable torture in vast and complex systems that perpetuate suffering, poverty, and illness. And I realized my Mother was right… Life is filled with darkness that light alone cannot overcome.

I’ve always carried some of my childhood toys from home to home in my adult life and one day I pulled a stuffed animal from the shelf of my closet and accidentally stumbled across my playful nature that had been lost inside since becoming an adult.

That day childlike play became a healthy way to cope with the truth. I turned my life into a game, and darkness became a fantastic journey filled with imagination and fun. I gamified my pain, my goals, and my relationships. I gamified my personal development and my spiritual path. I explored how to gamify fixing the world’s most complex problems. And what I discovered was a story filled with magic that has the power to transform anything that is gamified.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has not been easy. I’ve traversed peaks and valleys filled with both joy and pain. At times, the obstacles I face seem insurmountable. I dream of a better world and am up against bigger-than-life structures and systems that go against everything a sustainable and healthy future requires.

Some days I am on top of the world, seeing the success of my efforts. Other days I am fraught with depression and can’t find the strength to get out of bed. Sometimes my resources seem limitless, and other times I struggle with not having enough support.

There have been too many obstacles to name… but what keeps me moving forward, even in the face of such challenges, is my deep passion for my work and the happiness I feel when my efforts pay off.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an extended reality expert and work primarily with nonprofit organizations like film festivals and educational organizations to help them implement XR solutions (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, cinematic reality). My greatest passion is implementing XR technology for the greater good.

Birthed from the gamification of my own life, I created a technique to engage communities using a toy or stuffed animal to create an avatar. The community assigns features to the toy as a way to research, name, and create solutions for the issues they are facing. This technique can be used for any focus like homelessness, clean water, environmental issues, animal welfare, or anything you can imagine.

In my approach, a toy or stuffed animal is passed through the hands of a community where individuals tell stories about the character using their own words and creativity. From these interviews, the toy’s story and focus naturally emerge, and eventually, someone becomes the character in full costume to bring the story to life and transform the toy into a digital avatar that is used in multimedia storytelling.

The most exciting part of the process for me is when the avatar is uploaded into a virtual reality where others can actually step inside the story.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
For those unfamiliar, I think it would be helpful to share a little more about virtual reality technology. Virtual reality is one of my favorite mediums for storytelling. When you wear a virtual reality headset, the real world completely disappears. You become immersed in virtual worlds that you can interact with and manipulate.

Virtual reality is a powerful tool for immersing players inside a storyline. Imagine the emotional impact that is possible when you walk down the streets of a war-torn city from the comfort of your own home. Or see the slaughterhouse floor from the point of view of an animal. I believe this type of deep personal experience can change lives and help make our world a better place.

Contact Info:

• Email: bookajamae@gmail.com
• Website: www.extendedrealityexpert.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kittyswagboss/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kittyswagboss
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/KittySwagBoss
• Other: www.globalpeacetrain.org

Image Credits:
Aja Duniven
Aaron Hinman