SINGAPORE - The paladin, the cleric and the bard are classic fantasy role-playing archetypes, but they are now also playable characters in a new interactive exhibition about every Singaporean’s role in times of crisis.
The exhibition, titled Total Defence For Thee!, adopts gamification and interactive elements to showcase how Total Defence is integral to addressing evolving threats and challenges.
Visitors will be transported into a world modelled as a role-playing game at the interactive exhibition – held at the Singapore Discovery Centre until March 17 – that reimagines Singapore’s Total Defence history in a cyberpunk setting.
Players will start the game by viewing some challenges Singapore has faced in the past, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, how it overcame them, and how they are related to the six pillars of Total Defence – military, civil, economic, social, psychological and digital. They then select their character and avatar, which are themselves representative of the six pillars.
An example of this is the cleric, which, as a healer, represents Singapore’s first responders.
They will then play the interactive game on different stations that are in a physical maze, and face scenarios where they have to make choices on how to proceed by rolling an electronic die.
Players who complete the game can collect prizes in the form of pins and take a pledge to Total Defence.
Visitors will also be able to play laser tag battles, in which the objective is to capture the flag of the opposing team, on Jan 27 and 28, and Feb 17 and 18.
Mr Joseph Tan, chief executive of Defence Collective Singapore, which runs the Singapore Discovery Centre and is organising the exhibition, told The Straits Times that the unusual format for the exhibition is aimed at secondary and post-secondary school students, as well as full-time national servicemen.
“We want to do it in an innovative way for the young people to ask themselves ‘What would you do?’ and this was how the concept of a role-playing-style exhibition came about.”
There will also be a smaller exhibition showcase at the Singapore Navy Museum from Feb 7 to March 17, as well as an abridged mobile exhibition at select post-secondary educational institutions from February.
Roving exhibitions will make appearances at public locations like town hubs and libraries, although the exact dates and locations of these are still to be decided.
The abridged exhibition can be viewed at the Total Defence Convention, which is scheduled to be held in April. The convention will serve as a focal point for Total Defence stakeholders and will be a significant event for Total Defence 40, or TD40, commemorations.
The Republic will mark 40 years of Total Defence, which was introduced in 1984 as a whole-of-society defence concept, with a year-long campaign focused on Singaporeans’ readiness and resilience in the face of crises and disruptions.
The activities planned include an inaugural islandwide exercise from Feb 15 to 29 simulating food, water and power disruptions to schools and public and private organisations in the wake of an attack on Singapore, including cyber attacks.
