Here are some questions that my team and I are thinking about in terms of prototyping for our social game:
1. Does roleplay in pairs creating genuine bonding experiences?
The goal of our game is to strengthen ties between people. Ex. How can we push the boundaries of a friendship even further into a more intimate space? We thought maybe roleplaying could do the trick! Perhaps, roleplaying flirting or being in vulnerable or crazy situations would help develop a certain kind of fellowship and narrative as to bring people closer. Our prototype will explore this assumption and help us define a more precise assumption on which to base our social game.
2. Does creating a scoring system based on superlatives encourage better roleplaying and thus bonding experiences?
In order to encourage commitment in the role-playing process, we want to center our scoring system around giving points to teams that are “most emotive” or “most audacious”. Our assumption is that if points are scored based on people’s roleplaying performances, they will lean into it more and not hold back as much, which we believe are the prerequisites for this game to work!
3. Do we need to add a component where people write compliments to help people feel safe committing to the role-play?
Acting is an inherently vulnerable process. Acting in situations where the real/fantasy lives are blurred (ex. Flirting with another person, hugging another person) is especially vulnerable. Would a rule of writing compliments after each team goes help people feel more safe?
