110811 Gadgeteer Found!

32 weeks to go!

Allen, Dan, Dwight, Erik, Melissa, Wei-Hwa...and Ken Chaney attended.

GADGETEER RECRUITING

Wei-Hwa brought over Ken Chaney, whom he knows from the world of collectable pinball machines. We described in greater detail what we had in mind for the high school science fair project props and Ken is interested in taking a crack at designing them. Welcome aboard, Ken!

• Allen to send Ken the latest draft of the script and Ken to read for more inspiration/context.
• Allen to get Ken on the group email list
• Ken will email the group with requests for us to comb through storage units, etc. for already-existing gadgets/components that he can incorporate (Shoresh may have a lot to add here as he scavenges for set materials)
• Ken to start thinking about it and get back to the group with concepts & follow-up questions.

We also discussed the broader social implications of our depiction of Buffy within the game.

STATUS REPORTS

• Melissa is practically done with all of the costuming of the main characters
• Erik and Sarah will be able to resume their location scouting of local schools--most administration officials are just returning now from their summer breaks

"BITE-SIZE" TASKS

We reviewed the recent list of "bite-size" tasks. There were volunteers to do first-drafts of the "design" (not necessarily implementation) phases of the following:

• Allen will brainstorm set dressing for Wesley's childhood bedroom
• Sean was "volunteered in absentia" to brainstorm set dressing for the principal's office since that set is so intimately connected with his locker combination puzzle
• Erik & Melissa will brainstorm set dressing for the teacher's lounge
• Wei-Hwa will brainstorm the full set of pre-game communications with teams

We noted that many of the items on the task list could be tackled remotely. So Allen will re-send the list and solicit volunteers among our full GC team for other items.

"MOTHERING": DAY OF GAME TEAM SUPERVISION

Wei-Hwa shared his GC experience that during games some teams who are taking longer may actually enjoy the game more if GC is proactive and calls them to offer help, rather than waiting for the team to call in. Wei-Hwa's GC named that assistance, "mothering." There was general agreement that we should include features in our day of game control systems to allow us to do so.

STAYING IN CHARACTER: DAY OF GAME TEAM INTERACTIONS WITH GC

There was general agreement that *if possible* all day-of-game interactions with GC should be in character. However, we also acknowledged that sometimes communicating in character can confuse teams (especially sleep deprived people). So we brought up the idea of giving the teams a "safe word": if they say that to whichever GC member they're communicating with, the GC person will break character and tell the team what they want to know in clear, unambiguous terms.

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As always, respond with your comments, clarifications, corrections, amplifications, etc.

Allen