My first big flop? A kind of postmortem for Trash Idol...

Hey folks! earlier this month, I said I would be dedicating some time to Trash Idol. this is the trash collecting game I had planned for April of this year. There were several postponements that prevente​d it from going on as planned, which I'll be laying out in full detail here,  but the key thing to get the game to move forward was A: having a format that wor​ked and I could run, and B: a partnership organization willing to help co-run the event with me. Early in the year, when I reached out to some organizations, I was so pleased that two groups expressed an interest. Unfortunately, now that I've had the time to develop the game to fix some of the problems of the earliest format, and have something I think will work, one organization has not responded to my new inquiries, and the second contact told me they didn't work for the organization anymore. since the official season for cleanup events generally ends in October around here. I think I just took too long.

Its such a bummer to have to admit it, but I don't think I can make Trash Idol happen this year. Or maybe even in Boston? 

But anyway, I do want to write a kind of post-mortem about the game, what my plans for it were, the problems that arose with it and the several format changes I was working with until I arrived at something that I still think could work. Although it didn't come to fruition this year, I hope that by sharing my thought process, other game designers here can take away some insights. Warning: its a long read!

An idea in my head...

As many of you know when I pitched this idea at the beginning of the year, Trash Idol is a game I've wanted to do for a long time, even before I started really even doing YouTube. I wanted to use my game design skills for more than entertainment. Like, I also want to create a positive change in my community, while still integrating my love of girly media. Trash Idol felt like a perfect solution. Picking up trash around the community is beneficial, but its not fun -- so what if there was a simple way to re-energize the activity? I was always awed by the power of fandoms, particularly those surrounding musical acts. Fans of k-pop groups or bands or pop stars were remarkably effective at mobilizing when they believed there was some way to support the object of their affection. From there, the idea took shape pretty quickly, and it seemed really campy and silly and fun to me: make up some trash-themed pop stars, have event participants pick their fave, and collect trash on their behalf! 

I think this idea still has great merit! The trick was getting a strong, easily repeatable format down for it. I dreamt of not just running this event in Boston every year, but also perhaps sharing it with event organizers in other cities.

Version 1: The original plan

Below is the first flowchart I drew up for the organizers I was pitching the game to:

Essentially, myself and the co-organizers would spread the word about the game, and get people to sign up, at the same time choosing which idol they prefer to align themselves to. Players would be encouraged to wear colors associated with their favorite idol to further inspire cooperation with other teammates.

After registering, players set out into the designated area to collect trash. the more trash you collect, the more you win for your chosen idol. whichever idol has the most trash collected per person in their name game wins. By this point, a lot of people ask me what is to prevent the biggest or most popular idol's team from winning, and there is a simple solution to this: instead of a team winning for most trash collected overall, you get points for most trash collected per person. So if a team of 10 people collect 5 pounds of trash, they have .5 pounds per person. If a team of 2 people collected the same amount, they would have 2.5 pounds per person, and the smaller team would win. This would have to be clearly explained ahead of time, and I secretly hoped one of the playthroughs would result in an exciting moment where a small, underdog team would get to win the game.

the record-keeping of trash collecting would be handled by myself and a handful of volunteers; the co-organizers I spoke to said it would be no trouble at all asking the people who normally help out to take this on. All they'd have to do is log everytime trash was collected by pounds, and note which idol that trash was collected for. At the end of the game, I would personally tally up all the values and share the outcome. Up until this point, the game is very easy to organize and run. the issue comes next, when its time for the results to be shared with everyone.

I had planned for this final phase to happen in a kind of presentation format. After everyone had finished picking up trash, they would head to a local brewery or business where a projector screen would be set up, and everyone could see the final rankings and a cool animation of all the idols dancing together in celebration. Additionally, since I had the use of gamemaker, I could even build a simulation to take all the trash records and calculate it in real time for me, showing a bar gradually growing, building suspense, and generally making the final tally reveal more exciting. In having talks with the event organizers, they showed me that if I wanted this game to be easily reproducible, the final presentation would probably need to change. Here's some interesting things about trash collecting events I learned that might be of interest to you:

• Tricky Setup - As most trash collecting events happen outside, it isn't always a guarantee that a business or building will be available to set up a projector screen with a computer and power, and host a crowd willing to watch the results

• Hard to see - As most trash collecting events happen during the day, the correct lighting requirements to run a projector screen would also be difficult to guarantee.

• out of sync participation - this is the one that really stumped me... it turns out, most people who participate in trash collecting events begin and end at completely staggered times. Most events are 2-3 hours long, not including setup, and volunteers are invited to arrive whenever is the most convenient for them and leave whenever they're tired. Ultimately, there would be not guarantee players would want to stay and watch the final presentation.

So to recap, the final presentation would need to be visible to everyone no matter where the event was set up, and, regardless of participants arrived and left.

Version 2: Live Streaming

So, making the simulation a single event would have to be nixed. Players would need to tap into information at any time they were playing, not just at the end, so my next idea was LIVE STREAMING! 

Around the summer, I started developing and researching a live stream format. The idea was that there would be a hub set up on or near the trash collection point, and I could hire some host/announcers to live report the results as they came in, along with some fun banter and perhaps cool trash facts? Players and anyone who wanted to could check in and watch the stream on their phones to see how the game was progressing. Even if they left early, they would be able to see the final results. Even people who weren't able to participate in person could watch the game progress. I thought this was a winner for sure, especially since my friends at Couch Quests had tons of knowledge and experience about with live broadcasting.

I was really excited to build the stream overlays for this, but as I was working with my friends at Couch Quest on their latest episode, I started seeing new problems:

• Is the setup for this actually easy? If the hosts are going to be stationed outside, how will we get reliable power/equipment transportation/internet connection to broadcast the stream? And alternatively, if players are going to be out in nature, how easy would it be for them to get the signal to view the broadcast?

• This is very difficult to replicate - including the broadcast component and its very specific setup means it would be significantly more difficult to run this game independently, effectively nixing any other organization from wanting to try it themselves. Not everyone has awesome friends like I do who are willing to help, or easy access to community television or media centers where you can rent equipment. I want this game to be accessible to other for playing AND running. I spent such a long time trying to find a way to make live streaming work in the most simple, lightweight setup that I forgot one seriously crucial flaw for players...

• If you're watching, you're not playing  - Its embarrassing to admit how long it took to realize this, but you simply can't be out in the streets or nature with a bucket and grabbing tool, hauling trash from place to place, AND holding your phone to watch a livestream. One activity inevitably distracts you from the other. And this game, when you get right down to it, should not be about looking at your phone.

So Id hit a bit wall. For a couple of months, I simply could not figure out how to get this game to run. I really didn't like working on other games, while in the back of my mind this unfinished problem sort of haunted me.

It Came To Me in A Dream

Not really, like, not when I was asleep. But I was in one of those half asleep, half awake, trying to take a nap while I had parked my car at some embankment by the river. I have talked about my sleep problems before; I don't really have a set schedule and am always dealing with fatigue stuff, but you'd be surprised how being in that semi-lucid state solves a LOT of game design problems for me.  

Anyway, the clarity that allowed me to move forward was simply this: Terry, you are just making this unnecessarily complicated.

I had unconsciously become fixated with the spectacle of trash idol. I envisioned a crowd of people cheering for their favorite character together, getting excited to see the results of the competition, as though it was a real pop performance. And this was cool, but it actually wasn't necessary. The game wasn't about the results, its literally about picking up the trash. Players already invested in the game by choosing their favorite character at the beginning, so all they really needed was some way to get the results of their efforts later. It could be checking an instagram, or getting an email.  Hell, it could be a simple as a text message.

I did a quick search and learned that you can sign up for mass SMS services for events like this for $15-$20. text messaging was an extremely efficient way of sharing information with players that would only require them checking their phones when they heard a notification, allowing them to be in the moment, collecting trash. I could send them the current tallies of trash, safety messages like reminders to drink water, and encouraging messages or cute jokes directly from the Idol Girls. possibly even some small cute pictures? This didn't require any additional volunteers or equipment, I think probably all I'd need is a laptop hooked up to my mobile phone's hotspot.  So yeah, the solution was actually simple because the problem was simple. 

This was the iteration of the game I had when September began. I started reaching back out to the first orgs.

And now we're here​

Yeah man, I mean...its extremely frustrating to feel like you've cracked the code right when the window of opportunity has closed. I know that most of the people who follow and support me don't really mind that Trash Idol is not gonna happen this year, but it is still very distasteful to me that I couldn't deliver the game I said I would. I believe that even small transgressions wear away trust and my reputation as a game designer. And even if all of that was not true....I really really wanted to make specifically THIS fucking game happen! like this was one of the games I was most excited to make!!!

So, if it's any consolation to folks who have managed to read this far, know that Trash Idol isn't a dead project. I am going to find an organization that will help me run it, and then I'll run it again and again, and I will teach anyone who wants to run it how to do it themselves. I can't do it this year but I'm really not satisfied with having this excellent idea banked, and all the work I put into it unable to be tested. Sunk cost fallacy? I guess we'll see. But look forward to a post early next year when I start looking to try this again.

Okay, no sign-off joke tonight, but I want to share with you one of the more finished pieces of art I made of Blanche. this is her in her final evolved, mega-super-pop-star form. I look forward to the day when real players can see this art as a reward for picking up trash!