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@thegameaboutlove
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Thoughts on: A hollow body by Circumstance
Recently, I responded to a tweet from a friend to try an art experience in the last stages of development, called: ‘A Hollow body’ by Circumstance.
Circumstance are a performance group that, create cinematic experiences in unexpected environments. They also make 'intimate in-ear stories, mass participation subtlemobs, guided tours of the future, pedestrian symphonies and books that go beyond the page working with the narrative of experience, the politics of public space, sound and mobile technology and wrap their questions up in melancholy and romance.'
The experience I participated in was a guided walk through the city for two people. We downloaded an app onto our phones and listened through headphones for the entire journey.
My friend and I started in Paternoster square and walked through the City of London and followed a story loosely based on the world of Sherlock Holmes. Through spoken voice, one is directed through the streets and asked to pause at certain points and take in your environment. The experienc does not ask you to be another person but in a way had both of us acting in each others ‘experiences’.
We were separated and reunited at many points, appearing to punctuate the narrative we were listening to through the headphones. The game took us between particularly amazing sights of London and encouraged one to participate in elaborate tableaux that framed the other against a particular sight or vista.
There was a strong narrative that followed one exploring the city through the lens of a fictional character. The musical score was epic and set the mood and expectation well and complimented everything we did.
I strongly recommend anyone reading this blog takes part in this experience when it goes live in November 2014.
What stands out
Normally these adventures are run either without anyone there from the game or concurrently or with a group of actors following you. Playing with another person who stayed with you in the game was quite an experience. Because of the timing and the framing of our encounters, every meeting was especially potent.
Seeing my friend stand on a high walkway above me, framed by the towers of the Barbican made me feel as if I was in a film with her as an actor creating a scene for me. I wondered if I was similarly framed on the ground?
My friend and I wore particularly striking and bold colours which made us stand out from the sea of grey that is the uniform of most in the city of London. Every time I saw my friend or caught a glimpse of her coat, sometimes behind and sometimes ahead of me, I smiled.
However, at one point the narrator mentioned that we were standing unnoticed which was quite funny as my partner and I couldn't be more conspicuous than we were. I don't think anyone who passed didn't take a second look at us as we passed. We were centre stage wherever we went which did add something to the game. I felt we were a living, moving cinema and people in the street were our audience. Was this real promenade theatre?
Reflections on the experience
The experience often set us up for cinematic moments, and by asking the player to perform particular actions as particular times where you came into view of the other participant, it really felt as if one was in a French film where the long glimpses to camera and long moments without dialogue allowed you to absorb the feeling of the scene.
Although I had known my partner for a while, the experience's moments felt very intimate, much more than our acquaintance would normally justify. I felt awkward, shy, excited and electric during the game. The game brought intimacy without touching.
On reflection, it was not clear what was the focus of the performance; yourself, the city, or the other player? It didn’t really impede the story in any way, but it was an interesting question I held when the experience finished.
How is it different from the Game of Love and what were the similarities?
The parts of the GoL that take place in the outside world would be identical to what I played. Circumstance’s outside experiences were perfect - sound, coordination of players and narration.
Circumstance is not trying to make a game, so the points of interaction that I have for my game are absent and there is no game mechanic. Still, it was an amazing experience and had a lot to teach me in terms of pacing and drama.
The Play of the Game of Love
On the 17th October 2014 at the start of the Conductrr conference, we played the Game of Love.
All attendees had been invited to play and 9 came forward. More would have joined had we not started so early in the morning. I believe that to be the case as it was a struggle for me to get there in time and the conference ran into the evening making it a very long day.
The attendees all signed a release form and arrived at the venue.
The full game is meant to last a day, and I had only taken 40 minutes to run the experience before the conference proper began. A friend had suggested that this would be a great pre-conference game to warm people to each other so that it seemed like a good thing to do. Also the organiser had asked me to speak about the process of making the Game, and I'd prefer to demonstrate it.
I had tried to get the essence of the Game of Love and run it at the conference. They key points were the (1) unburdening of the participants at the start, (2) the creation of a sacred space (3) the disorientation of the participants (to put them into a more open state of mind). (4) The idea of incarnations. (5) The history of the place and (6) the touching game (physical contact between the participants).
1. Unburdening of the participants.
This was done by locking the player’s belongings in a room.
2. The creation of the sacred space.
We made sure the room was sealed and had calm (jazz) music on entry. There was also a slideshow of London faces with simple overlain text which told people that they were entering the game and it was a place where normal rules do not apply. I really considered many ways to do this. I greeted participants with a namaskar type gesture and handed them a sheet of paper with the words ‘be still and know’ on it. However, in the rush of performance, the papers and the greeting did not have the effect of ushering people into the sacred space. So the fall back simple solution - simply flash up the text on a screen using a projector and show it to people, worked.
3. The disorientation of the participants.
This was done very well, using blindfolds and calm Sufi chanting. As sufism has entranced states as a medium of religious experience, relying on this kind of music to block out the background noise and also encourage the feeling of difference worked. I made the connection with our first incarnations, how we wander through this life not understanding who we were and the others were. Participants walked through an emptied room colliding with walls and each other. My helper and I steered them away from harm with a gentle hand on the shoulder.
This was fascinating to watch. While I would not have any spectators to this (as it would inhibit the participants), I could observe people first of all moving very tentatively through the space then settle into distinct patterns of behaviour which suggested their underlying mentality.
One couple kept finding and bumping into each other. They soon would reassure each other with a gentle squeeze of the hand once they had done it again. One moved restlessly through the space, making as much noise as possible (although talking was not allowed). This person did not seem to meet anyone in the room - as if he was out of sync. Another bumped into some people but then came to rest against a wall and stood there.
This was played out over 10 minutes. In hindsight it should have gone longer, for even those that were standing still were undergoing a transformation. It was clearly difficult for all the participants who were clearly very creative and used to responding to verbal and written stimuli to respond to this situation where they had no control, but I think had we progressed for another 5 minutes, they would have all ended up in a completely different mental space.
4. The second incarnation.
Ending the wandering game, the helper and I arranged them into a half circle and asked them to remove their blindfolds and open the papers they had been given when they entered the space. They did so and were clearly in the right frame of mind to continue - that is - separated from their external selves.
5. The history of the place.
Drawing from my experience of writing scenarios but hemmed in by the amount of time I had to create this experience. I came up with some ideas in a short period of time. The game was played in Norton Folgate, an ancient area of London that was semi-independent. The players were the 'ancients' of Norton Folgate, given names from the period and given jobs of those who would rule in that name.
There was only time for the briefest of introductions to these people and the setting but I followed it up with the closest (non-alcoholic drink) I could find to weak beer.
Half the participants drank it and half did not. Those that did would have had the taste of beer in their mouths as their forebearers would have at this time in the morning.
It would have stayed with them during the next phase has hopefully, starting from the idea of clearing their baggage from when they come, given them someone else's baggage when playing the next game. It was also a convenient way for people to hide behind the 'other identity' if they felt uncomfortable with the touching game.
6. The touching game.
The group were arranged when blindfolded into a half circle and with their partners and then told to remove their blindfolds. When they did so they heard the names of the ancients and turned towards their partners. They were clearly altered by the experience of sensory deprivation.
The touching game was played, but in contrast to the last time I played it, the participants seemed to be in a much more mellow mood. Within 5 minutes everyone was holding hands. Some were even dancing while they were holding hands. Instead of the expected silence that I had encouraged in the previous version of the games, people started talking about themselves and really opening up to each other. It was against my idea of what would happen in the game but I couldn't bare to stop them talking.
I let them continue for a while and then gave them the final words - and called an end to the magical time.
After the game everyone was talking about how much they enjoyed the experience. The participants mentioned how they found that being blindfolded and walking around made them feel vulnerable, and that it was interesting that despite not being able to see- they were all drawn to one another. (Even though that involved bumping into each other.)
One of the ladies that took part also said that she liked how when she bumped into people they would naturally hold each others hands and give a reassuring squeeze.I overheard other participants mention the same thing.
Another lady mentioned that she found it 'cool' that everyone were strangers but they had all shared some kind of connection during the game- whereas in real life, striking up a conversation with a total stranger would be a weird and difficult thing to do.
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Further reflections on the game
*Similarities of practice
When describing the game to others they talked about how similar it was to warm up exercises done by actors.
The game has been born of observational practices of many forms of interaction (religious, cultural, neurological/physical and game behaviour) so it is likely that anyone will find in it something familiar.
*Types of practice
What also strikes me is how simple and mundane the observations are. Almost that most people would know them without being able to understand why they are effective. I follow the maxim that great art is not when you can add no more but when you can take no more away.
Context in which to hang the practise becomes more important than the imposition of the acts. By themselves they are difficult to get people to do, but using the idea of a game draws people to them. Perhaps this is why games have been invited to encourage people to do and think things that they would otherwise find difficult to do/justify in their everyday life?
Although the parts of the game are simple, I sought to provide enough setting to make them meaningful. If one did not pick up on this, the game would have seemed overly simplistic. Certainly, not understanding the context would not create any difficulties in playing the game.
Also, being didactic in terms of the context (Sikh philosophy, reincarnation and emotional connection) could have been overbearing and put people off participating altogether.
*Selection of participants
The ideal solution would be to have a selection procedure for those who would like to play. I'd previously observed that some people are more open to contact with strangers that others. As the game is calibrated for the typical English person (who is not), they are likely to get less from it than others.
This could be remedied with a note in the sign up or special roles for these people in facilitating the game. This is something that could be developed further.
*The game as a political act
My objective was to get the games players to pass on and copy ideas inspired by the game. This started happening a year ago and a few of the participants who played it at the conference said they would be using some of it in their work and sharing it with others. So the fulfillment of the game as a teaching tool and source of inspiration was achieved. Even the act of talking about the development of the game has inspired others to start thinking about the impact of their own cultural output. It has started many interesting conversations!
*Other contributors
There were tens of people involved in the creation of the game. From those I observed and discussed their practise with. To those who directly contributed stories and ideas about the game from their own area of expertise. In the end, I had to tailor this game to the space I was in, and while I had developed other scenarios, they were not used here because they had been written for a different space and also the amount of time I had to run the game had been shortened.
What I had built up from the development of these ideas is the skill in learning how to adapt and create new scenarios. I have long mentioned that anything you do, again and again, over time you become better at.
So if anyone who had been involved with the development of the game would like to understand where their contribution sat in relation to what was developed, I'd be happy to discuss it with them.
*The central paradox
Those that would most benefit from playing would not want to play. Those that would be most excited about playing would get the least from it.
*Fear
There is a combination of fear and sexual titillation when it comes to thinking about interacting with strangers. There weren't many people I discussed the game with who did not leap to the idea this was about creating a space for inappropriate touching and unwanted sexual attention.
Other fears such as people not realising it was a game and becoming stalkers suggested that that interaction with strangers is mainly considered in the context of unwanted attention or other negative reactions.
There was also concern that games that did not leave you feeling happy would be problematic. This was quite strange as there are many games that make one feel angry, upset and frustrated but this seemed to be okay as long as it was marketed as a positive experience. Where the emotional outcome was ambiguous I asked to have a councillor on stand by or have tea and coffee.
*What did I do wrong?
I used to teach and have something of a teachers tendency to end the game like a class; where the pupils file out of the class and the teacher remains in the room to tidy up. I'm not a teacher in the game and I should have brought the group out to have tea and coffee and talk about their experiences. I created a separation between myself and the participants which didn't need to be there.
*Going forward
The game has potential at events where you'd like to increase the quality of the participation of the invitees. It encourages people to be more open, more grounded and connected to the space in which they are in.
Human altruism is puzzling enough, but why do people donate more to charity if they are being watched by a bug-eyed robot called Kismet?
We go forward.
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The physical in decision making. The mind as an agent of movement.
This Saturday, londoners who are normally difficult to approach, will be welcoming strangers and conversations...
Psychological research on how a simple (nonsexual) touch can increase compliance, helping behaviour, attraction and signal power.
"Enthusiasm to me is like money to a banker."
Laustin, 2012
Love begets love, begets you
This morning a thought came into my head:
Most of us are the physical expression of a moment of love between our ancestors that goes back generation before generation to the beginning of time. 50,000+ years of love in every single person alive today.
'The Journey' and Quest
On the 6th July, we decided to work with Alex Warren and use his Quest platform to run the next stage (‘The Journey’) of the game.
An example of one kind of 'text adventure' Copyright: Blakespot
Alex is keen to work on the ideas of the Game about/of Love and his platform is strong and flexible enough to cope with what we need it for in the game.
Quest is a free, open-source system for creating and playing text adventure games. Quest is free open source software, licenced under Ms-PL (similar to MIT), which means you can download and modify the Quest source code, and even use it in closed source commercial applications.
Quest is a powerful game platform, designed to be easy to learn and has huge power if you need it. It allows creators to create their own user interface with HTML and Javascript and to completely customise the look and feel of their game.
Quest will be used to collect things of interest in ‘The Journey’, share them between people and structure the items into a form that can be used at the end. We are very excited about what we can do using quest and if you are too, why not check out the website and build your own text adventures!
The second part of the game is in production
So the path to building a movement begins with real world activity...
Taking a lead from the Eyeo Festival I attended last month, I am keen to DIWO (Do it with others); so I trying to get others to participate with me in the both the creation of the game but also the little experiments I am trying to build the world for the game.
So far, a lot of my friends are on holiday or in other countries, so this is no working out so well so far.
I've planned out a prototype stage of the GOL which can serve as the template for the whole game. This has shown me that I need lots of people to run the game effectively. As I don't have that many people to help, I need to build up the game in stages, road testing each part of it and hopefully winning people over to help run the game with me.
The game will involve the players moving between locations and during these movements we will seek to create a sense of travelling through time as well as space. There will be technology used in these journeys to reinforce the atmosphere in the game as well as bringing them close to the other players (both physically and metaphorically).
I am starting to work with some people on the technical aspects of the game and should have something to trial next month.
If you are based around London then and want to participate, message me.
In other news, I'm shutting down the facebook group - the format is not really working for me and I'd rather have a single point of presence on the web.
Quick update 20.06.2012
So, there has been a long gap from the last post until this one.
What has been happening? In short - lots!
Work and play have been combining.
I've had another discussion with my Hannah Jane Walker and thought of how best to proceed;
had another awesome Gamecamp;
attended a friend's steampunk ARG launch
What's not been happening:
Some of my collaborators have disappeared mysteriously. I don't know what to make of this. I'm their facebook friend, so I can see they are not dead.
I haven't been blogging. I have about 15 blogs in the pipeline, so please be a little more patient.
So, this is just to say that the project is not dead, but reforming. I need to collaborate with others to build my project into a movement through smaller games which will bring the momentum I need for the larger games.
More details on the movement will come shortly!