Hey Chickentown is one year old. Here’s a postmortom
Resources:
http://organizingforpower.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/games-theater-of-oppressed.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGWhjojt5dw (His delivery is a bit dry in this, but in performances I’ve seen a lot more emotion was shown)
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/613583
Inspiration/Intention
In the description of my first game I noted Augusto boal as a direct inspiration for the piece. He was a theater practitioner that specializes in more interactive forms of theater, one about getting the community to join in. To help spread his style he wrote a book called “games for actors and non-actors” and its the first 2 games in that book which initially gave me the idea of the game. The idea being that i would try and digitise the physical movements of the exercises to share these mechanics. The book details how these mechanics teach certain morals that can be learnt from playing it, and it was originally my intention to do something similar here, but i eventually scrapped the more instructive parts in order to focus more on the emotional properties, which was more inspired by my second noted inspiration, chickentown.
Chickentown is a poem about being stuck in a place, having this feeling of misery, frustration of not being able to get out. It describes a bleak and depressing situation, Diseased minds, rats and unfairness, each introduced line by line with an initially shocking swear. though as it progresses just becomes part of a long sense of numbness. The repetition at that point only highlighting how long the poem is, how exhaustingly drab the situation is. This poem really helped me realise what I wanted the game to be, I wanted to make a game communicated this same state.
Execution
Now for the nuts and bolts of the design.
As i discussed earlier I got the main mechanism for the game from Boal’s games for actors and non actors, and that I attempted to digitise 2 of them. One of the mechanic I took was is one so simple that you’ve probably played it.
1.put one hand on you belly
2.put the other hand on your head
rub your belly and pat your head at the same time.
( I should say that I’m guilty of not actually owning the book, torrent or otherwise, so I don’t know if this game is just part of some larger game in the book)
From what I remember this was meant to convey how something that’s difficult at first, becomes easier over time.
To translate this I basically took the concept of the having to do 2 very different exercises at the same time, and change them so that it could affect things on the screen.
Since the movement mechanic was more influenced by the second game I’ll talk about the obstacles first. To get past certain walls, the player has to press either the Q, M, I or C key to make them disappear (or cheat by pressing all at once but i’ll get back to that) This makes the player move their keyboard hand around in a loop. Mimicking one of the action of rubbing the belly. This qmic mechanic was put in to make the piece more frustrating than anything else.
The second game is called columbian hypnosis
A pair of 2 is split into two roles, A and B. A puts their hand out and B most keep their face at exactly 5 inches away from A hand. A most then move their hand around, causing B to have to contort their body to keep their face aligned with A’s hand. The two then switch roles.
This game is about power, the Player A has all the power, while Player B feels powerless. It was this powerlessness that i wanted to the player to feel. So this is how the movement for the character was conceived.
To move the character, you have to click down and the character will move towards the mouse at a fixed rate, moving the mouse further away doesn’t speed the square up. It goes at a constant speed (a translation to having a fixed distance). In retrospect I think i should of had a slight speed up when you move further away, And just balance the levels so its impossible to not have to do that. The effect would be of having larger sweeping movements, Forcing the contortion of the mouse movement. As it stands though i think most players instinct would make them do that anyway.
Now at this point you might of thought that since the player is both Role A and B. That the translation of this game into flash was unsuccessful, that because the player controls both the mind and the body (the hand of role A, as it tells the body what to do)It doesn’t work because the point of the exercise is to observe the power between 2 people. I disagree. When you play chicken town, you’re not the one deciding where to go, I am. The designer in this instance is role A, as they are the one who made the level. And it is the level that controls you
There’s a level in this game that i think demonstrates this rather well.
On this level, you come to a fork in the road, you can either go left or right to get to the end. If you go down the right lane, a dangerous line (if you cross it you have to restart) comes from that side, making it impossible to go down that lane. Now if that lane wasn’t blocked of by that line. Then it would of been your decision. But by spawning that line i denied that choice. I showed my power over the player. Being player A.
The rest of the levels are completely linear, with no creative decisions throughout the game. It is just action, an oppressive action. It is the walls that decide where you move, it is the lines that decide how quickly you need to turn. Not you. You’re just following orders.
While i still think that the Boal version of the game works better overall. I do think that this version highlights something interesting. In my mind, the mouse represents the mind. It can move anywhere and do anything, but inside the game, it is limited by the body, If the levels represent your surroundings (because it is your surroundings) , then the body becomes a slave to surroundings while the mind becomes a slave to the body. In boals game the connection to the mind is less obvious, though i’m not sure that showing this really adds much.
The first choice
For players paying attention. They find that you can just press all the keys at once, and they will all disappear. This was intentional. Once the player realises this, they might feel some glee, “ha I broke your game” is the thought. “ I broke the system”. Soon after though, something becomes apparent. Pressing all the keys down at once hurts. A hidden choice is revealed. Do i hurt myself in order to make it easier for me to win?. Any sane person would of chose not to right? I don’t know.
Later in the game this choice is rendered mute however. As the Key walls are placed too close together and the line moves too fast, making it impossible not to hurt yourself.
Along with reinforcing the emotional backbone of the piece. This also shows how environments affect different people differently. When i play, the size of my hands makes it painful for me to play. For other people with bigger hands however, it might be easy. I thought at the the time that it was important to show that not everyone is affected the same way by their environment, some get it worse than others. Now, while i still agree with the sentiment, I don’t really know if was worth making the experience stronger for some people, and weaker for others.
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The second choice
At the end of the game you have a choice, move into a square, trapped forever in a box, Having to press all the keys down at once, symbolising eternal agony. Alternatively you could trying to move on, but having to pass a laser, which you’ve been taught will only result in an annoying noise and a restart. Of course if you do go past it turns out to a false line, and you are treated to a nice open ending. The background changed to blue and you’re no longer stuck in tight corridors, Freedom. If the message of the body of the piece is about how our environment and how it affects us, becoming submissive to the whims of the designer, not having a choice. Then the ending is about what happens when the player is finally given one. After all that would they even recognize that there was a choice. Would they just follow what the game has taught you or go against it. Would they just stumble into one of the choices at random. What does it mean if they did?
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While I think the ending works well enough i personally feel that it doesn’t quite fit the piece altogether. Its the only time that i try to give any explicit ‘message’ and it just kind of comes off as simplistic and dull, a ugly mish mash of metaphors and systems.
Not emotional enough
If there’s one thing that separates this work from the rest of my portfolio, its that this game is the most emotionally dull, the mechanics were made to make you frustrated, but they didn’t makeyou that frustrated. The visuals made you feel depressed, but not that depressed. Hitting all the keys at once caused pain, but not that much pain, and not if you had big hands. The whole piece just isn’t very effecting is my point. All the metaphorical stuff is good, i am a nerd for delving into meaning and what things truly mean, but in my first attempt I got so caught up in that aspect I forgot completely about the emotional response. And the emotional response is what’s important about the meaning. You can’t derive any meaning from something that you don’t any reaction too. It doesn’t affect you therefore you can’t really understand it.
I think the problem here is not with the mechanics themselves, Just my implementation of them. If i had more letters, that were randomised each time, it would make pressing them more stressful. If i made it that dieing put you back to the start, death would be more meaningful and frustrating. If i had a background of people crying and screaming, instead of some nice relaxing rain (what the hell was i thinking), it would put you on edge more . Of course i didn’t do this because then no one would complete it, but so what. If the player had just spent 10 minutes in this game, then they would of gone away with more understanding than if they had got to the end of the the currently existing one.The end isn’t even all that good. Yeah sure you’re trapped for all eternity, doesn’t feel like that though. Your set free, yeah ok, sure. For a game that is so supposedly about emotions, a feeling of depression.It is certainly lacking in any depression, just a meaningless confusion.
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THE END
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I would like to say here that i’m not just talking about increasing the difficulty (though thats part of it) Its about going bigger, visuals, subject, everything. If i were to remake Chicken town. I would want to make it hurt.
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Bonus choice:
All media have at least 1 choice. Interactive or not. And thats whether or not to keep going.
When we begin a piece of media, we only have a promise of whether or not it will be what it says or not. Its inherently risky. Its lucky then, that in this universe, that we can leave a piece as soon as it becomes too uncomfortable (with maybe the exception of cinemas, were social obligation keeps you seated)
In most cases, this choice is regarded as something outside the work. Not within the intentions of artist. Here, while it isn’t a major part of the work, isn’t the case.
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