Dave Young - Response to Workshop Prototype

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Working Title

Another Theory of Play and Fantasy

About

The message that went out as part of the call for participants:

"We therefore meet in play with an instance of signals standing for other events, and it appears, therefore, that the evolution of play may have been an important step in the evolution of communication." from A Theory of Play and Fantasy, by Gregory Bateson

As part of my graduate project research, I am conducting a workshop that explores the emergence of patterns and systems in social dynamics. Participants will be given the task of creating a "new society" using the game Micropolis, according to a list of specific rules and within a time limit. This will be followed by a group feedback session, where we will discuss the systems that were revealed to the participants while they were playing the game, and what they might tell us about the functioning of society on a wider scale.

I am particularly looking for first year students, or those not already overly-familiar with my research to attend, but all are welcome to join if they're interested. The duration of the workshop will be approximately 90 minutes. It will also be documented as part of my graduate project.

Setup

The workshop took place in the small project space, from 2pm, and running for just under 2 hours. While I had hoped for at least 4/5 participants, there were only 3 people available to partake in the workshop. As it turned out, the small size of the group worked in my favour as it was easier to "prototype" the workshop with few people. I set up a microphone and a screen-recording script to document the process.

Procedure

I gave a brief introduction to the workshop, but I was conscious not to influence the behaviour of the group too much by explaining my intentions. When the participants began playing the game, my role in the group became a quiet facilitator - I answered basic questions about the in-game mechanics, explaining the UI elements, and occasionally asking a question about a decision that was made by the group in order to provoke further discussion. After the gaming session, I asked the group a number of questions:

  • What is the objective of the game?
  • In what ways does the game change if you're playing it alone, or with a group?
  • What questions does the games interface present to the player?
  • What aspects of the game triggered disagreements among the group?
  • What aspects of the game did you personally disagree with?
  • How did the game mediate group interaction?
  • As a group, how did you manage operating the game?
  • Who did you feel was most in control?
  • Did you feel the group dynamics changed over the course of the session?
  • What other kind of social systems could be implemented to maintain a productive and flat hierarchical structure?

Outcome

Following my deliberately open brief to "build a city in the game Micropolis", the participants responded to the singular point of control by quickly forming a hierarchical arrangement. Between the 3 participants, there was one "mayor", and two "advisers" who would offer suggestions for the development of the city. The "Mayor" would occasionally take their advice in key policy areas such as power sources, gentrification of slum areas, and the zoning of urban space.

The city was built on the east bank of a major river flowing through the sandbox. The nuclear power plant was chosen as a source of energy for the new settlement by the mayor and one advisor, at a site a safe distance away from the urban center.

Changes

In future iterations of this workshop, I think it is important for me to experiment with the role of a "director", and being clear about setting specific goals for the participants.

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