IDEA 135: Games at Work
Sketch 1: Event Score (3 Variations)
Instruction (Brecht, 1961) "Turn on a radio. At the first sound, turn it off."
Create three variations on an original "event score” in the style of the Fluxus artists.
Rules
Title your score. Use the same title for all variations.
- First, write your "event score." This score should be a set of simple instructions for a non-winnable, voluntary, interactive, playable experience in time. Use a minimum of one word and a maximum of 25 words.
- Second, create a hand-illustrated picture of your score. Your picture can be an illustration of what the experience would look like if people actually performed your event score in real life. Alternatively, it can be an abstraction or visualization (e.g. diagram or symbolic notation) of your score. Scan or photograph this hand-drawn picture.
- Third, rewrite your event score (variation 1) with a couple of adjustments. If your original score was not written in complete sentences, force your words into complete sentences (prose-ify your score). You must also add one new sentence that describes a "win condition" (ending point) for your playable experience. The win condition does not need to be perfectly rational or realistic.
Learning Objectives
- Try out a creative strategy for developing an unusual play experience
- Think about the way rules and instructions impact a player’s experience
- Consider the mechanics of interactive experience
- Get your freak on
Notes
- Your score can be performable/playable in real life, but it does not need to be. For the purposes of this assignment, the events will only take place in the reader's imagination. The important thing is to create a potent mental impression of a playable experience.
- If you’re stumped about what to write, browse the Fluxus Performance Notebook and try to locate event scores that spark your imagination or leave a vivid impression in your mind. Attempt to mimic the tone or writing style of the scores that interest you. If you’re still stumped, try using one of the "automatic" Surrealist word games to generate unpredictable content.