A game about crossing the ocean as a refugee. The concept experiments with the form of a game to crystallize the struggles of refugees.

Slideshow for game mechanics:

Players take turns moving a magnetic boat with tiny passengers, across electric coils, one at a time, to reach the end.

The coils are open circuits that, when connected to a battery, close the circuit, sending a current through it and creating an electromagnetic field. This repels the magnet and makes the boat flip, toppling the passengers.

Players choose two jumbled ends to connect, hoping it doesn't close the circuit.

With each successful turn, the player must pass the battery to the next player, taking turns choosing randomized ends, like defusing a bomb.

If a player has chosen two circuit ends that happen to close a coil circuit, it magnetizes the coil and topples over the boat, ending the game with the refugees capsizing.

The intent is to provoke suspense and uncertainty at the progress the players have made, similar to the struggles of refugees.

Playtesting

Two players test the game. It is apparent that the possibility of the boat tipping over makes them nervous, playing a crucial role in the experience. Much like the suspenseful game Jenga, the game where players must dismantle a tower of wooden blocks without toppling it.

Feedback

At the end of the game, the players are asked to give their impressions and feedback of the game and its experience.

This game acts as a commentary on systems by merging difficult topics with traditionally whimsical forms. The concept originated from my fascination with flip dots.

Flip dot demonstration

A single flip dot is engaging, but a grid of flip dots could be compelling. Could the interactivity be used in a game?

I imagined a matrix of flip dots, which made me think of a grid-based game like "Battleship." But because I'm critically-minded, and politically aware, I thought, what if the objective was not to sink an opponent's battleships, but refugees, to keep them from reaching the player's shores?

My instructor, who cautioned me to pursue the topic carefully, proposed a different mechanic: what if trying to overturn an opponent's boats, players would take turns taking a single boat from one end of the board to the other?

I seized on the suggestion, because it changed the narrative of the game. Instead of sabotaging each other's efforts, players would then take turns trying to get across, which emphasized teamwork. Which emphasized cooperation in survival. Which was a better theme, and more true to the struggles of refugees.

Making polymorph boats

Testing the electromagnetic coils

Testing the polymorph boat on magnetized wire coil.

Testing the boat with polymorph people on it.

Similar to my game "Pusher," this project questions the concept of a game when it is based on a human rights crisis and struggle for people to survive violent systems.

Pusher