APD week 2 - Play and Time

Theme: Play and Time

Context:

To respond to this theme, Hayley Wilson and I decided to collaborate on a game. 

This week, the theme is Play and Time. After a brief introduction on this topic, We are interested in time as an independent and major vector that control the game. We are inspired by "Dear Data"(2016) which was developed by Stefanie Posavec and Giorgia Lupi. They have engaging communication by transmitting letters containing their personal data. Their method of communication has inspired me to use a different method to play games and connect people across different places.

The concept of using actual time as the strategy to design is a very unique technique. There is a popular game named "The Longing"(2019) in this field that uses time as an independent and major vector. In this game, the player basically has to wait for 400 actual days to solve the puzzle. It is designed to reveal hints and tips according to the actual calendar. This design characterises and escorts players to be patient and enjoy the time of playing more than just winning the game.

Response:

After discussing with Hayley, we have designed to redesign the game 4-in-a-row and play it in a spreadsheet. This could be a point of difference for our project in the field when we used spreadsheets as the method of playing and communicating. We tried to use different tables to record and store data. By using Google sheet equations, the spreadsheet can auto-generate results by just entering data daily. 

- Topics for collecting data:

How many cups of coffee have you had?

How many times have you checked the time?

How many people have you spoken to?

How many times did you open the fridge?

How many songs have you listened to?

- Winning Criteria for the game:

the Lower / the Higher Wins

We recorded the answers to all the questions each day. we met up at 8 pm each day through the Teams chatroom and played the game together. Finding the corresponding equation for cross-referencing the data was challenging at the beginning. Still, it is an interesting tool for game playing as we can sync and update data directly.

Method:

YouTube Link for 5-days gameplay screen recording: APD - game and time - testing - YouTube

Our game is designed to play for 5 days. We have 5 questions in total. We recorded the answers for each day. The spreadsheet randomly chose the question of the day and the winning criteria. Then the winner could place a tile in the sheet designed for playing 4-in-a-row. We decided to use google sheets for recording the data and playing the 4-in-a-row game. We input our data in a spreadsheet. The result was shown on the home spreadsheet with the pre-entered equations for auto-generating the result after inputting the data.

We communicated through google sheets and Teams chat as they can be sync automatically.

Reflective

The whole process of playing was healing and inspiring. We were not only playing games, but also communicated all the way. we were adding limited conditions, only texting and experiencing time, on the simple game 4-in-a-row. During the pandemic, people are losing connections. With the advantage of the Internet, we are able to communicate. However, sometimes we are task-oriented and impatient even in building relationships. The game that Haley and I have designed has reminded me of the fact. The game has not finished yet although we have designed it to be a 5-day game. This is also an inspiring part of the project as the result cannot be predicted. The topic and winning criteria each day is different and randomly generated by the computer. The result cannot be prepared for and can only be revealed at the end of the day. We can focus more on ourselves and our partner's daily habits regarding on how to win. The formation of social ritual in this game reminds me of a popular game "Animal Crossing"(2001) in which community and game are intertwined. People have to spend time in development and social networking in a game. A strong connection between players can also be found in our game when all data created are based on our habits in daily life. The whole game is engaging and emerged in our daily life when we play the game for a longer period of time. The project we have done is more of a prototype, which has the potential for further development later on.

References:

Nintendo."Animal Crossing".2001.Game

Studio Seufz."The Longing".2019.Game

Stefanie Posavec and Giorgia Lupi."Dear Data".2016.Project. Website Dear Data (dear-data.com)

WallStreetmojo. "IF AND Excel Statement - How to Use this Formula?" From IF AND Excel Statement - How to Use this Formula? (wallstreetmojo.com)

Svetlana Cheusheva. "IF AND formula in Excel". 2021. From IF AND in Excel: nested formula, multiple statements, and more (ablebits.com)

Svetlana Cheusheva. "Excel IF statement with multiple AND/OR conditions, nested IF formulas, and more".2021. From Excel IF statement with multiple AND/OR conditions, nested IF formulas, etc. (ablebits.com)