Jan 17 – 23

In week 2, we began researching broad areas relevant to the transformational space. Divide and conquer was the name of the game as our research spanned all the way from the Games for Change template to the psychology of groups

• In designing for social games, we found that the following thoughts deserve consideration :

1. Player Identity – What is the player’s role in the game? Is he a character which the guest projects himself into, or he is an omniscient manipulator of events in the world.
2. Relationships between player – Is this an individual experience? If not, is this a competitive game or a cooperative game?
3. Player Role – How much do you put players in the spotlight? Do we have guests perform basic improvisations? How physical should the challenge be? How much of player’s personal space do we want to invade? How does putting a player on the spot affect the transformative experience we seek?
4. Visibility – In general, more visible loud games draw more attention. If this is an individual experience, how do we best display the experience to a crowd.

• Story – Does the experience benefit from having a traditional video game styled story which guests experience? Or is the story more subtle, and open for player to interpret? Or is the experience more oriented towards pure gameplay?
• Delivery of the social cause – Do we deliver our message by highlighting repercussions of player’s choices or actions? In doing so, do we sound preachy and didactic? Or do we abstract the message out by one layer?
• Blending technology and theatre – Can we leverage live actors in conjunction with technology so that guests are having an experience through a digital interface as well as a physical space?
• Design Suggestions :

1. Can we design up to a moment where an entire crowd is united in a common goal?
2. Explore the idea of balance between self preservation and awareness.

• Psychology of groups :

1. People mimic others in a group, i.e., people follow the lead. Authority figures also lead to more conformity. Can we use actors for exercising indirect control, and therefore as a means to demonstrate a point?
2. While designing for a group game, consider social loafing – People exert less effort when they believe they are a part of a group.
3. Case Study : Mafia – People behave differently when placed under duress. Also, the ability to revisit history, greatly affects design of games.

Towards the end of the second week, we were finally able to touch base with our client and the social issue we were to target was unveiled. To the entire team’s chagrin/delight/foreboding/excitement, the issue was revealed to be gun violence in the United States.

Anyone following the election trail will tell you how much noise has surrounded this issue shortly after President Obama’s executive actions on gun. However, the magnitude of the opportunity was fairly clear to all of us. Here were a group of international students tasked to comment on an issue deeply entrenched on the hearts and minds of the American people. And so it was decided that in the interest of leveraging this unique position, we owed it to ourselves to build an experience that adds meaningfully to the conversation.