Well, once again I’m late in following up with any kind of evaluation of our pervasive game at the Winterwell Halloween party. Our camera guy pulled out a few days before, and then on the night both of my Flips went down (slightly less of an advocate now..) and we were left with just a Kodak Sport (which was really bought for outdoor stuff).
So, the video is still on its way (very nearly done, just need to add the voice-over for the headless horseman) and we will share it imminently. But for now I thought I would share the lessons we’ve learnt so far , that we’re currently planning how to learn from for our 2011 activities.
And I’ve included a few photos of the Victorian Villains while we’re waiting for the video – more can be found on the re-vamped Winterwell site…
Things we’ve had success with:
- Integrating story across marketing materials -
- Having some kind of visible totem to demonstrate participation (to both other players and those that have yet to join in) – balloons, tickets, tattoos
- Having a separate area that people can only access if they’ve competed / completed activities in the game
- Using comperes / MCs on stage to help deliver storyline and incentivize engagement
- Creating more intense individual experiences away from the rest of the action
- Having very visible hosts / areas
- Riffing off people’s outfits / characters / actions
Not going so hot just yet:
- Trying to convey too much storyline to big groups / on stage
- Running activities (for more than very small groups) late at night
- Asking people to engage straight-off in games / storyline
Challenges we need to work through:
- Conveying different aspects to / levels of narrative depending on what people are exposed to and how far they follow the trail
- Evolving the narrative as you go – in particular in response to players responses
- Distinguishing between actors / game-makers, players and punters – many of whom will be better dressed up than you
Things we need to make more of:
- Creating teaser content to seed out
- Starting the story / game in advance through social media engagement
- Integrating other entertainment on stage, around the event / festival
- Championing and rewarding the most engaged players
- Creating cohesive and compelling content from people’s individual experiences (ie having a dedicated film unit)
- Integrating music (with both the live experience and the follow up content)
- Creating a permanent secret / protected area that only some people can access
- Getting players to understand that they can make decisions as to how to respond / that they can affect the outcome
- Setting up different sides with different motivations and angles on the story
So we’ll be working on these as we go – with a test run smaller scale project in the Spring, then the full Winterwell festival in June. More to come soon, let us know if you want to help out or come along…
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