Hounded in NYC

Fresh back from NY now, where we have been running our latest game Hounded as a part of the Come out and Play summer series. This was a series of five games they commissioned in association with the River to River festival. The five games were chosen to represent some of the different aspects of the world of street and pervasive games. We were holding up the big game / theatrical spectacle end of the stick. We think we held it up pretty well.

There was a moment when the master of the Hounds was revealed along with his pack, looming above the crowd in the elevated acre. An audible gasp of disbelief and awe emanated from the players as the adrenaline started to pump. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times you tell people “we are going to chase you with *real* dogs”. When the hounds arrive people just hit their heels; we could barely finish the briefing before they were off.

Laying out a scent trail around the financial district of NY was a hoot too. We had eight trails criss crossing wall st and the surroundings. From Rose to Fish market, Mint to Swamp Stench. We were reasonably concerned that someone might stop us or at least approach us while we were attaching strange smelling squares to lamp posts in this part of town. But no, the authorities would seem to be busy elsewhere. The game was of course sanctioned by the LMCC but we’ve found out in the past that when all the paper work is in, all the risk assessments filed, and permissions returned in triplicate. The best thing to do is not to get caught.

For us the most impressive thing about the hook up with the LMCC via River to River and COaP, was the diverse audience they brought in. There were a few groups playing with their kids and a lot of people playing who were over 40, a few over 60. New York's many ethnicities were also represented. As street games and theatre blend ever more cohesively into a continuum, we can probably look forward to playing with this extended age range a lot more.  And as the age rises and the need for adrenaline decreases, we can look forward to a new blossoming of interesting mechanics that enable this kind of experience. Games that deliver rich experiences to diverse audiences covering diverse subjects. The audience is waiting so we’d better get on with it