Flight Mode

Status

This article is becoming the Game Development Document (GDD) for the Flight Mode table-top physical game.

This document is currently an incomplete first draft.

Associated Forum

The Forum associated with this project is located at https://wikimoma.art/w/index.php?title=Special:WikiForum&forum=3

Comments can also be made at the bottom of this page.

Introduction

Working Title: Flight Mode

Tagline: Fasten those seat belts, it's time to fly!

Description: A multi-level 'race the clock' board game that incorporates quizzing, art-making and story-telling.

Demographic

The game is suitable for humans aged 10+

Extensibility

What we describe here is the base game, built into its design is the capacity for it to extend and be modded.

MOMA's motto: Make, Play, Share.

Genre

Flight Mode is a physical race the clock co-operative role-playing game that incorporates quizzing, collaborative art-making and story-telling.

Pre-requisites

• Most players need basic literacy and numeracy skills, though as it is a co-operative rather than a competitive game, players can help each other out in this regard.
• A game box (alternatively a downloaded Game Stater Pack which let's people make up their own game box), containing game board, dice, pieces, card stacks and Game Master's Guidebook
• 1 table to sit around
• A number of hand-held online digital devices such as mobile phones and tablets (can be shared between players)
• basic collection of art supplies such as paints, markers, glue, scissors, pencils, collage material such magazines, cut out images, wrapping paper, etc
• the Game Master requires a stop watch (mobile phone will do), organisational skills and commitment to see the game and players through its various stages over one long or several more shorter sessions
• a bell, gong, whistle or some other sound-making instrument to mark time up

Story World

Gameplay fits in to the following narrative:

The south pacific island nation state of Fafifi is small in size but big in character. The mainstays of the nations's economy are permaculture/agriculture, education, aviation and cultural tourism.

The Museum of Moving Art (MOMA) is a major employer and hosts 5 new travelling exhibitions from one of the major Art institutions from around the world - such as The Guggenheim in New York or the Louvre in Paris, even Australia's Museum of Old & New Art (MONA) in Tasmania. Once a year for two months, the Island is absolutely full to capacity with overseas visitors) for the Fafifi Internationali - a spectacular world class arts and culture festival.

At the centre of the Festival is the coveted Fafifi International Arts Prize, which for artist not only looks great on their resume but is worth $100,000 USD. Thousands of emerging artists from around the world pay $1,000 each to enter the competition: 25 are selected as Festival Winners and from them emerges one Arts Prize winner. The most valuable prize for the artists though is the kudos and exposure that participation brings, for the Fafifi Internationali (Exhibition) does a two year circuit of 20 major international art galleries and museums (at the end of which most of the works are auctioned off to wealthy art collectors at Christies in London - the proceeds being used to help fund the competition).

The Festival Winners (every artist who gets chosen to exhibit their work) each receive: a silver medal, an all expenses paid 3 week trip to Fafifi for the Internationali festival (airfare, accommodation, etc) and VIP Access to the full program of Festival Events. Selected artists give workshops during the festival. The Art Prize Winner receives a gold medal and $100,000 in cash in addition to the above mentioned benefits.

What Cannes is to the film industry, the Fafifi Internationali is to the art world. This event is how most people learn about and explore this amazing Island with its profoundly inclusive egalitarian and humane social-political-cultural landscape (which has evolved as the result of the unique way the Island was settled by a non-colonial fusion of Pasifika and European migrant pioneers in the early 1700s).

The Aims of the Game

• Real Life Participation - In general the most important aim of the game is for players to have fun socializing in a real-life face-to-face physical setting while playing a character they develop in a fantasy world.
• Contribute to a Greater Creative Whole - By playing a character in Flight Mode, players contribute creative outputs that form parts of the MOMA composite artwork.
• Challenges at Different Levels - Each level has it's own challenges and goals for the team of players that relate to the basic story for that particular level (which is described, managed and elaborated upon by the Game Master during gameplay). Individual character may have specific challenges set for them by the Game Master. Players may create aims, goals and motivations for their particular character as they develop the character they are playing.
• Character Development - One enduring goal that is quite prominent in the early levels of the game is to develop and document (in various creative ways) a set of characters that populate the Island of Fafifi.
• Narrative Themes & Variation - Each team of players will create their own unique version(s) of stories and events in the MOMA/Fafifi fantasy world. These can be collected to form a suite of interesting texts - a composite artwork that will be interesting for future audiences to explore. Also narrative elements and characters can be drawn from these various gameplays to be woven into newer stories in different future forms such as LARPS, movies, theatre performances, audio plays, Flight Sim Scenarios, written novels & others linear texts, etc.
• Deeper & Richer Engagement - Explore and develop new adventures in the World of Art fantasy space. Enrichen and theatricalize gameplay by use of costume and props. Discover deeper levels of the story world; add new (and develop existing) story arcs through further gameplay as you become more familiar with the game space; broaden out and connect into the other dimensions of MOMA like the flight simulator space or pop-up real-life galleries. Play with a variety your favourite characters as the mood fits.

Structure

This draft is focussed on describing the Base Game, which is designed to be played by 5 players for 20 minutes - it is race the clock (though it could be played by 3 players and take longer if all players agree). Ideally World of Art would be played in a complete Set of 5 games (Level 1). These could be played in one long session or spread over several sessions. Players could substitute for other players as long as all roles are filled in the game.

The Sets are turn-taking, each player should have one turn at each of the 5 roles in the game (in other words, play a different role in each game).

The Base Game would work on it's own with no further progression as it reaches a conclusion at the end of play. If successful it would motivate players to continue to the next level or to extend/modify the Base Game into Spin-off Versions (all are allowed and encouraged).

The 5 Roles

One predefined character:

• Loretta Monetta, MOMA Curator-in-Chief (Game Master)

Four characters created by players during gameplay:

• Competing Artist
• Artist's Assistant
• Pilot
• Flight Attendant

In the 2nd Game of a Set players can choose to either (1) create a new character for the role they have been given (of the 4 listed above), or (2) develop one of the existing characters. However, in Games 3-5 players must further develop the characters they have been assigned for that game and add to that character's story arc.

The Start-up Pack

• 1 X large sturdy brown paper shopping bag
• 1 X cardboard shoe box
• 1 X small carboard box
• 1 X passenger jetliner (A32-NX)
• 1 X cargo container
• 2 X pieces of thick board
• 2 X playing board cover sheets
• 1 X dice
• 6 X Manilla folders containing master sheets of gameplay pages

The first Loretta Monetta to use any particular pack makes up the playing board and photocopies/prints out the gameplay pages before the start of the game (they will also be available to download from wikimoma.art). The decorating of the bag and boxes is part of the gameplay at more advanced levels (a kind of Easter egg) and relates to an exhibition called 'Bags, Books and Boxes' in the unfolding backstory of MOMA.

Preparation & Setting Up: Level 1

The game is hosted at a location determined by the Level 1 Gamemaster playing the character Loretta Monetta. They need to prepare the space and set out all the materials in place, and put the Game Sheets in correct and tidy order ready for gameplay to start.

How to play: Level 1

• The players arrive at the host location which has already been set up by Loretta Monetta as described above. Meet, greet & socialize.
• When it is time to start, Loretta calls players to their seats at the table and reads from her Flying Art: Level 1 - Game Master's Play Book, which outlines to the other players what the objectives are and how the game will proceed.
• After this introduction Loretta hands out the appropriate Gameplay Sheets to each of the other players: (1) Artist Gameplay Sheet (2) Passenger Gameplay Sheet (3) Pilot Gameplay Sheet and (4) Flight Attendant Gameplay Sheet
• These sheets are divided into sections and guide the players through the play at each stage of the game.
• Stage 1: (3 mins)
• Stage 2: Be Your Character (12 mins)
• Stage 3: Fly to Fafifi(5 mins)

1. Create a Character

uhvda h

2. Be your Character

onga nfien v

3. Fly to Fafifi

This timed section lasts for 10 minutes. To win the game, the plane arrives carrying all four characters arrives on time - before the 10 minutes ends.

<comments/>