FIASCO: Directing a Unique Film
Before we met together to play the game, I ‘studied’ the instructions a lot and read many reviews online. However, I still did not really understand how to play it because every review is different in terms of content( every one has a distinct and unique story), but that is the core element of this game, giving the players unique experience in a new world.
When we started to play the game, we were confused by the number of dice and how to set up the scene by choosing locations and other details. We spent about half an hour sitting there and figuring out the procedure. Fortunately, we took a look at other group’s script and roughly had the idea to continue. Since it is a game, everyone was trying to pick the most weird details such as drugs and murders and ridiculous characters whose names are like Deerboom, McDiggity and Badass to make it fun. We had a very pleasant time setting up all the elements we need and proceed to Act 1. After a pause for 10 minutes, we wrote plots in our head and played them and connected them to really direct a film. Even though everyone only has a small piece of scenario, we combine them altogether to an integrity which contains intro, complication, climax and conclusion. And as we proceed, the characters are given more detailed personalities through their actions and dialogues in the game. We are in THE ICE, a place of nowhere and a place where all the weird things happen. McDiggity and my ex-boyfriend badass want to kill me to get the one kilo of drugs. I am so afraid of that, so I dig a hole to hide the drugs and kill myself (tilt). And in the end, we all die in the aftermath, which is a bad ending as how the game is designed.
Fiasco is my favourite game in this semester so far (my favourite list is always updating because the games in this class keep giving me surprise). Throughout the game, I was so engaged in our stories and nothing else distracted me from them. The absurd elements throughout the game enable us to create a new world where we can do everything we want in Act 1, screwed up everything in Tilt, going far away from what we originally expected in Act 2 and probably we all die at last in the Aftermath. It is a game which enable us to laugh a lot when someone is died again and also think a lot when coming up with a new scene. The process of gradually figuring out how to play the game with others also made me addicted to RPG, role playing game which I can collaborate with others and have an open ending. The video games I played earlier in this semester only have designed and limited endings and which bored me to play the second time, such as GONE HOME or freshman or the Stanley. Compared to them, the unexpected results are more engaging and compelling because I am able to play different games each time I play, with or without the same players I played together before. In addition, the interactions with friends during the game make the scenarios more real than playing with fake people online.
I learned how to collaborate with others to create a complete story, like reacting to their stories and to relate everyone to my stories. Besides collaboration, I realized that I also need to work on thinking as process. When I was thinking about my plot, sometimes I was unable to proceed based my previous plots. At this time, I listened to their stories first and then went back to my plots and revise it. It is similar to writing process. When I am stuck on one point, I can study other works and improve my own process, which will largely help me to streamline my writing process and flow.