Bank of New York


Can You Make Ends Meet?

Unified Field designed and developed the interactive software for the Brooklyn Historical Society exhibition, Brooklyn Work: 400 Years of Making a Living in Brooklyn. The application, "Can you make ends meet in Brooklyn?" provides museum visitors with an experiential set of choices that replicate those made by immigrants to Brooklyn in the 1920's.

Visitors select occupations, and learn about what will be required of them at their jobs on a daily basis, and how much compensation they can expect to receive. Based on what they earn, they then construct a living allowance or budget, and make a series of selections such as where they will live, where they will get their food, how they will get to work, and if there is anything left over, what recreation they can look forward to for a Sunday outing.

The game calculates and the financial impact of their choices, indicating an ongoing tally of what has been spent and what is left in their monthly income. Within only a few moments, visitors have a clear understanding of the impact of each of their choices as the game proceeds, and at the end understand the promise, consequence or praise for their choices.
The exhibit will open in May 2003, and to coincide with the opening we are creating an online version of the Making Ends Meet, which will be hosted on the site of the Brooklyn Public Library.