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Time to kick some ASSSSSS!
Jan. 17th, 2014 10:46 pmLast night's dream:
I'm at a big convention/playtest thing. A vast expo hall stretches out in all directions, packed with tables. At each table, a single player sits, as groups stand, looking on. At each table is a solo boardgame, different games in different states of polish; some are very professional-looking, others are hastily printed out on bits of paper. The whole convention hall is dead silent, save the gentle sounds of game pieces being moved, shuffled, inspected, played. No-one speaks.*
I'm demoing a game about trying to take a nice shower: juggling the temperature, managing water pressure, getting things clean, etc. It's being pretty well received. A middling-length queue is forming as, somehow, word of mouth spreads.
As each player finishes their play, I silently usher them past my table and up a short flight of stairs, onto a stage, into a soundproof glass booth, where they'll be debriefed, their impressions and feedback recorded. The glass is one-way; the hall can see in, but the playtester can't see out. They are on display, the name of the game they just played projected onto the glass, but, on the inside of the booth, they are alone.
I'm not sure why that's important, but it's very important.
The calm is broken as a side door slams open. A teen girl, perhaps 13, bursts in, clutching a red and white shoebox.
"Time to kick some ASSSSSS!" she yells, flinging the lid from the box. A torrent of feet come flying out, swirling around the room, viciously kicking people, startling them into sharp cries.
*Possibly inspired by Linette's tales of the silent party she attended.
I'm at a big convention/playtest thing. A vast expo hall stretches out in all directions, packed with tables. At each table, a single player sits, as groups stand, looking on. At each table is a solo boardgame, different games in different states of polish; some are very professional-looking, others are hastily printed out on bits of paper. The whole convention hall is dead silent, save the gentle sounds of game pieces being moved, shuffled, inspected, played. No-one speaks.*
I'm demoing a game about trying to take a nice shower: juggling the temperature, managing water pressure, getting things clean, etc. It's being pretty well received. A middling-length queue is forming as, somehow, word of mouth spreads.
As each player finishes their play, I silently usher them past my table and up a short flight of stairs, onto a stage, into a soundproof glass booth, where they'll be debriefed, their impressions and feedback recorded. The glass is one-way; the hall can see in, but the playtester can't see out. They are on display, the name of the game they just played projected onto the glass, but, on the inside of the booth, they are alone.
I'm not sure why that's important, but it's very important.
The calm is broken as a side door slams open. A teen girl, perhaps 13, bursts in, clutching a red and white shoebox.
"Time to kick some ASSSSSS!" she yells, flinging the lid from the box. A torrent of feet come flying out, swirling around the room, viciously kicking people, startling them into sharp cries.
*Possibly inspired by Linette's tales of the silent party she attended.
