Stuck in a rut? Can’t seem to concentrate on your work? Play Mult, a game tailored to the individual. Before beginning, identify your base task, such as doing your laundry, boiling water for tea, or microwaving food. If there is no base task, click the ‘Just for Fun’ option in the Mult mobile app and set the timer according to your needs.Using the app, create your to do list for the day and assign points to each task. These points should reflect your belief in the underlying difficulty of each task.

When you are ready to play, click the ‘START’ button in the app and get to work on completing your tasks. Each time you complete a task, click the specific task in the app (the screen will flash green and a voice should say “congratulations” or “keep it up” or another phrase that provides positive reinforcement.

When the timer runs outs, the screen will flash red and an alarm will go off. When you are done, click the ‘FINISH’ button and the screen will show all the tasks you created and your points/seconds ratio. Your top 3 points/seconds ratio scores will be displayed.

the base task-boiling water for tea

In “gamifying” my play experience, I needed to create elements that clearly made the experience meaningful “play.”  I had to create consequences for not ending the tasks within the defined timeframe to have a clear boundary between playing the game and simply going about one’s day. Thus, I added the elements of a timer with an alarm, the positive reinforcements when completing a task, a randomized task list, and the points/seconds ratio. The timer adds conflict for the player and motivates the player to complete the tasks against time and creates a rush. The timer with an alarm conveys to the player that the game is over and they must click the end button or else their score will be lowered through a worse points/seconds ratio. The positive reinforcements in the form of a green flash on screen and statements like “you are amazing” and “keep it up” are designed to reward the player for completing a task and incentivizing the player to complete more.

Having a randomized task list differentiates the game’s tasks from the everyday tasks and creates a dilemma as the player considers the most strategic way to increase his/her score through task completion. Creating a score in the form of the points/seconds ratio allowed me to quantify what the player accomplished so that in subsequent rounds, the player would have a desire to beat their high score and have it displayed on the top scores scoreboard. Creating a score created a clear outcome and a race objective in trying to reduce the time taken to receive a higher score.

Thus, the player’s actions, though completing the same tasks that he/she would in the “real world,” are constrained by a set of rules that simplify his/her actions within the space of play. It is this clear boundary between the game and the ordinary routine, an artificiality that Salen and Zimmerman conclude is central to the definition of the game, that allows this game to be classified as play (Salen 11).

The game does appropriate a space as the ensuing play depends on the context of the player; the conditions of the environment shape what the base task is (whether the player chooses to boil water or to simply play against a timer) and can also shape the tasks the player chooses to do as many of the game elements are derived from elements of the player’s location. For instance, the player may opt to take out the trash, to tidy up shoes, to do the dishes, etc. Thus, a trash can can be appropriated into a prop for the game. As Miguel Sicart summarizes in Play Matters, the player contextualizes a new meaning of the objects within the specific space created by the boundaries of play (Sicart 14).

When my friends played, they did the game at the same time in the same space and thus, distracted each other in the spirit of “racing.” Rather than focusing on getting their tasks done, they tried to prevent each other from accomplishing tasks. Thus, I don’t think Mult would work as a multi-player game unless players had no intersection of environments. Additionally, the game is subjective to the individual as one determines their tasks and the respective point values. One friend gave higher values for similar tasks and thus, had a higher score. Additionally, this quantifiable outcome, even if the game is played at an individual level, is so dependent on the point determination in that particular instance, so in trying to beat one’s score, one simply has to define higher points in the beginning of the game. However, the phrase “cheating yourself” comes to mind as the score is merely one element of the game and rather the game experience is designed with the hope that the player simply breaks out of his/her ordinary routine. Thus, following this playtest, I decided on only making Mult a single player vs. game.

distracting another player writing an email

“racing” to take out the trash.

The game invites creation and expression as one can often find a new way of doing the ordinary within the constraints of the game. The game disrupts the typical routine and the space in which the player operates. However, the player can also lose himself/herself in the need to get tasks done, thus making the game go too far–destruction as a creative force becomes a dangerous one.

Since my game is not really applicable to all places, I decided to create it as a warmup at the gym. In addition to this, this game can be played in relation to specific themes and/or during special events (like Easter and Halloween). There isn’t a specific maximum number of players, but requires at least 2. So as a warmup, the game should be quite simple and easy to understand, and at the same time not so strenuous. The players should decide on a warmup distance to run (300m, 500m, 1km). The timer starts and then the players must start the task at the same time. There are 3 possible outcomes, win, lose, or a sort of in-between outcome. For a player to win, they must be the first one to complete the task, and therefore must wait for the other players to finish. Those who finish after the winner must perform 10 non-weighted squats, which is relatilively a very light punishment, and this would be the in-between winning and losing punishment. The loser, i.e the last player to finish the task must perform 15 burpees! (Because nobody likes burpees).

This counts as a game because there is a sense of friendly competition between the players, as well as a way to entertain the players since they would be able to play with one another as opposed to “work out” in the sense. The players would also be able to have a laugh at whoever has to end up doing the burpees., which contributes to the winning/losing idea.

This idea of the game is not to shame anyone or to make them feel bad. In fact, it might as well encourage players to be adapted to a more healthy lifestyle by incorporating physical activity in it.

As for the play area, it would be most suitable to be played in a gym as a starter or warmup game. However, this is not to say that the game cannot be taken outside to other places. Really what the game needs is several participants and space for them to be active. The only place that I would say that this game cannot be played is in areas that are not socially acceptable for the game to take place (formal events/in the kitchen). I believe that this transforms from “workout” to “game” because it requires the participants to socially interact with one another and communicate, as well as battle each other to avoid having to do more work, whereas in a regular workout you would have no “win”or “lose” situations. It may be hard for other observers to be aware that the game is taking place, but at the same time it would look like a group or community effort to the observer. The game is really initiated between the players and really takes place within the social circle.

The game also contributes to the construction and destruction aspect in the sense that construction = more time for the muscles to rest, and destruction = less time for the muscles to rest/use up more energy, so that players will be deterred from losing. There is the “draw” function that if two (or more) players finish first, they would not have to do anything, and if two (or more) players finish last, the burpee count would be reduced to 7. The idea of construction and destruction could also be pointed out using the analogy of building up muscles, and tearing them down, so that they will be able to get stronger. The strategy of this game would be to manage your energy levels and not burn out after a short period of time, thus making them slower. Each player would be able to show their individuality by their strategy of completing the task (i.e. going 100% through the whole task, or balancing their effort levels so that they won’t be tired out). Each person has a unique working style, so that would show on most participants. There is also the issue of cheating, i.e. only running 400m when asked to run 500m. This can be reduced while using the equipment, because the equipment literally counts the distance covered or calories burned. Without equipment, this can be addressed, for example, by asking the participants to move from point A to point B in an active way (e.g. running). To deter people from cheating, consequences will be issued to people who cheat, for example, count them as a loser or disqualify them.

Since my game is quite hard to apply at any time, I haven’t recorded any tries or tests because I haven’t had the chance to go the gym or find players to partake in the game yet.

Afro n Seek

Afro n Seek is a game about strategic thinking, hand dexterity, and time management. There are two players, one game board (my hair), and five objects (five cotton buds).

The two players are playing against each other. Player A is blindfolded, while Player B has to hide the five cotton buds inside of my hair. Player A then has to find the buds in my hair while still being blindfolded. Then, Player A and B swap places. The player who can find all five buds in the shortest amount of time wins the game.

Game test video:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1t2BhdBByROgw7LtK890wMdXlEWzPzxQx

Impressions of the players:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LN4edBL1D3GBGP0oj9oNOJx6uYamiPSU

Analysis: During the playtest, we were sitting in a student residential lounge on a sofa, but it could been player pretty much anywhere else so the context in this sense was not particularly essential to the course of the game. There is a clear goal; find the buds, and quickly. There wasn’t a story behind it, and my hair (nor the buds for the matter) did not symbolize anything. I chose buds because they are small enough not to be easily found, and shaped in such a way that it is easy to lodge them in my hair without falling. When I realized though that their bright color would make them easy to find, I came up with the idea of blindfolding the player. I also experimented with hiding an M&M is my hair, but I realized, after the candy came out of my hair white (it was blue when it entered), that that wouldn’t be completely hygienic. As for appropriating a space, we chose to have the game test in a residential lounge because it was night and that was a close-by well-lit space, but it really could have happened anywhere without appropriating a big space since we didn’t take much room. There was no one else besides me and the two players in the lounge at the time though, so I expect the game could be a lot funnier had we been in a more public space.

The game test went smoothly, as the two players quickly understood the rules and respected them throughout the game. I suppose that the lack of too complex rules/their straightforwardness also helped that. Neither of the players were too aggressive with my hair, and I actually found the treatment almost therapeutic. It might have gone differently with different players though. Both of the players reported having had fun and enjoyed the process, and I can say the same, so I’m glad. They also said that they liked the feeling of my hair texture, and that being blindfolded actually heightened the experience. One of them did however mention feeling “lost”, but that did not seem to bother her much. A few other observations:

• I did get hit once in my eyes, so eye protection for me might be useful.
• The game wouldn’t have worked had I shorter/straight hair. I also hadn’t washed my hair for a few days, so it was frizzier than usual. I’m not sure of how well the buds would have held onto my hair had I just washed it.
• “The longer the hair the better” the game might have been more fun had I longer hair (maybe in a few years?).

Assessment: Again, my game is very straightforward; it’s hard to play it “wrong” as all you have to do is rummage your hands through my hair until you find the buds. The part of the game that does involve creation is when the player has to hide the buds in my hair, where they might start thinking about where best to hide them so that the other player would have a harder time finding them. The part where the player has to extract the buds also evokes destruction, but the player has to be careful as not to damage the game board (a.k.a. tear out my hair or hit me). The general act of searching through my hair brought laughter to both the players and the board (me) during the playtest, so engaging with the game might be considered expressive in that way. The player who hides the buds may also express themselves by adding their own personal touch to where they hide it, but it is only to their own pleasure as neither the board (me) nor the other player (because they’re blindfolded) will be able to enjoy/look at it.

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