For three weeks in the Summer of 2017 a group of primarily Indigenous students from diverse backgrounds and levels of experience came together to create a video game based on Hawaiian mo’olelo or storytelling.The Skins 5.0 workshop resulted from the collaboration of multiple organizations including The Initiative for Indigenous Futures (IIF), Kanaeokana, and Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace. These groups contributed funding, curriculum, educators and enthusiasm to provide the physical and mental space necessary for the creation of the design team name Nā ‘Anae Mahiki.In time since the release of He Au Hou, the designers have had time to reflect on the final product, the impact it has on players and the impact it has had on the designers. This paper is an exploration of the intersections of video game building, meaningful learning, and Hawaiian culture. It also takes up the challenges and rewards of organizing and running an inclusive trans-Indigenous workshops involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants and instructors from Turtle Island and Oceania. Further, this co-authored research investigates identity building, cultural development, programming and game creation from Hawaiian cultural and ontological perspectives, as well as the creation of connections to cultural heritage through developing a video game based in Hawaiian ways of knowing.
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