What Do Prototypes Prototype Exercise

How effective is a single moderator at enforcing the rules?

  • The moderator is the glue that makes rules have meaning so their effectiveness is crucial.
  • Have the test subject try and moderate with a set of given rules. Have the “players” purposely ignore rules and see how many the moderator catches.
  • I’m guessing that the moderator will have trouble managing larger groups, so we might need a moderator to player ratio rule instead of just 1 moderator.

How many rules should each player get to make?

  • If there are too many rules, learning them won’t be fun, just overwhelming. Too  few will make the game too easy. 
  • Conduct rounds with varying numbers of rules per player and see the difficulty level it presents
  • I would guess that having a maximum of 10 rules at the start would be good so that it’s not too overwhelming or too easy. Depending on the number of players this could lead to them making 1 to 2 rules each. 

Is rule creation friction or creative expression?

  • If players don’t enjoy making the rules, then they won’t enjoy a central part of the game.
  • Ask participants to make up several rules for the game and ask how they felt about the process.
  • I think results will depend on the personality of the participant and giving examples of rules might help aid those who struggle to come up with rules.

 

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