picture the impossible - meaningful play 2016

Picture the Impossible:Designing & Deploying a City-Wide ARG

Elizabeth LawleyRochester Institute of Technology

School of Interactive Games & Media • MAGIC Center

lawley.rit.edu

Let’s get some programmers together and put on a game!Let’s get some kids together and put on a show!

Budget: $0

THE DESIGN PROCESS

LearnExploreGiveSocialize

Location Games

2000+Players

6500 posts

907 threads

0 trolls/flames

66%Female

150Photosynths

~300SCVNGRplayers/week

Learn ExploreGiveSocialize

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http://bit.ly/ptivideos

IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED

Extended F2F Time is Critical

Large Scale Games Are Labor Intensive

Financial Support Doesn’t Have to be Cash on Hand

Financial Support Doesn’t Have to be Cash on Hand

• Design Consulting: $4,000 (Newspaper)• Supplies & Gala Party: $13,000

(Bing)• Summer Student Pay: $10,000

(RIT)• Individual Prizes: $5,000 (Kodak)• Donations: $17,000 (2 local

foundations)TOTAL: $46,000

Leadership Must Model Collaboration

Want to Know More?

lawley.rit.eduliz@lawley.net

slideshare.net/mamamusings

PTI Videos: bit.ly/ptivideos