Talk:Surveillance (Playmakers 03)

Old forum comments

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So this mostly worked okay, I think, but with a couple of problems:We didn't really defeat the "one person grabs the camera and runs with it" effect - Rachel Millward suggested that a five-minute discussion period for planning would help with this. The traitors felt quite isolated - we need some sort of mechanism for them to identify each other. I agree that a Werewolf-style "red team, open your eyes" would probably cause problems - stopping 45 people from cheating is a challenge. But maybe we could take the mechanic from Night of the Vampire, where people get numbered cards, the traitors are, say, 3 and 6, and the traitor cards say "Number 6 is the other traitor" or "Number 3 is the other traitor". Everyone counts off so the traitors identify each other - and people's tone of voice and movements give a reason for suspicion and paranoia, which is always nice. --Holly (talk) 2009-05-14 13:07:14

It seems like a potential problem with this game is that one person takes control of moving the camera around and leaves the rest of their team with little to do. This wasn't my experience when I played it at the ICA, but some players mentioned it happened at Sandpit #11.

A possible fix would be to issue each team with one real camera/tripod, and one or more dummies. So each team would naturally divide between a small group controlling the real camera, and one or more groups trying to confuse the other teams by acting like their dummy is a real camera. In addition, a clever team would swap ownership of the dummy and real cameras.

To make it possible to distinguish the dummies and the real cameras on film, Holly suggested fitting blinking IR lights to the dummies. Of course, the players would be able to see the lights through the camera viewfinders and spot the dummy, but they would have to spend time orienting the camera, or possibly chasing a dummy that they spotted going round a corner, and so on. --benhenley (talk) 2009-05-22 12:15:29

Can we solve this by having more roles? If the tripod's heavy enough, it'll take two people to carry it (+grunt). Then we add an external microphone on a boom (+sound guy), which means cables, so we need someone to prevent tangles (+grip?). Then we give double-points for footage that has a reporter in near-field narrating what we're seeing (+reporter, possibly +writer and +autocue-guy). Perhaps we give clues as the game progresses about where items or teams are, over CB or mobile (+comms officer). Am I making this too complicated? --gwyn (talk) 2009-05-22 13:34:26

New ruleset

Feedback requested - new game ruleset for Playmakers follows:

I have been round Soho today, I think that having 12 people round a tripod on Soho Streets is going to be really impossible. It's too crowded, too many cars, too difficult to do anything really without getting on (possibly quite drunk or a policeman) people's nerves.

Have been trying to think of a game that addresses this...

How about:

Tripods have a a large stick that goes up from tripod, with an A4 ring binder in plain paper horizontally attached to the top. The ring binder type thing has large numbers written on it in ascending order 0 - 50.

Tripod holders can only move at WALKING PACE with STEADY HANDS. Any fast movement of tripod or jiggly footage results in DISQUALIFICATION.

The three tripods, with one player carrying them, start in Soho Square.

All the other players start in Golden Square.

The usual rules about filming opposing players and tripods apply.

When a player finds his team's tripod, he takes over the filming and the 'score' displayed on the A4 binder goes up by 1.

Tripods with a higher score than opposing tripods are immune to filming. Players leaving the tripod become vulnerable to filming. Tied scores can film one another

Players must exit the vicinity of the tripod once they have replaced.

Tripods can film the following objects for points: (3 seconds static filming to score)

Surveillance cameras Space Invaders Blue Plaques Red Phone Booths

Players not in charge of the tripod can move as quickly as they like, bearing in mind that safety in Soho, with crowded pavements and busy roads, is at a premium. --Alex Fleetwood (talk) 2009-05-31 20:14:38