[arg_discuss] Interactive Experiments

[Julien Aubert]

That is very interesting Morgan, fantastic idea!
Are there any links you'd like to share?


2008/10/2 Morgan Calhoon <morgan at calhoonplay.com>


> Hey...sorry for the delay in responding, I just finished putting up an art

> exhibition...

>

> When I do my "interactive experiments" I try to find a simple mechanic or

> interaction that I think might be an interesting component to a larger

> game.

> They are not always completely unique, but I want to see firsthand how the

> activity develops and how users interact with it and the other

> participants.

>

>

> Since I'm in graduate school and work part-time at a board game

> manufacturer, I have a lot of exposure to people who would have enough time

> or interest to participate. The undergraduates and other graduate students

> have all been very helpful and are easily persuaded by the promise of a

> good

> time or a beer. My coworkers are also helpful because they are curious what

> I'm doing in graduate school. I usually use a very small number of people

> for at least the initial experiment - I've used as little as three. After

> deciding if the idea has any promise I refine the experiment and try it

> again. The most participation I have had is 30 people.

>

> I understand that games and interactions change with the number of

> participants, but I like that this method prevents me from wasting time on

> things that won't work and helps me figure out the bugs on ideas. Most of

> my

> experiments are fairly low tech, at least initially. I usually have ideas

> about how I'd like the tech parts to work, but sometimes I think it's more

> important to see if the basic idea is any fun before trying to figure out

> how to make the technology work properly. I'm just getting to a point where

> I'm starting to combine my experiments together.

>

> I tend to think a lot about the system and functions of a game first and

> then add a story or skin to it. Most people I have met seem to work the

> opposite way, but this seems to work for me.

>

> I'm including the analysis of one of my experiments below...

>

> *Name:* What Would You Do? (WWYD?)

>

> *Objective:* to test out picture messaging as a potential game mechanic, to

> see if players are more or less adventurous with someone else's decisions,

> to transfer some in-game control from the game's creator to the game's

> players, to see if players would play a game where they needed to be "on

> call" for a set amount of time.

>

> *Importance:* I am very used to controlling games because I created them

> and

> it was important for me to temporarily relinquish some of that power,

> perceived or actual, to the players. I needed to be just as dedicated to

> the

> game as the players for the game to function. I was curious if the picture

> messages would be engaging enough to hold the players' attention and

> dedication for 3 hours.

> *

> Method/Gameplay:* I gathered 3 participants (2 graduate students and 1

> adult

> with a typical work schedule) to play the game on a predetermined Friday

> from 10am-1pm. Each participant was sent a picture message the evening

> before to remind them of the event. At 10am I sent all players a picture

> message and a short question. Example: I took a picture down the street

> where I was and asked, "Where should I go?" Then I would follow the

> directions of the person who responded first and took another photo to show

> what I did. This process continued once every 15 minutes.

> *

> Strategies/Technologies:* I tried to take pictures that were interesting or

> amusing to the players. It was also important that I asked a general

> question and let the picture itself constrain possible responses further

> because I thought this would more actively involve the participants. After

> picture message the players I uploaded the question and answer images to

> flickr so that the participants could see what the outcomes were.

> *

> Outcome:* The short time period between messages made it necessary for me

> to

> think of topics and photos quickly. Sometimes I had barely sent the message

> and had already received a reply. This was relieving because I was no

> longer

> wondering what I would do next. Some of the responses were also humorous.

> Example: I took a photo of a display of books and asked, "What book should

> I

> buy for my dad?" Two of the players responded, "The one with the hot girl."

> One player said she enjoyed getting so many picture messages and the

> excitement to see what each one was of. My questions and photos got

> increasingly more random and creative as the game progressed.

>

> The game would have been improved had I figured how to upload the photos

> somewhere that the players could check to see what the outcomes were more

> immediately, instead of the following day. I think it would have also been

> interesting to allow people who do not have picture phones to participate

> from online in the decision-making process. I'm also curious what kind of

> photos and questions other people might use if they were the person in that

> role.

>

> Sorry this is so long! I really wanted to answer your questions and share

> what I'm working on.

>

> Thanks! Morgan

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julien aubert
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