Hey all, I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s projects last night and insights all semester long. Please keep in touch and share links!
My project stuff…
Details…
In Mary Flanagan’s Critical Play: Radical Game Design, she touches on mobile media and locative media as ways to foster collaboration and cultural change – and she gives several organized events that happened in New York City – but oddly her examples are pointedly non-technology based (mapscotch, Cruel 2 B Kind, Samara Smith’s Chain Reaction). I gather this focus is reflected in the chapter’s title, “Artists’ Locative Games,” rather than talking about commercial or popular organized public play games.
After the Pokemon Go augmented reality craze hit America in 2016, Flanagan work was cited in warning about “entertainment colonization” in which “the players unwillingly commoditize unaware bystanders.” This problem seems to have evolved and echoes in later social media stunt videos, like the public outrage livestreams that currently has Johnny Somali in custody in South Korea. I think a venn diagram on this topic would show a lot of overlap among greed, attention/validation, and “public media” technology.
This impulse runs counter to my personal experience with locative games. As a teenager, and briefly in my 20s, I took part in various live-action role-playing games (LARPs). The earliest was a kids’ game called “Assassination” (aka “Mafia”), akin to Cruel 2 B Kind but with “kills” being accomplished by shooting rubber bands at your target. The “Masquerade” LARP had players take on the roles of vampires secretly existing among modern humanity inside real nightclub venues while pursuing byzantine political schemes between rival factions of the undead. In both cases, a feature of each LARP was playing in public WITHOUT drawing attention to what was happening. Players used shared hand signs to indicate character actions, but getting “caught” playing was grounds for elimination from the game. The liminal “magic circle” was more of a social compact rather than a discrete physical space.
I never got into geocaching, the hobby of using GPS devices to find player logs hidden all over the world. I’m curious about WhereIGo.com, a game by the biggest geocaching company, where the GPS-based “treasure hunt” is paired with puzzles and a storytelling narrative. From the marketing info: “Participants following a narrative or series of tasks that unfold as they reach specific GPS locations, known as ‘zones.’ The concept combines elements of outdoor exploration, puzzle-solving, and role-playing, as players follow storylines and complete challenges in real-world settings. Each WhereIGo ‘cartridge’ (a digital game file) offers a unique experience, which can vary widely in theme and objective.”
Has anyone done this sort of locative gaming?
RE: https://dh780fall24.commons.gc.cuny.edu/final-project/
PROJECT PROPOSAL: A scratch-built procedural text-based hex crawl game template (that may include kinetic poetry or images), with the ability for other designers to “re-skin” the encounter prompts to fit other stories and genres (for example, fantasy, espionage, or science-fiction adventures). Imagine a cross between “Mad Libs” (fill-in-the-blank details) and “Zork” (text-based adventure crawl).
* DESIGN: Web-based interface using PHP-based scaffolding, returning array-generated modular text prompts with three input/response options per hex/encounter.
* ARGUMENTATION: The flow of the game will be based on a hex crawl, with each hex returning a text prompt with three player response options.
* AUDIENCE: The modular scaffolding (details driven by arrays) will allow other instances to adjust pitch toward different audiences (age range, knowledge level, interests, and values).
* REFLECTIVENESS: The prompt writing guide will allow future instances to explain not just what to say or what the object is but why certain choices could be made in relation to the audience and the adventure’s purpose (persuasion, education, simulation). The player may select a specific goal (affecting change in one inventory item) as a “victory condition” of play.
PLAYER INPUTS: Text prompts will give three options (from possible seven options). Players will earn and lose modifiers to each option based on initial decisions (character creation) and gameplay (consequences of decisions and random task resolutions).
* Fight: Attack with weapons or magic to harm a target.
* Hide: Avoid conflict but remain in the encounter area; bonus to then: Fight or Move but risk discovery/harm.
* Move: Leave the encounter in a new hex encounter (N, NE, SE, S, SW, NW).
* Rest: Do nothing and see what happens or recover from harm.
* Study: Closely examine an object, creature, or area for detailed information.
* Sway: Communicate with a target to persuade its attitude.
* Special: A unique ability fitting the genre (use magic, call in airstrike, reroute auxiliary power).
An alternate input option will be the text prompt: What is the answer to X? (pattern matching to text string – a password, correct name of the guilty suspect, whatever.)
TRACKED INVENTORY VALUABLES
* Health: Harm from encounters creates penalty modifiers on actions.
* Influences: A rating of favor/disfavor among NPC factions (noble houses, rival spy agencies, planetary governments).
* Treasure: Abstract game-world valuable resource (gold, SIGINT and assets, dilithium).
* Information: Clues to answer an endgame/encounter riddle.
* Time: Limited number of moves/days before ending game back at home hex.
HEX ENCOUNTER TYPES/FORMATS
* Chase (flee from a threat or catch a fleeing NPC)
* Combat (fight NPC/monster => influence or treasure)
* Discovery (plot clues, source of new resource => information)
* Race (ticking clock, decisions to limited resources first)
* Riddle (code, puzzle, missing formula => information)
* Role-play/Social (dialog/drame, response => relationships/bonds => influence)
* Scandal (secret to protect or expose, ethical/moral dilemma => influence)
* Random (unexpected challenge, villain attack, NPC in need, priority of ideals)
As a form of interactive fiction, tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) – including Dungeons & Dragons and countless other systems that followed it – require players to collaboratively create an imaginary narrative guided by three types of rules: formal rules found in gameplay rulebooks, informal rulings made between the Game Master and players, and social guidelines that respect the diverse backgrounds, safety, inclusion, and expectations of everyone involved.
I: FORMAL RULES, BY-THE-BOOK RULES AS WRITTEN
These guidelines inform players and the lead storyteller player (the Game Master, called the Dungeon Master in D&D) of the potential odds of success for players to make informed character decisions, a necessity given the unreality of each game’s inherent simulation and often fantastical nature. For example, exactly what level of training, specific spell components, spoken magical words, and arcane gestures are needed to trigger a fireball that smites one’s enemies? There’s a rule for that.
GAME MASTER MARY: “You see five ogres, about 60 feet away and standing outside the castle gate. What do you do?”
PLAYER ALICE: “My wizard has one third-level spell slot left, so I cast Fireball. Fleur Flameholm holds her glowing arcane orb aloft and summons a burst of fiery elemental fury around the ogres gathered by the castle gate. That does eight six-sided dice of damage… (rolls dice) …for 29 points of fire damage.”
GM MARY: “Ouch. What’s the save on that spell?”
PLAYER ALICE: “All targets in a 20-foot radius have to make a Dexterity saving throw against my spellcasting difficulty class of 15 for half damage.”
The parameters for defining “interaction fiction” in Nick Montfort’s Twisty Little Passages were written about electronic text games, but they broadly also fit the genre of tabletop role-playing games (p. 23):
* a text-accepting, text-generating computer program (see note below);
* a potential narrative, that is, a system that produces narrative during interaction;
* a simulation of an environment or world; and
* a structure of rules within which an outcome is sought, also known as a game.
In the case of TTRPGs, a human player (the Game Master/Dungeon Master) replaces the role of a computer program. This structured gameplay in TTRPGs also mirrors the relationship to interactive fiction input and output that Montfort charts in Table 1.1 (p. 28):
* Extradiegetic Input: “I cast Fireball, causing 29 points of fire damage.”
* Extradiegetic Output: “I rolled an 18, with a minus 1 modifier, for a total saving throw of 17.”
* Diegetic Input: “I hold aloft my glowing arcane orb and summon a burst of fiery elemental fury around the ogres gathered by the castle gate.”
* Diegetic Output: “The sudden explosion sends the burned ogres fleeing toward the water of the castle’s moat.”
Most tabletop role-playing games aim to define these extradiegetic input options for player characters clearly. In the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition rules, these inputs are called actions, bonus actions, movements, or reactions; they include verbs like Attack, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Escape, Grapple, Hide, and so forth. In the Blades in the Dark TTRPG, such actions might have more fanciful names: Attune, Consort, Prowl, Skirmish, or Sway. In Apocalypse World, such inputs are called Moves and named to invoke a sense of story style: Act Under Fire, Go Aggro, Sucker Someone, Seduce or Manipulate, Read a Stich, and so on.
II: INFORMAL RULINGS, THE GAME MASTER MAKES THE CALL
TTRPGs allow players to improvise extradiegetic and diegetic inputs not explicitly anticipated by each game’s rules. Whereas computer-driven interactive fiction would be limited by returning an output such as “I don’t know that” or “You can’t do that here,” adjudicating these situations is much easier for human Game Masters.
Examples of inputs from players requiring informal rulings could include crafting a mechanical trap from scavenged materials, bargaining with the Spirit of Death to gain one more year of life, or citing a flashback to justify preparations for a current situation.
Most TTRPGs also borrow a rule from comedy improv and encourage Game Masters to say “Yes, and…” for unusual situations. They either accept whatever a player offers or counter with the odds of success the player may use to decide if an attempt is worth the risk. In more limited responses, Game Masters may counter with “No, but…” and suggest alternatives that would fit within the capabilities of a specific character’s abilities and situation.
GAME MASTER MARY: “Passing through the castle gate, you are confronted by a dozen suspicious men-at-arms wearing the king’s colors, all standing ready for battle.”
PLAYER DAVE: “My paladin Sir Nedwyrm the Honorable served in this royal guard as a youth, years before taking his sacred oath. Do I recognize any of these men-at-arms?”
GM MARY: “Sure, the big mustached guard at the front is your old captain, Sir Blotus.”
PLAYER DAVE: “Good Sir Blotus, do you not know me? ‘Tis I, Nedwyrm, returning to the king’s court at the hour of his majesty’s greatest need.”
GM MARY: “Okay, make a Charisma roll here, aiming for a 10 or higher for Blotus to recognize you…”
III: SOCIAL COMPACT RULES AND SAFETY TOOLS
Unlike authored interactive fiction – such as hypertext novels, non-linear films, or single-player video games – collaborative experiences like TTRPGs can, whether intentionally or unintentionally, create scenes and situations that disrupt a comfortable, respectful, and enjoyable experience, potentially leading to unintended distress for players. Much has been written about toxic behavior involving racism, sexism, homophobic language, and personal threats in networked online video games, social media user comments, and other online forums. Shared storytelling can lead to similar problematic moments in role-playing games.
Even when not involving direct harassment or microaggressions, descriptions in TTRPGs may go outside the boundaries of players’ comfort. Depending on the genre of the game or story, certain narrative elements might be expected – hacking away with swords and axes in a fantasy game, seductions and betrayals in an espionage game – but excessive descriptions of violence, gore, sex, and substance abuse may be triggers for some players.
GAME MASTER MARY: “Bob’s new here, so tell us about your character…”
PLAYER BOB: “I’m Finklewit, a court jester-type bard with a dark sense of humor.”
GM MARY: “Neat! Okay, so you all get past the guards without incident and enter the royal court in time to hear the king complaining about-“
PLAYER BOB: “I stab out the king’s eyes!”
GM MARY: “-Wait, what?!?”
PLAYER BOB: “I run around the court holding up the king’s bloody eyes dangling from their optic nerves, shouting at people, ‘I can see you! I can see you!'”
GM MARY: “…”
PLAYER BOB: “What’s the problem?”
GM MARY: “What the hell is wrong with you, Bob?”
PLAYER BOB: “I mean, it’s just what my character would do…”
Some games identify problematic subject matter straight from the beginning. Consider this strong content warning featured in The Silt Verses role-playing game, a horror-themed setting based on the podcast of the same name in which undercover agents track monstrous pagan deities loose in remote areas of a modern world:
“The Silt Verses RPG contains some dark subject matter which may not be suitable for everyone, including intense themes of religious horror, human sacrifice, graphic violence, body horror, cults, implied harm to children and animals, family trauma and mental illness, government oppression and police violence, war, and natural disasters. The section on safety tools will address these issues in more detail.”
Even when such a warning isn’t shared up front, players come to gaming tables with various ideas on what is appropriate to share. Players may not always foresee discomfort with certain themes or events. Several tools have evolved within TTRPGs to promote trust, respect and inclusivity, prevent emotional harm, support safe creative freedom, encourage open communication, and manage unexpected reactions.
To address such issues, safety tool methods I’ve used in my games have included:
The X-Card: Created by John Stavropoulos, this tool uses a physical or digital card that players can tap or hold up to signal discomfort. When the “X” is activated, the group pauses and either rewinds, rephrases, or skips the current content, allowing players to avoid discomfort without needing to explain why. For the creator’s full details on use, see:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SB0jsx34bWHZWbnNIVVuMjhDkrdFGo1_hSC2BWPlI3A/edit?tab=t.0
Consent Checklist: A document or checklist that players fill out individually to outline topics they’re comfortable or uncomfortable with, such as romance, horror elements, or graphic violence. This method can be as simple as passing out index cards ahead of play, letting everyone list their triggers, and collecting them before the game.
Session Zero: A pre-game session where players discuss boundaries, expectations, themes, and character backstories. It sets the stage for the campaign and allows everyone to align on comfort levels and sensitive topics.
Other safety tools popular among TTRPG groups include…
Lines and Veils: Players outline topics they’re uncomfortable with or want limited exposure to. Lines are topics that are entirely off-limits (e.g., explicit violence), while Veils are topics that can exist but should “fade to black” or be lightly referenced without detail.
Script Change: A tool with various “controls” to manage the flow of the game:
* Pause: Temporarily stops the game for discussion or breaks.
* Rewind: Backtracks to redo a scene in a different way.
* Fast Forward: Skips content or “flashes forward” past uncomfortable moments.
* Frame by Frame: Allows a scene to be played slowly to give players time to process and assess comfort levels.
* Open Door Policy: Allows any player to leave the session if they need a break or feel uncomfortable. It emphasizes that players can step away without judgment and rejoin when ready.
Stars and Wishes: Used at the end of a session, Stars are compliments or highlights, while Wishes are requests or hopes for future sessions. This tool gives players space to express what they enjoyed and what they’d like to adjust or explore further.
Lines & Veils Cards (Physical or Digital): Some systems offer cards with common lines and veils topics, which can be arranged in a visible way to remind everyone of group boundaries.
Green/Yellow/Red System: Players can use colors to indicate their comfort level during gameplay:
* Green: Everything is fine, no issues.
* Yellow: Caution, getting close to a boundary.
* Red: Stop or skip the current content.
Aftercare/Decompression Time: A post-session chat to process intense themes, check in on emotional well-being, and address any issues that may have arisen during the game. This is especially helpful after sessions that involve heavy emotional themes.
Following up on Leonard’s great Dungeons & Dragons presentation from last night: If anyone is curious what a D&D character sheet looks like, check out my site at https://fastcharacter.com (disclaimer: it’s free but I make $$$ off its ads and donors). There you’ll find character maker options for the D&D 5th edition rules Leonard was talking about, the “new” 2024 updated rules, and a throwback version to the “B/X” rules from 1981.
Backfilling a response to the Group Project Reflections due to missed class weeks (re: https://ahutnick.github.io/alice02/):
As Tasha, Wandi, Melissa, and Wiktor have already described, our approach to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland text was to gamify the reader experience as something between the popular “choose-your-own-adventure” format of the 1970s/1980s and something using the more “paidia” aspects of Caillois’ classification of games axes – particularly under the headings of alea (chance) and ilinx (vertigo). The division of chapters into smaller blocks and simple text animations gave the reader a more playful presentation, suggesting a wandering path that may or may not match Carroll’s original while accompanied by exaggerated decision-choice buttons overseen by John Tenniel’s original Cheshire Cat illustration from the 1865 publication.
In future iterations, we would have liked to add genuine randomization to some decision points to expound Murray’s kaleidoscopic narrative away from the linear and into dynamic, multi-layered threads woven together into broad, interconnected storylines and events. (This approach follows how audience members experience the immersive format of Sleep No More in New York City, a theater production spreading out a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth across a five-story maze of film noir, 1930s-inspired rooms and surreal staged spaces.) In this regard, some of Carroll’s dialogue served as inspiration:
“Cheshire Puss,” she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. “Come, it’s pleased so far,” thought Alice, and she went on. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where-” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“-so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
Early in the brainstorming process, the idea of “What if the reader was playing Alice?” turned to “What if the reader was playing Wonderland’s reaction to Alice?” – particularly echoed by Tasha’s previous comment about Carroll’s work, “despite its playfulness, it is incredibly rigid.” Melissa took a first pass at creating a game-flow outline for the reader/user, and each group member interpreted a different chapter to do with however they wanted.
The lack of a consistent approach became a huge strength, creating a broader diversity of potential experiences. As Melissa and Tasha took to more Alice-focused decision points, I saw Chapter V’s conversation between the caterpillar and Alice as a template that could lead into divergent story beats with similar themes (age, quality, or time). Including 20th-century progressive rock song lyrics provided a nice modern echo: Artists inspired by Carroll were put back into contrast against the original’s period-appropriate rhymes.
The design decision to mimic the look-and-feel of early Hypercard multimedia was deliberate, and it evolved toward the end with Wiktor’s interactive sub-game and Wandi’s selection of illustrations and videos. As others have said, big kudos to Tasha for crafting the underlying JavaScript code!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlzrlzlH2QI?si=cUoN7lSgN0eY4U2G&w=560&h=315]
An overview of four popular series of detective games using Janet H. Murray’s “Hamlet on the Holodeck” concepts and Roger Caillois’s aspects of game theory from “Man, Play and Games,” and an example of horror mystery gaming using Hunt-a-Killer’s Blair Witch: Season One game.
For Jeff Allred “Building, Playing, Thinking: Theory and Practice of Play in the Digital Humanities, Fall 2024,” CUNY Graduate Center, Sept. 26, 2024.
Clue/Cluedo:
Clue
Catch the culprit of a crime by identifying who did it, with what, and where.
Chronicles of Crime:
Chronicles of Crime
Lay out the case, interrogate suspects, and investigate crime scenes with your phone.
Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game
Collaborate in an FBI unit to solve cases using high-tech & traditional techniques.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases:
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases
The game is afoot as you and your irregular friends search Victorian London for clues
Hunt-a-Killer: Blair Witch
Hunt a Killer: Blair Witch
Detectives work together to solve an epic 6 episode case.
Video also excerpts clips from:
The Blair Witch Project (1999) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers
The Blair Witch Project (1999) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers
Check out the official The Blair Witch Project (1999) Trailer starring Heather Donahue! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy or Rent on FandangoNOW: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/the-blair-witch-project-1999/MMV2F2ED0F3AA0D634B6AB62ED65FF8FC013?ele=searchresult&elc=the%20blair%20wi&eli=0&eci=movies&cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date on all your favorite movies.
The Dice Tower: A Comprison of Chronicles of Crime & Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game with Chris Dias
A Comprison of Chronicles of Crime & Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game with Chris Dias
Chris from Dias Ex Machina takes a look at and compares Chronicles of Crime and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game! Check out the friendliest conventions on Earth! Dice Tower East! – www.dicetowereast.com (July 1-5, 2020) Dice Tower West! – www.dicetowerwest.com (Feb 26 – Mar 1, 2020) Dice Tower Cruise!
The Dice Tower: Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Review – with the Game Boy Geek
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Review – with the Game Boy Geek
Dan examines this deduction game 00:00 – Introduction 01:20 – Game overview 05:34 – Final thoughts Buy great games at https://www.gamenerdz.com/ Find more reviews and videos at http://www.dicetower.com
I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, home to the game company that originally published Dungeons & Dragons. D&D is generally considered the definitive first tabletop role-playing game, though I imagine more people have only heard of it through media (the 1980s cartoon show, various movies, references in the Netflix show Stranger Things) or by its cultural reputation (ranging from the Satanic Panic to modern streaming web shows). I personally knew a few of the designers and artists involved with the company back then, and I ended up teaching the game to many people over the years.
Much of the scope Roger Caillois borrows from J. Huizinga (voluntary activity, not “real life,” limited in time and place, rules to create order) can be used to fit such types of role-playing games. The notion of exclusivity (“This is for us, not for the ‘others'” [Huizinga, p. 12]) echoes in the D&D player culture; the genre is full of people willing to argue over the “correct” way to pretend to be an elf or a wizard. Fitting such role-playing games into Caillois’ “Classification of Games” table is a bit more challenging.
For those unfamiliar with the game itself, one player in each game of D&D – the Dungeon Master, or DM – starts by describing a scene set in a fantasy world. Each other player takes a turn describing their own character’s responses to this scene, often relying on one of six abilities (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) and other quantified values (Armor Class, Hit Points, Speed, and so forth).
To determine the success or failure of a described action, players roll a 20-sided die (noted as d20 or 1d20) and add the value of one ability modifier and a character’s proficiency bonus (if skilled in the related task). Other modifiers may come from character features, special equipment, or magic spells. The higher the ability check total, the better the effort. The DM tracks minimum totals needed for successful results, including saving throws (rolls made to avoid character harm) and attack rolls (rolls made to hit and damage targets).
These descriptions and dice rolls continue back and forth between the DM and all the players as a narrative story grows. In this regard, it’s easy to place aspects of D&D in Caillois’ ALEA (chance) and MIMICRY (simulation) categories, using the different ability numbers assigned to each character and the results of dice rolls. However, I’m always grappling with the AGON (competition) aspect of D&D. The player characters are typically meant to be cooperating toward complementary story goals (loot the monsters’ treasure, or rescue a hostage, or do something about the latest MacGuffin). In this regard, the Dungeon Master – whose job in the game is to script or improvise obstacles, challenges, and complications – can too often be seen as the “competitor” in the experience, the person everyone else is “trying to beat.” The Dungeon Master player is actually trying to help the players craft their own characters’ stories, balanced with the necessary risk of failure (and even character death) to keep the experience engaging (the “tension” mentioned in the readings). “Doubt must remain until the end, and hinges upon denouement.” (Caillois, p. 7)
Many “fans” of D&D rarely play and instead focus on non-game aspects of Dungeons & Dragons (painting miniature figures, map making and world-building, theme-related home crafts). In this sense, how much of D&D is really “played as a game” versus what Caillois cites as “a special form of ludus,” just a hobby? And how do these aspects translate to single-player videogame versions of the D&D experience?
