Day 1, Log Book

Team:  Q-Team 

Game: Running Blind

From the very first beginning we invented a game based on a pain concept.

Running Blind– I can’t see, what you are hearing)

Two users are participating in it, having a balloon between their backs and the front person is blind and the back person is silent (not allowed to speak).

For this intent we built two helmets of cardboard, one with a slot around the eyes and the other helmet with a slot around the mouth.

These cardboard helmet made it even difficult to understand each other, because the sound has a short resonance within the helmet.

Within this constellation the users have to find a way through a field full of obstacles, meaning they can choose to walk a path but when they are stepping aside this path, they will step into something uncomfortable (Lego bricks, water, soap etc.)

Based on this Idea we favor all the elements beside the pain. And came up with the conclusion: a person can feel uncomfortableness without getting injured in somehow. Beside this the implementation of any smartphone-device as a requirement, was a challenge.

So we decided to use the program/app Skype to connect two cameras with each other.

So the front person will see through the smartphone, what the back person sees, and through this navigate this person through some obstacles, with the balloon between their backs.

We constructed for the front person a holder for the iPad whereas the user has to hold it in front of his face and thereby the surroundings are hidden from his sight, beside what Skype shows on the display (which would be the sight of the other user).

So the game still is going to be a full body experience, we want the leader to give instructions to the other user to fulfill those obstacles. Here we came up with simple chores, which would be difficult for the users to go through.

First, there will be wooden bricks which have to be placed into a box, shaped with holes of the bricks. We know this concept from children’s toys.

Second, a goal with a tiny ball and the user who is blind has to kick it into this.
Third, there are three boxes turned around and underneath them the user can find the horn to signal the end of the game.

So we believe this game is about collaborating, trust and communicating really detailed to make the other person understand what has to be done so the chores are completed.

Challenges within this game: there has to be a well signaled Wi-Fi connection to make skype work well.

If this isn’t the case the picture will be blurry, freezing or the connection will fail.

This will create a different experience than we intended to.

Our first test went unexpected difficult, there was plenty room for improvements. We attached the smartphone of the seeker on the helmet. So the leader had to rethink when he instructed the other person to the left or right since it was the opposite of his own. The team didn’t go through the lines we attached to the ground and got lost early. No chores were completed by this team.

Improvements: Making the phone of the back person more flexible (not attached to helmet) because she couldn’t look all the way down. Second, maybe the teams should see the parkour first so they have an idea what to do and within the chores.

Second testing went better since we showed the users first what kind of chores have has to be done and how the parkour looked like. The internet-connection failed several times, which made it difficult for this team to complete the game smoothly.