Our game, tentatively called Scene & Unseen, is a prompt response/collaborative improv game in a similar vein to Awkward Moments. The idea is that one player draws cards indicating an Action and a Mood, and the other players give responses to the Action to build a fuller story, similar to something like Apples to Apples or Tee K.O., providing scene building to outline the WHO, WHERE, and WHY of the Action.
Question 1: How many players can play this game?
- Why this matters: Prospective players should know how many players this game can accommodate because that will determine whether their group can actually play the game. For example, if the game is best played with 4 people, but a group has more or less than 4, it may be difficult for them to successfully play.
- Prototype: We can prototype different iterations of the game with different numbers of players to see how the game flows with these different player counts, which will allow us to determine what the optimal number of players is. This will allow us to set recommended constraints for prospective players.
- Prediction: With our current setup, we have 1 Actor and 3 Scene Builders (for WHO, WHERE, and WHY), so I imagine that 4 players would be optimal. However, I can imagine this game being played with a multiple of 4 players as well.
Question 2: Would this game work better in an analog or digital format?
- Why this matters: The mode that games are played in has a tremendous impact on how the game is played. A digital version may allow for remote play, while an analog version may be more conducive to intimate interactions.
- Prototype: In theory, we could try building out versions for an analog iteration and a digital iteration and testing them both out to see what we like more. In practice, we may only have time to do an analog version… But I would certainly love to try building out a digital prototype as time allows.
- Prediction: Since it is likely that we will only have time to build out an analog version, I would say that this would work better in said format. After all, a game that can be played is better than one that cannot…
Question 3: How will roles be decided in a given round?
- Why this matters: A core dynamic to this game is that of the relationship between the Actor and the Scene Builders, and the mechanics that govern a player’s play will be determined by their role. Thus, understanding what a player’s role is will inform how they are able to play.
- Prototype: We can build out prototypes that choose an Actor based on some arbitrary criteria (like youngest in age) and have everyone else be a Scene Builder, with the Actor being selected in a clockwise rotation at the start of each round. Another prototype could use something like a random number generator or a dice roll, where whoever gets the lowest number gets to be the Actor for that round.
- Prediction: I predict that arbitrarily choosing an Actor and then choosing the next actor in a clockwise rotation at the start of each new round will make the most sense because it sets up a predetermined order for who is next. This reduces friction at the start of each round because the players can begin immediately instead of having to spend time determining the next Actor.
Question 4: How is the outcome of a given round determined?
- Why this matters: Since this is a round-based game, it is important to know how and when a round ends, which will allow for a transition to the next round. Depending on how the game is structured, this may also help inform who is “winning” at that point in the game.
- Prototype: We can have one prototype of the game that introduces a point-based system, where players are awarded points for their contributions to the scene. We could also have one prototype where the round ends with everyone having a good laugh looking over the completing scene and revealing in their collaborative efforts.
- Prediction: If we can nail down a way to determine how points will be awarded, I think that would make the most sense because it can help keep track of a “winner” for the game. I know a lot of similar games in this sort of genre do keep track of some way of evaluating one player’s performance against another’s, so assigning points could help spark that competitive spirit between players to have the biggest contribution to the story.
Question 5: What is the end condition for this game?
- Why this matters: Players should be able to have an expectation of how long they may be playing the game for or what they might be working towards as an ultimate goal. One issue our group had when playing Awkward Moments was that we were not sure how long we would be playing for.
- Prototype: We can build out a prototype that has a set number of cards in each deck, where the game ends once players have completed enough rounds to finish all the cards. We could also do iterations that have a set number of rounds to play, regardless of whether all the cards are used in a play through.
- Prediction: I predict that having a set number of rounds to play would work best for players because they can have more freedom over how long they want to play the game. If too many rounds are played, players can get bored, so they should be able to set their limit on how long to play.
