P2: Tiny Playable Prototype #2

Player profile

I set up a Zoom recording while asking Brian to navigate Figjam

Iterations since V1

• I moved the prototype from paper to Figjam in the form of a flowchart to enable better branching and more detailed narrative writing. Per Luna’s feedback on how the scope can grow exponentially with visuals, I decided to focus on a parser fiction format to focus on the narrative for the timeline of P2.
• I leaned heavier into the theme of reconciling emotional distance within families after family members’ death rather than digital privacy. This shift resulted in the following changes:
  • I removed the ability to save pieces of information from what the players sees. This is because what the player saves in the process of intruding the Grandma’s privacy is no longer as much of a thematic focus. Instead, players simply have different dialogue options with their mom based on what they’ve seen. 
  • The player’s choice and its effect on the game’s ending mainly depends on how the Player decides to take their learning forward in their communication style with their mother, whom the player has also been emotionally distant from. The call to action is for the player to talk to people they love while they can, so I felt like this branching made more sense thematically. Right now, there are two ending branches where the player decides to make a gesture towards their mom or not. 
• Within the narrative, I included hints that reveal generational emotional distance, not as a result of trauma, but simply as a result of lack of communication and ability to show vulnerability. I wanted a reason that causes distance between the protagonist and their grandma. While I considered adding a traumatic conflict that distanced the two, I felt like it would be more relatable if it was more based on communication style, cultural norms, and the lack of motive to reach out and create deeper connections. 

New Figjam Prototype

Feedback

What worked well

• Brian like the theme and felt emotions that I was targeting: “This is quite relatable to everyone, thinking about regret and memorializing someone in your family that you loved. It brings out a lot of emotions about what someone’s life was like. There are all these Longitudinal surveys where people say what they regret throughout their life and it’s always not spending enough time with their family, and this feels along the same line” (12:50)
• Brian validated the overall structure of the game: “I liked the setup of [the game] being a phone that you’re looking through, it feels more natural than having this experience done purely in dialogue…It might not have been as engaging. I liked looking through the digital presence and inferring things” (14:50)

What didn’t work well

• The browser history felt “heavy handed”. Some dialogue, including the ending felt like it was spoonfeeding emotions (15:00)
• Brian’s thinks the behavioral change ending could be more subtle so it feels more realistic and relatable — it’s unrealistic to break generation emotional distance completely. He suggested the game can suggest a small step forward through the protagonist’s final question or the protagonist’s inner dialogue (15:40)
• Brian expects there to be either more branching endings to reflect player choice impacts or unify the two existing endings, not just having two endings (18:00)
  • He suggests if I want to have a central message, one unified ending might be better. 
  • If I were to have multiple endings, it could have multiple endings that reflect what the player explored in the Grandma’s phone and how the player interacted with their mom. 
• Brian wishes there was more information to explore on the Grandma’s phone. He wants the discovery of the Grandma’s emotions and life to feel less spoon-fed by having different kinds of information on the Grandma’s phone that may not directly relate to her inner emotions. (21:35)
  • “I just want to have more, I like the concept and everything”(21:35)