Hey, I like very much the idea of an un-rule. What...

2010-06-13T12:28:34.103+03:00

Hey, I like very much the idea of an un-rule. What we actually came up with was what you mentioned in the second paragraph: before the show, when they pick up their tickets and instructions, people have to say whether they would identify as a 1) gamer, 2) theatre audience, or 3) performance art / installation art type. They get different suggestions for approaching the piece based on their choices. Seems to work pretty well so far actually!

I don't know if you're inviting comments here, or ...

2010-06-06T16:32:45.170+03:00

I don't know if you're inviting comments here, or just thinking out loud - but just in case, here's what I'm thinking.

Perhaps you need to work with people's expectations before the game/event? So that, for instance, "active gamers" will know that they're supposed to listen more, and "passive audience types" will know that they're supposed to participate more.

There's something called an "un-rule", which is fairly common in tabletop role-playing. It's basically when a designer puts in a rule that specifically contradicts common practice, so people will know how this experience is different from what they're used to. One example is that since many games use an all-powerful Game Master, some games specifically advertise as "GM-less". For someone who's never played a tabletop RPG, that expression makes no sense - they have no expectation of a GM.

Comments on happeningfish: Tower Room I, audience what audience

Hey, I like very much the idea of an un-rule. What...

I don't know if you're inviting comments here, or ...