Beneath the unassuming town of Wieliczka, Poland lies an expansive system of tunnels and caves full of art, secrets, legends, and most importantly: salt. Our book begins with the story that started it all: the legend of St. Kinga, a princess rumored to have brought the very salt that led to the creation of these mines. Each side reveals a part of the story, until you've uncovered the core of the book itself: square, with a black debossed cover using designs reminiscent of the structures found within salt, and the rich patterns permeating throughout Polish culture.
Once the outer cover has been unfolded, the inner book is revealed, further supporting themes of discovery and treasures hidden beneath the surface. Just as there are numerous levels of caves, our book contains several layers you must uncover to access the contents of the book. The book itself relays the history of the mine, starting from before the mine was even discovered, to its current state today. In between the french folds contains a set of patterns inspired by traditional Polish folk culture, in the form of a square, as the crystalline structure of salt is cubic.
This pattern is then seen throughout our system, from the debossed cover, to the page numbers.
We created an interactive experience informing players about the various chambers within the mine. Just as the mine has three levels, our game also has three levels that increase in difficulty the further you go down. Each level contains chambers that correspond to the levels found within the actual mine. As the player progresses throughout the game, they engage in activities that allow you to collect different artifacts such as pickaxes and salt crystals. By allowing the player to mine for their own salt, visit different chambers, and advance to deeper levels, we hoped to make the experience both fun and educational.
Once you go through and complete the activities within a chamber, the gate rotates and glows white, indicating the completion of that section. Each level contains a cube with four different subsections you must complete. The cube's design corresponds with the cover of our book, and is inspired by the bas relief art found within the chambers that were once created by miners. We decided on the cubic shape because salt crystals are naturally in the form of a cube.
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