Talk:Beneath The Watchful Eyes

Old forum comments

(The Ludocity website previously had integrated forums, but they fell into spam-covered decline and were shut down in 2015. The comments in this section have been automatically converted from that forum.)

Request for comments on this design (still a bit vague in some areas, I know). This design came out of discussing how to increase the Orwellian/Surveillance themes in the Playmakers game.

Would all the r/c and wireless stuff cause too much interference? --benhenley (talk) 2009-06-16 17:15:50

Great theme. I'm not sure how tough life would get for the surveillance team, though, if the counter-surveillance crew were staying sharp and out of shot for the whole game, and if you only had two or three surprise blimps and cars to creep up on them with.

If you've already got actors as security guards, they could adapt their behaviour to adjust the difficulty. Having a walkie-talkie link to the guards would actually be quite cool, allowing the players to watch the guards on the screens and tell them to check out suspicious behaviour. The guards could all start as grumpy jobsworths who need a really convincing reason to leave their post and challenge someone, but if the game needs it later on, they could be persuaded into chasing people down.

The fake-ticket idea is nice. What split of players are you imagining, from the 8-12? Half on each team? --Kevan (talk) 2009-06-16 20:41:36

KD: "I'm not sure how tough life would get for the surveillance team, though, if the counter-surveillance crew were staying sharp and out of shot for the whole game, and if you only had two or three surprise blimps and cars to creep up on them with."

Yes, I think balancing this game is tricky and site-dependent, and involves careful consideration of the number/placement of surveillance devices, the playing zone and exactly how much control the state team has over the guards.

I think giving the state team a pair of binoculars and a vantage point that covers, say, half the playing area, would be a big buff in their favour. Also, perhaps they could have an intelligence report which gives hints as to where the subversives have objectives? So the state can position the blimp to try and cover those - and the subs could try to lure it away, by acting suspicious round a corner.

You could also make the playing area quite small - I mean, a toy-grade R/C blimp can only operate inside, anyway. So picture the state team in a room in the Barbican, or in the Spirit Level, and the subs team trying to operate in the main hall of the building...

Also, you could forbid the subs to leave the HSZ, kettling stylee. That would make it hard for them to organise without being sure they weren't being eavesdropped on. Maybe that is actually a better rule.

The split would again depend on the exact site and rules. I would say even, or with a bigger game, maybe more subversives than state. --benhenley (talk) 2009-06-17 09:32:17

Sounds cool. Cheap(ish) surveillance devices are available as kids' toys from this site: http://www.spygear.net/ These ones sell more expensive, professional ones: http://cubefresh.co.uk/catogory/index.php?id=46&gclid=COeJhOKMkpsCFaAU4wodp1iJpg ^^^ MOD supplier! and this one: http://www.kgbcameras.co.uk/cameras/2ghz.htm --Peads (talk) 2009-06-17 21:09:39

We actually have a fledgling page of prop suppliers, now - feel free to pad that out with any useful resources you know of.

Limiting the counter-surveillance team to the HSZ is a good move; you could start them off in a comfortable "living quarters" area in which they'll initially sit around and discuss their plans, and see how long it takes them to notice that there's a microphone and camera mounted on the wall.

(Dotting a few cheap, fake cameras or devices around the playing area would also add to the fun. You can get a blinking LED for 30p; just tape it to a lithium battery.) --Kevan (talk) 2009-06-21 11:08:00