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Two playtests of Wrangler’s first iteration were conducted with different rules and settings. Eight people organized into three teams participated both times.
The first 5-minute session took place at The Grove and required players to move strangers into circles. The second 10-minute session was played at an adjacent park and eliminated the circles with player’s able to take pictures of strangers in any location.
Results
Players noted that strangers were more receptive to participating at the park as they were not traveling to a particular destination. Players also mentioned that moving into the circle “freaked out” targeted strangers. In both locations, there was concern from strangers regarding their photograph being taken. In an instance of emergent gameplay, one team had concerned strangers cover their face with the flier while another team only took pictures below the neck.
Beyond these stranger-player dynamics, players commented that there were only one or two tactics in approaching strangers. There was no variation in their contact strategy. Furthermore, each team has the same bonuses (more strangers at once is better and raptors for double points). There is potential for different bonuses that could alter play strategies beyond canvassing crowds of strangers
While two of the teams were successful, the third team gave up early and got a fraction of the points of the other two. Afterwards, they mentioned a sense of shame in approaching strangers. This needs to be dealt with, as one of the points of this experience is to create a fun motivation for talking to strangers and remove that shyness. While variations in bonuses and tactics could help this, it is worth looking at one of the most minor rules of the game, but one of the most popular—the raptor pose.
Making strangers pose as raptors for extra points was an afterthought, but the two teams who saw the rule heartily endorsed it (in fact, the team that gave up early didn’t even know about that rule). Players suggested adding more poses as different bonuses, but this comment could be extrapolated to a more generalized mechanic: making playful requests of strangers that make them active participants in the game. The circles was a location-based way of doing that, but posing as a dinosaur is a lot more fun than walking into a circle on the ground (and a lot less foreboding).
Other points of note:
• Parties were interested in seeing their pictures online
• Players would point to other teams to look legitimate
• Strangers were more apt to hold on to the flier if they knew the game rules were on the back (a serendipitous printing mistake)
Planned Changes
The second iteration will replace the circles with new, more playful tasks like the raptor pose, which the strangers must do for the players. These different tasks will result in different point multipliers and unlock new tasks.
Potential tasks include new animal-based poses, action shots (e.g. the strangers must be photographed in mid air), or convincing strangers to take pictures together with the players. The original core mechanic—taking pictures of as many strangers at once as possible—will be downgraded to be one of these tasks. These tasks make the game similar to a photographic scavenger hunt in which players must interact with their subjects.
By focusing on creating a more playful dynamic between strangers and players, the game will deemphasize shameful soliciting and highlight the players’ duty to bring strangers into the magic circle.
Minor changes:
• Intentionally printing rules on back of fliers
• Shorter game time – approx. 5 minutes
• Locations must focus on recreational areas such as parks