leeta

Available to play here!

Throughout the course of the semester, I was taught many different methods of art expression and how they’ve impacted us years later. It is because of this that I was able to grow as an aspiring game designer. I really appreciated the fact that we were able to work with different mediums in order to convey our own unique messages.

That being said, playing around with different mediums helped me to develop my own aesthetic and to figure out what type of games I truly enjoyed creating: therapeutic and uplifting games, which I found interesting since my favorite genres of games tend to lean more toward violence. I really enjoy making others smile, and through games, I found that I could also express that.

For this piece in particular, I decided to focus on two topics I hadn’t really touched upon in the past: trust and deception. While keeping these in mind, I also tried to incorporate therapeutic themes into the piece.

In my initial playtest, the player was thrown into a chatroom with an anonymous user. They were then given the option to either make normal conversation with the other player or to pry into their personal life and determine who was on the other side.  The goal was to build up a level of trust with the AI in order for them to open up to you.

After playtesting, I realized that the original goal of the game seemed a bit lost, so I decided to make some changes and switch it around.  Now, the user enters the chat with who they think is an online friend. The narration describes how the two of you have been talking for awhile and have established a foundation of trust. Later in the game, however, you encounter a demon that disguises themselves as your best friend. Based upon their actions and narrative, it is your job to determine who is actually behind the text and to determine who it is that you trust. Previously, the idea was that the other user was trying to open up to you, but I felt as though it would be more powerful if the game took place from your own perspective.

During the beginning of the class, I really took a liking to Yoko Ono’s pieces and the interaction that was provoked from her work. Although some of them seemed silly, I found most of them to be rather therapeutic, and thus I took inspiration from Yoko’s work.

I also enjoyed seeing my peers develop their own individual styles and to see how this impacted their final projects at the end of the semester. Seeing other takes and perspectives on projects really helped to further develop my game design skills, and I believe it will be a very useful tool later on in the workplace and other aspects of life.  I do wish we had more opportunities, as peers, to collaborate with one another on projects, as this could’ve been both useful and intuitive.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this class and felt as though I had learned a lot. I’ve met many amazing and talented people throughout the semester who have also helped me to grow. I would highly recommend this course to future game designers, but also to any other students wishing to grow and to develop their own styles.

Self-esteem is something many people struggle with today, including myself. I enjoy being able to make therapeutic exercises and wanted to create an interactive piece that could help others to feel better about themselves.  I also wanted to create more interaction between people while they complete mundane tasks such as waiting for the elevator or coming back from classes. While doing said things, people tend to not want to socialize and continue on their way. I knew this would be a difficult obstacle to tackle, so I tried to look at different approaches to the problem.

A reoccurring trend that I’ve really taken a liken to lately is to create something therapeutic and to bring a smile to someone’s face. Initially, I was inspired by the Crosswalk Ballet piece in which was presented in class. Although premeditated, I loved how it brought people together and allowed for the public to also interact with the piece. It brought a liveliness to an otherwise mundane task in the daily life of the city dweller. I took inspiration from this and wondered how I could recreate a similar effect without having people directly interact with one another.

In my piece, I wanted to incorporate some of these elements indirectly. Since confrontation with strangers can be unnerving and awkward, I wanted to create a way for the passerby to interact with others in a positive way without doing it directly.  My idea was to create a space for the public to donate uplifting phrases and ideas to others.

In order to prompt others to join in, several phrases were written out on different pieces of colored paper and placed into a bag. A sign was then placed alongside the bag, pen and writing pad that read “Take One or Give one”.

Due to time constraints, I was only able to execute the piece in one location, that being the East Village lobby. Initially, I had wanted to place it in two different places: one social setting, and outside of the health center where people may really need uplifting thoughts.

Upon execution, I was intrigued to see that people were afraid to either approach the piece or reach into the bag. Several people had stuck their hand into the bag, but as soon as they realized that the bag was filled with crumpled papers, they pulled their hand out and carried on with their normal routine.

I feel as though prompting people to take from the bag was successful and that they liked the idea of free stuff, however the excitement was lost once they realized they were only getting pieces of paper. Perhaps if the papers were disguised in a different way and if someone were to have moderated the piece as opposed to it being anonymous, the execution could’ve been more successful.

If I were to test this in a social setting such as a party, I feel as though it would interfere with the initial goal of my piece (to give others motivational words),  however it wouldn’t deter from making others smile. In this case, the social setting would have been a better location for this piece.

You’re trying to get a promotion at work and compete with your coworkers to see who gets promoted first. During your 9 AM-5 PM shift, you try to make a lasting impression with your boss. The game ends when everyone reaches the 8-hour mark, and the player with the most points wins.

Materials:

• Index cards (or small sheets of paper)
• Button pins
• Writing utensil
• D6

Rules:

• Each index card represents a player’s time card.
• Each turn, the player rolls the D6. The number rolled determines how long it took to complete a task. Each number on the die constitutes the number of half-hours the task took to complete.
• Before the turn ends, the user draws a chance card*. Chance cards can grant the user bonus points, add time to the user’s task, or give no additional effects depending on the outcome.
• If the user assists another player, the user gains a token, which can be pinned to their clothing (optional).
• Players can steal tokens from others or take from the pile.
• Once a player hits the 8-hour mark, they are not allowed to take any further turns. Those remaining in the game are not allowed to steal tokens from these players.

*If you run out of chance cards, reshuffle the deck.

Artist Statement

In the beginning stages, I was a little confused and had trouble grasping a clear concept. I understood the definition, in words, of appropriation, but struggled trying to translate it into a playable game. I was too caught up on aesthetics and didn’t pay enough attention to the meaning of the objects I selected so that I could manipulate them in such a way. Luckily, this is where playtesting comes in, and I am able to make changes based on feedback from others.

In the first iteration of this game, the objective wasn’t very clear, as I was a little unsure of what exactly I wanted to appropriate in order to create this game. Initially, the goal was to finish all of your tasks without going over the allotted time. While this was an okay objective to start out with, there wasn’t much context or motivation to back up the original objective. After playtesting the first iteration and taking feedback into consideration, I was able to recreate a better idea.

After learning about the Dada movements and having prior knowledge of Fluxus and the idea of happenings, I came to appreciate the idea of an object being used in a new way while still being able to portray and capture its original meaning. In the beginning, it was a little difficult for me to grasp this concept, as I was so set on creating a specific game with specific aesthetics.

I incorporated the use of buttons in this piece to call attention to the nature of the workplace. While they were used as a means of racking up points, each token had a character trait inscribed on them, which mirrored the user’s “reputation” with the boss throughout the game. Since the tokens were made of buttons, the users had the option to wear them, which would further emphasize the fact that they were being used as labels. I also incorporated the mechanic of being able to steal from other players to show that what your boss sees isn’t necessarily what actually occurs in the workplace.

After playtesting the final iteration, it was interesting to see how competitive the game became. Players quickly adapted to the idea of the tokens also being used as labels, which made the game much more effective. While I did enjoy Fluxus’s idea of happenings, this piece was more heavily influenced by Dada in a sense that I wanted to call attention to the meaning of labels in the workplace while incorporating everyday items and office supplies.

Overall, I enjoyed reading about Dada and learned that by appropriating objects in this manner, we are able to develop a new perspective despite having a general idea of what an object’s purpose and use is generally for. This is a practice I enjoyed, as it gave a bit of an obstacle to work with, which allowed for more creativity throughout the game design process. I, again, was pleased with the outcome and would greatly enjoy using this method as a means of developing future games and ideas.

This a chance-based game in which players compete with the clock. Players must complete their tasks within the allotted time. Those who go over the time lose. Each die roll constitutes one half-hour. The given work shift is from 9 AM- 5 PM.

Materials:

• Cork board (or piece of cardboard)
• Thumb tacks (if mounting onto wall)
• Index cards (or small sheets of paper)
• Writing utensil
• D6

Rules:

• Each index card represents a player’s work schedule.
• Each turn, the player rolls the D6. The number rolled determines the number of tasks the user has completed.
• Before the turn ends, the user draws a chance card*. Based on the outcome, time is either added or subtracted from the player’s schedule.
• Whoever goes over their shift time loses. The last person standing wins.

*If you run out of chance cards, reshuffle the deck.

Take a piece of toilet paper

Grab a pen of any color

Write down any insecurities clouding your mind

Quickly review your work

Rip the paper into a million pieces

Throw the pieces into the wind

Can also be burned or flushed

Inspired by Yoko Ono’s “Kite Piece III”, I wanted to create a scenario in which the subject is forced to disconnect with a negative piece of their persona that may be weighing them down.

In “Kite Piece III”, the audience is prompted to create kites made from photographs of themselves before calling others in to shoot the kites down. Although it’s not directly stated, I interpreted the piece in a sense that the reader must learn to let go of the things holding them down in order to move on; to be able to breathe.

By physically writing down any insecurities, the subject is able to collect their thoughts and place said doubts directly in front of them. I believe this step is important in order to fully realize your insecurities and to be able to let them go. For me, it was a very therapeutic exercise, as I tend to be a very self-conscious individual and am constantly weighing myself down with self-doubt. By following through this procedure, I feel as though I was able to put my mind at ease and to temporarily forget my worries. The physical detachment of the paper from my hand emphasized the action of “throwing away your negative thoughts”. I could’ve ended the piece by just having the subject walk away from the paper, however this wouldn’t have had the same effect.

In the beginning stages of this assignment, I would read through Yoko Ono’s works and try to relate them back to everyday situations that we deal with in our society. While many of these pieces were impossible to recreate in real-time, there was much insight and inspiration to be gained from them. Although this score did not mirror Ono’s work directly, I tried to recreate an interpretation of her work. While lack of confidence is something I personally deal with, it is also a problem that is widely seen within our society, and I thought it would be important to touch upon that subject. I wanted to create something that would not only be a mindful exercise for others, but also something that I could personally relate back to. In Ono’s piece, the subject is prompted  to ask others to shoot their kites down. In contrast, I believe it is more effective for the subject to “shoot down their own kites” in order to truly feel as though they are letting go, hence the last three lines of the score.

The final line of the score is to reiterate the fact that the subject is disconnecting from the negativity that was written down on the paper; the things that were once weighing the subject down. Once this step is completed, the subject is then able to take a step back and breathe.

In summary,  it’s important for people as individuals to let go of the things that are clouding their mind, whether it be through therapeutic exercises or other procedures. This score is merely a procedure to help with this process without exerting much time or effort.