The Miracle Basket is the perfect example for why you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover as it’s a really well-told story behind what director Abner Preis calls a DIY Punk aesthetic that he describes as looking like it may have been drawn by a child. There are some 3D models in his piece, but there are a whole lot more 2D images that are collaged throughout a space in order to create a 2.5D experience that still manages to create a sense of place.

The story moves from being connected to community and nature into a more disassociated place of pop culture spectacle and party, but in a way that is not in right relationship to the earth. We’re left to clean up the mess and to try to find our center again by planting seeds. There are catchy songs that bookend the experience, and overall it’s a really polished experience with a story that stuck with me. Preis is able to create a communal sense of ritual and belonging with this low-fi punk aesthetic, and it’s a really good reminder that not every experience has to have the same polished look and feel.

Preis’ piece brings a much appreciated DIY and punk attitude that serves to democratize the medium and make it feel a lot more accessible for folks to tell immersive stories that might otherwise be too intimidated by the 3D pipeline of modern game engines. Definitely try to catch this piece as hopefully it’ll become more widely available at some point as it’s festival run is coming to an end, and tune into our conversation as he unpacks his journey into creating immersive stories like The Miracle Basket.