#pervasive games

[sandt22]

Playtesting 1.0

After a little bit of work, we finally tested our game! First on ourselves ofc, and then on some select few who were "unfortunate" enough to experience the first beta version. As expected, they experienced the same issues that we had noticed on our internal test.

Internal Playtest

Challenging to aim at the item while taking a selfie

Fun to look at the selfies afterwards

Competitive focus

Difficult to grab a photo of seating spots when occupied by strangers. Fun, easy and respectful to photograph signs and decorations instead. Maybe also photograph signs outside, so that the players can get some fresh air?

Useful to look at other player's images during the game, since you can guess where they're located, and use this information to sneak up on them. Or bait players out to snipe them instead, like Eva did.

Blurry images are fine as long as the target is identifiable.

Good that the players didn't run out of missions during the game.

Sounds: narrative adapted to the situation ("3D sound"). The app will make minimal amount of sound, because the game has a hide and seek aspect to it.

Should be at least 4 players at a time.

Some ideas

Make a map showing where the different missions are located?

Make missions easily accessible, so that the player doesn't have to scroll to the top of or otherwise scour the chat everytime they're about to decide on the next mission. Perhaps Snapchat's swipe function?

Maybe create some criterias for assassinations: Face, Selfie is extra point, no zooming, blurry is ok as long as the subject is identifiable.

External playtest

No puzzles please. Be transparent about what we're looking for. Let's test this by actually showing an image of what the player is looking for.

Ideas for further development

Let's test with a GM next time (Game Master)

Let's test without taking a selfie, where the player can instead just make a gesture with their hand or finger.

Different levels: Let the player toggle the selfie rule on or off

Create a longer list of items for the player to find

Beginner or not?

Experience points

The players can decide the items themselves, by starting the game by photographing these items.

Group 9's game

Surprisingly, both our groups were among the few in class who had actually chosen the assassination genre, whereas the majority in class had chosen to go with an adventure-like game. So our rivals took us to Birkelunden where we got to experience a fun round of games. They used Snapchat instead of Facebook, which we used to snipe each other, hide. All the while looking for the clue which the GM had hidden before the start of the game.

Affiliates

Group 4: @designavva @paweetida @evahoybakk Thank you to @designerlarsprosjekter @plankedesign from group 9 who let themselves be subjected to the suffering that was version 1.0

[sandt22]

We've been working on our pervasive game in Mathallen. I'm excited to see where this is going! Regardless, this is our progress so far!

Game mechanics

We've tried to keep the game mechanics fairly simple throughout the project. But the main idea from the beginning has been to use the smartphone's camera function, either to complete photo challenges or to "hunt" each other in an elaborate game of tag.

Our pervasive game primarily has two layers: First, the players walk around Mathallen searching for the image clues, and take a picture of the clue once discovered.

It's been challenging to playtest since we're unable to make a real working app to make the gameplay flow more easily, and had to rely on messaging apps like Messenger.

This is in attempt to shift the focus a little bit away from the PVP aspect, and onto the more mundane aspect of collecting images, which the majority of life in the film is about: Working. This shift will also hopefully help with the general issue with assassination games like Killer, which is that the best strategy to win the game is to simply hide. The collecting task also encourages players to not hide, which will increase player interactions and duels.

We've also decided that the gameplay should focus around taking selfies, in order to make sniping more challenging. Furthermore we're a bit on the fence about zooming, though we think that a little zooming is allowed.

When it comes to PVP faceoffs, any selfie with the target counts, as long as the target is recognizable in the image.

The score is settled once the game ends, when all the players gather to judge which images count as a point. Each image task should count as 1 point, while each snipe should count as -1 point to the target.

Because we wanted to host the game in a crowded space, we wanted to use something less tangible than a toy weapon which is common in campus' assassin's guilds, and we settled on the smartphone camera. We wanted to do this, in order to not disturb strangers who are not aware of the game taking place, which could in the worst case lead to the players accidentally damaging property or being thrown out of the building. The idea of the camera as a weapon was inspired by the video game Fatal Frame.

Spatial design

In terms of spatial design, we always knew we wanted to host the game in a crowded environment. A crowd will allow the players to blend in with the environments easier, and move around incognito. This mechanic is inspired by the Ubisoft video game Assassin's Creed (AC2), which in turn may be inspired by real psychology or illusions where pickpockets and magician's tricks use sleight-of-hand to steal an item without the target noticing through the art of misdirection, or what spies do when tailing or being tailed by somebody by using disguises.

We also considered staging our predefined game in Karl Johan, because this street is infamously crowded most of the time, but had to abandon the idea because the site was a little further than a 10 min walk away from the university building. We settled for the next best spot, Mathallen, which is probably the most crowded spot within a 10 min radius of AHO. Ideally, we would host the game at IKEA however, where players can hide in the different furniture exhibitions and blend in with the crowd. What these different sites have in common is their floor plan's maze like layout or structure, with plenty of distractions at every corner whether that'd be signs or mundane activities, with small pockets of space to hide in, whether that'd be shops or exhibitions.

From the beginning we also decided that the playground should not be too big, so that the players simply hide throughout the entire game, but not so small that the players cannot slip away without being noticed all the time.

Sound design

Because this is an assassination-style game, we've wanted to keep the sounds coming from the app to a minimum, to allow the player to blend into their surroundings more naturally and allow them to avoid detection. Instead the focus of the sounds comes from the actual real life environments, such as the bustling of the crowd, clinging and clanging of cooking utensils, and strangers dining and wandering.

If we could make an actual app, we considered adding an alarm sound warning the player that he is leaving the defined playground.

Adaptability

For this prototype, the image targets are pre-defined by us (the game designers), but an idea has also been to allow the players to collectively decide the size of the playground and image targets themselves. For instance, before the game begins, the players could each be tasked to photograph around 3-5 images, which will be sent to the other players. They would also be able to define the size of the playground by discussing amongst themselves, in the same manner that kids design their own child-initiated "games" in the playground or when they play around in general.

Individual player's journey

We begin the game by explaining the rules to the players, before letting them loose for up to 15 minutes, collecting and assassinating each other.

Multiplayer interactions

Linear progression

Affiliates

Group 4: @paweetida @evahoybakk @designavva

[sandt22]

Pitching session

Three ideas for urban play. Go!

Brainstorming

Starting out, we focused on figuring out some fun game mechanics we could work with, while visual identity and narrative would come second in our priorities. All three of our pitches may belong to vastly different genres of urban play, but they all centre around the same core game mechanic: the smartphone camera. Despite only choosing one of the pitched ideas, we did try to incorporate elements of the other ideas as well.

Idea #1: Assassination genre

First, an elaborate game of tag with campus students as the target demographic. In our incarnation of the assassination genre, players either play as a part of a faction or in a free-for-all (battle royale style) where they go around the site hunting down designated items as ordered by the GM (Game Master); Simultaneously the players hunt down their target, while trying to avoid being detected and assassinated themselves. The assassination targets circulate in a food chain pattern, as seen in the diagram below. Because of the assassination aspect, the game would inherently be a multiplayer experience requiring around 3-5 players.

Each mission will reward the player with points, depending on how challenging it was to find the item, and the player will lose points if they're photo sniped by another player. As for sounds, we were thinking of some UI sounds like when the player gains points, or when they're about to leave the playground site. The ideal location would be a crowded place with several nooks and niches to hide in, and plenty of items to discover and browse among, like Karl Johan street. As for the assigned theme of time travel, our first thought were something along the lines of steampunk.

Keywords: Compete, Collect, Daring, Multiplayer, Campus students

Idea #2: Treasure hunt genre

Second, a treasure hunt where the players walk around the city completing photo challenges where they for instance need to copy the pose of a famous statue that they're next to, perform a certain activity or action at a specific spot, or get creative with expressing an assigned theme while interacting with their environments. These photos would then be collected like polaroids in a sort of customizable digital scrapbook which they can look back upon, and in this sense become a sort of time travel by reminiscing while looking at images of the past. In short, the collection of images becomes a digital time capsule.

An other variation on this concept would be to place different stamp stations at different destinations, which would be collected in a digital passport. This was inspired by how in Japan, it's not unusual to see stands at certain tube stations, museums and landmarks, of course protected under a roof or inside a building. Travelers can then add the site specific stamp to their notebook or passport, these stamps often being cute and reflecting the destination they're placed in. This is something we thought could be fun, since it's always a bit melancholic to look at the many blank pages in our passports despite having traveled a lot. Since we have to work with an app and a digital passport, instead of an actual stamp, we could use QR codes. The fun aspect of this is collecting stamps, the same way it's fun to collect figurines from a gachapon machine or collect Pokémon cards. Friends can also tip other players on where to find cool stamps.

Keywords: Collect, Reminisce, Friendship, Freedom, Enjoying life, Singleplayer, All ages

Idea #3: Urban adventure genre

Third, a walking tour where the players "travel back in time" by exploring historical landmarks in the city. Several different tours could be created around different themes, e.g. one about Oslo's industrial revolution where the player visits the different factories situated along the Aker river, and one about Kristianabohemen where the player might follow in the footsteps of famous Oslo dwellers like Henrik Ibsen or Edvard Munch, or be a fiction tourist where the player visits the different sites where Knut Hamsun's Sult is based in or where the TV series SKAM was filmed.

Upon reaching a destination, an audio file would begin playing prompting the player to check the app, which then could show them old photographs and films from the city's archive, and maybe a text telling them about the site. Along the way, there could also be placed NPCs with whom the player can interact with and learn how people back then lived, and in this way become a "time traveler", as inspired by open-air and city museums like Folkemuseet and Arbeidermuseet.

During the pitching session, the teacher said that we could develop this idea further by making a tour or tutorial that's incredibly boring suddenly or gradually devolve into something completely different. With this we could have a lot of fun with foreshadowing, irony, puns and other comedic means. This idea reminds me a little of the Stanley Parable.

Keywords: Relaxing, Inspiring, Wisdom, Enjoying Life, Learn, Explore, Go back in time, Singleplayer

Verdict

The jury has spoken, and they expressed the most interest for our first idea: the assassination game! Other classmates suggested having a look at shrinking the map size during the game, inspired by battle royale games like Fortnite or even films like the Hunger Games when they're chased to the center of the map by wolf-like enemies. In my opinion, the most interesting idea shared during the session, was to make the player's screen freeze for a few seconds when they've been assassinated.

Affiliates

Group 4: @paweetida @evahoybakk @designavva

[sandt22]

Flâneur ✨ We let ourselves "adrift" in the city as the assignment led us with the wind, while we looked for patterns connected to the theme Technology, which we picked from a hat.

Tasks: Pattern seekers

(…) Some of your uploads are meant to be sent here on Slack. Finish your expedition by uploading all your images to [Miro: Museum of Patterns]

From your starting point, walk for 5 minutes. You shouldn’t see anybody from another expedition. Keep walking even when not directly instructed so.

Pick the street that is the most likely to have your pattern. Go there and look for it.

Find a blank spot and leave a trace. Use your chalk or something equally as harmless.

Alternate between going right then left, until you find a street named after a person. Explore that street.

Find a car that shouldn’t exist.

Try really hard to find your pattern in your surroundings. You can also reveal it by taking a picture and drawing on it.

Walk until you can turn left.

Find a trace of urban decay.

Take a picture of your feet. And upload it to Slack. ✅

Walk 120 steps North.

Create an obstacle.

Try really hard to find your pattern in your surroundings. You can also reveal it by taking a picture and drawing on it.

Find a lonely number and leave a trace. Use your chalk or something equally as harmless.

Make a stranger smile.

Find something that needs fixing. Try to fix it.

Walk in the direction of the wind for 2 minutes.

Find two identical things.

Try really hard to find your pattern in your surroundings. You can also reveal it by taking a picture and drawing on it.

Pick up something and put it somewhere else.

Find a high ground. If there is no hill, go up a building.

Draw your pattern on the view.

Find a comfortable spot. Sit and leave a trace.

Walk towards a place with more people.

Try really hard to find your pattern in your surroundings. You can also reveal it by taking a picture and drawing on it.

Walk in the footsteps of a stranger. Make no noise. Let them guide you as long as possible.

Find something that nobody seems to notice. Upload the picture to Slack.

Walk to a bench and sit.

Sit in silence for 2 minutes. Look around you, don’t check messages or apps.

Find a remarkable house or building.

Look at it in detail, observe its surroundings. Discuss what it would be like to be living there together.

Try really hard to find your pattern in your surroundings. You can also reveal it by taking a picture and drawing on it.

Find a narrow space and squeeze yourself in. Upload a picture on Slack. ✅

Find a painted line and follow it until its end. Or until you’re done.

Drift Museum!

Affiliates

@designerlarsprosjekter @mikkelpike

[mobvious]

3rd Eye

the term ‘snapshot’ was originally a hunting term...

a surveillance-critical pervasive stealth game for public areas and photo enthusiasts. 

the participation at Streetlife Festival Wien 2015 was made possible by Nikon.

/ street game conspiracy / game designer

[frabsnapwacht]

Download of lees hier mijn onderzoeksdocument over hoe je van wachten in een wachtrij een waardevolle sociale ervaring kunt maken.

[playfulculture]

Playmakers - documentary

"A brilliant new game; an experiment in collaborative design; an insightful documentary about the evolution of play"

"Playmakers was a joint project from Hide&Seek, NESTA, and ThinkPublic. Hide&Seek developed a new pervasive game through a series of public playtests, Ivo Gormley documented that process and made a great film about this emerging field, and we attempted to track the progress of both game and film on this site.

The game was called Scoop! – teams were invited to take on the role of rival news crews attempting to grab stories at high speed…"

http://hideandseek.net/projects/playmakers/

[frabsnapwacht]

Hoi HOT 100 bezoeker! VERASSING! Leuk dat je hier bent. Dan zijn QR-codes toch minder achterhaald dan ik dacht!

Welkom op mijn onderzoeksblog. Hier kun je alles vinden waar ik tijdens mijn afstuderen mee bezig ben geweest. Om te beginnen heb je hierboven de link naar het concluderende onderzoeksdocument maar ik nodig je graag uit om verder te graven in mijn blog. 

Ik ben nog lang niet klaar met dit onderwerp en als het jou leuk lijkt om er met mij over te praten moet je vooral even contact me me opnemen.  In mijn onderzoeksdocument staan de gegevens die je nodig heb om mij te contacteren. Je kan ook op ieder bericht op mijn blog commentaar achterlaten.

Ik hoop van je te horen

Rosa Frabsnap