Entry>Exit was played at Mantri Square, Malleswaram, Bangalore in the month of September/October, 2012.
Hello! If you have finished your day’s shopping, eating, wanderings or just happen to have time on your hands would you like to play a game? Prerna Bishnoi Game master
CONTENTS Welcome to the mall!
6
Introduction
8
Experience Design
12
Note on Scounting for Players The Hunt The Pitch The Intiation
16
Rules of the Game
18
Characters Ramesh Raghu Mona Sharleen
19 21 23 29 33
Let the Games Begin
40
Maps
42
17
Welcome to the mall! Have you ever been to the mall a few days in a row? If you have, have you looked at the crowd intently? If you had, intently enough that is, you would have noticed some faces repeating themselves in the same combinations. Observe carefully and you will find that these groups of people also trace similar paths around the mall! Have you noticed that even when the entrance to the basement of Taco Bell is barricaded due to cleaning you will hear some voices coming up from there? If you happen to go down, you will notice that in the deserted space on some tables, especially the ones tucked into the corners, there are fat algebra text books, history books, note books and pens or a laptop plugged into an extension cord, converting this fast-food joint into a comfy long-term homework zone. From doing homework to playing DOTA to writing scripts to hosting monthly kitty parties to opening itself up at 5am for walkers, yoga groups and laughing clubs, the mall is routine, it is everyday. Mantri Square My world My Square
6
The mall is already a second home now. In fact, with all that comfortable bedding and sofas, incredibly delicious food and clean bathrooms with continuous supply of toilet paper, the mall could be an ideal place to live in! So, when malls advertise themselves as being more than just shopping, eating and entertainment, they are talking about amenities like laundry, shoe repair, pharmacy and even a hospital! The mall is becoming a residential complex or vice versa. The game follows the party plans of two such mall residents celebrating their six-month anniversary of living in the mall and a simultaneous investigation of two reporters who are trying to get to the bottom of a statistical anomaly where the number of people entering the mall is much greater than the number of people leaving it.
Prerna Bishnoi Game Master
7
INTRODUCTION Two reporters- Ramesh and Raghu are challenged to get to the bottom of a statistical anomaly that claims that the number of people entering the mall is much higher than the number of people leaving it. The challenger gives them a time-bound set of scavenger hunt-like tasks that would help them with their investigation. The game follows the individual paths of Ramesh and Raghu as they try to collect bizarre items from the mall that seem completely unrelated to the investigation. Little do they know that everything is a set-up!
The game is two-sided. On one side, the players are asked to role-play as 2 reporters, Ramesh and Raghu. They have to find their camerapersons and have them follow them through their investigation. The tasks involve collecting items physically or through photographs but without expenditure and within 20 minutes. These items include very basic household items like a bottle of drinking water, napkins, spoons, forks, suitable upholstery matching a sample cloth, a suitable photo frame for a photograph etc. On the other side, the entire game including the list of things to collect is planned out by two girls, Mona and Sharleen, who are looking to invite people over for a little get together to celebrate 6 months of living in the mall. Mona and Sharleen individually intercept Ramesh and
8
Raghu’s paths and begin helping them with their tasks, as well as pose new challenges that act as clues to help them complete their investigation and consequently lead them to their home space within the mall, to their little party. The things that they are given to collect are for the party and for Mona and Sharleen’s home. The players are not forewarned about Mona and Sharleen who appear as strangers within the game. The reporters are never fed the answer to the statistical question directly but everything is implied by the two girls who are both dressed in night suits and are taking them around the mall, talking about strange incidences that happen in the mall at odd hours of the day. The answer to the statistical question is embodied in Mona and Sharleen and in the fiction that they are residents of the mall. So, the reason why the number of people entering the mall is more than the number leaving it is that small groups of people are settling down in the mall and calling it home. The intention of the game was to plant the seed of thought of the mall being an ideal place to live in and playing it out and in the process, to gather perspectives and reactions on it. The game was also designed to give the players the experience of a bizarre interaction with a stranger in the mall. The overarching idea of the game is that of the exit; it plays with the feeling of what prompts a person to exit, in this case, not to exit the mall space.
9
10
Duration of the game: 50 mins
11
Entry>Exit is an experience that is heavily dependent on the actors and the setting of the situation. There are certain props required to complete the performance and give a more ‘real’ experience. Firstly, both Mona and Sharleen as actors must play their part and not break character. They must both be familiar with their back-stories, general demeanor and the routes and shops around the mall. As a part of their performance both Mona and Sharleen must be dressed in night-suits, the more outrageous and visible, the better. Mona could roam around bare foot; carry a photoframe with pictures of her friends. She could carry post-its and leave little notes for her friends from the mall who might be missing. She could also deviate from a particular route and leave a towel to dry at a bathroom. Sharleen on the other hand must be dressed in a neat and clean night-suit, must carry hand sanitizer, a tablemat, a napkin and a blue vase with fake flowers. She must know all the food outlets at the food court and behave in a friendly manner with the people serving her at her chosen favourite outlet. She must customize her food to whatever extent she can. She must try and clean up another table, to show familiarity of space and maybe even make conversation about a particular akka and her family. All this will help the player stay a little uncomfortable but amused throughout the game.
12
The final “home setup” could be in the fire exit stairwell or in a service corridor or even in a corner of a shop (provided you have permission). This must be a deft act, unless prior permission has been obtained. The “home setup” could include just a few personal items, which should transform the space- photo frames with family photos, ferry lights, bookends and books, maybe even a small table. For the finale, the party, there should be Coke, fries and some other edibles so that all of the things Raghu collects as his task can be used. There could also be some card games/ board games later. It is best and safest if the party later moves to a restaurant or an ice-cream parlour. These activities will mostly be invisible to the mall authorities and will not be caught and/or reprimanded. The players are supposed to experience unexpected turns and happenings. For their experience to be truly bizarre and amusing, coordination between the actors and the game master must be perfect. The players might experience extreme confusion as their time limit set initially by the game master will not hold, but the tales of these two girls must sway them.
13
14
15
NOTE ON SCOUTING FOR PLAYERS Entry>Exit is to be played across all the floors of Mantri Square. The players for the game can be found in the mall itself. The mall is full of people with time on their hands and a one-point agenda to pass that time. The act of scouting for players has loose guidelines or rules but there are certain strong underlying dynamics of gender that come into play. The act of scouting can be broken up into three parts 1. The hunt 2. The pitch 3. The initiation
THE HUNT Before hunting for players, it is better to profile the types of mall-goers first. It would be difficult to approach shoppers or people just sitting down to eat or even the movie-goers, keeping in mind the duration of the game. The profile of mall-goers who would be willing to play then boils down to wanderers/window shoppers or people who have just finished eating. The mall can be spatially dissected to understand where such people would be concentrated: standing around the central atrium railing, hanging out around the arcade or near the food court contemplating grabbing a bite to eat, sitting on the benches, playing games on their cellphones or one would just have to gauge their reaction/gauge what? from their faces and catch them on the move. The hunt for players is determined by gender as well. My experience has shown me
16
that women in malls just do not play games. I guess the mall has much more to offer them! So, as a game master, if you are a man, this probability would decrease further. Hence, it is wiser to approach boys, especially groups of boys, to play the game. That way there is a lower chance of them abandoning the game. The mall has a very strong courting undertone. One of the major pastimes for most boys in the mall is to “check out� girls. As a game master, if you are a woman, this works out in your favour while you approach boys to play the game. This is the reason why all the characters in the game are boys.
THE PITCH Once you have approached the boys, the pitch involves explaining the game to them. Here language can be a barrier. Look for a common language. The most important point in the pitch is to sell the idea that the game is simple but requires imagination and role-playing and then proceed to explain the game like a story. In the mall it is hard to gauge who would agree to play the game and who wouldn’t. However, you can tell whether they are bored and are still agreeing to play the game! Sometimes enthusiasm just unfolds as the game proceeds.
THE INITIATION Once they have agreed to play the game, give each player an instruction sheet containing the rules of the game and details of their characters. Give them time to read it, understand it, ask queries and then, let the games begin!
17
RULES OF THE GAME
18
1.
Once the game has begun you must stay in character throughout, and occasionally give a report of your thoughts and findings to your camera person.
2.
You must do your best to fulfill the challenge within the given time. At any point if you loose out of the game your team members can continue to play and complete the report.
3.
If by any chance people/security come in the way of the game please call me at 9008006976 and continue playing the game.
CHARACTERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Ramesh: investigator Raghu: investigator Mona (unlisted, not known to the players) Sharleen (unlisted, not known to the players) Challenger
19
20
RAMESH Ramesh is a 23 year-old fresh reporter, working with a local magazine. He and his partner Raghu have been assigned to investigate a certain bizarre statistic about a popular mall in Bangalore, Mantri Square. The footfalls and statistics of the mall show that the number of people entering the mall is higher than the number of people leaving it. Although Ramesh knows that the mall authorities have brushed this off as a mistake and have no comment to offer, he has taken up the challenge of finding out more about this bizarre occurrence. Moreover, everybody else who has tried to look into the matter has failed to come up with a conclusive report. For Ramesh, this is his first big break as an enthusiastic, young journalist and might prove to be a great way to earn a reputation, especially since circumstances in the mall have caused Raghu and him to split ways. He is an ambitious reporter and is more than happy to be working on this report individually.
OBJECTIVE Your challenge is to collect the following things in 20 minutes. On completion of this task, you will arrive at the answer to your question.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
First, find your cameraman who will help you cover your report. (You will receive a call from him/her) 3 posters of celebrities 1 golden Buddha Find a suitable tablecloth that will go with a cushion of this colour (sample given) Find out what soap they use in the mall’s bathroom. Find out the name of the TV show that is playing at Samsung and its timings. Find a suitable photo frame for this photograph Find out the cost of a 4-seater dining table from Reliance Living 21
22
RAGHU Raghu is a 27 year-old reporter for a local magazine. He is a lazy man by nature and his journalistic career not taking off well has left him even more lethargic. However, for his latest case he has been paired with a young fresh reporter, Ramesh. Apart from the young blood inspiring him, the case itself is extremely interesting and has caught his attention. Although the case seems dicey/ tricky and (the result will almost certainly be inconclusive) almost inconclusive, it is a challenge and a great opportunity to prove himself as a reporter.
OBJECTIVE Your challenge is to collect the following things in 20 minutes. On completion of this task you will arrive at the answer to your question.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
First, find your cameraman who will help you cover your report. (You will receive a call from him/her) 7 cups/glasses 7 spoons 7 forks 10 napkins 4 packets of tomato sauce from Taco Bell. The spicier the better! 2 plates Fill the bottle with drinking water 3 cubes of ice
23
24
25
26
27
Source: www.facebook.com/anchana.kota?fref=ts
28
MONA (the character of Mona is played by an actor) Mona is a 21 year-old student studying commerce at a popular college in Bangalore. Her parents live in Bombay and work in the film industry as make-up artists and small screen actors. They sent her here to Bangalore to study so that she doesn’t get tempted by the film industry. Mona, however, has always wanted to be an actress. She is a big movie buff and lands up spending most of her college time at multiplexes, watching one movie after another, especially during the weekday half-price offers. Along with the multiplex, window shopping and trial makeovers are her favourite pastimes. The majority of her day is already spent at the mall, so, she needed little incentive to finally make the decision to move into the mall. However, Mona’s added incentive came from a story that Manjushri told her about one of the mall workers, Shivani, who came from a very poor family but was very beautiful. One day during the promotion of director Yograj Bhat’s film Parmathma at Mantri Square, she happened to be standing at the railing looking down at the event from the first floor when the director spotted her and personally tracked her down to cast her in his next film. Mona considers the mall a great public forum to meet celebrities and film directors up close and she lives with the hope that one day she will get a big break. Mona is a fun-loving girl and has a way with people. She has plenty of friends at the mall, from regular shop attendees to shop managers as well as some people higher up at the administration level. So, moving in was secret but comfortable. She knows the mall like
29
30
the back of her hand. She roams around bare foot in her matching night suit. A messy girl, she sometimes leaves her photo frames, books, towel, tooth brush and tooth paste around in the different bathrooms making it difficult to then track them down. At the time she moved in, luckily, a friend’s friend, Sharleen, moved in too. Now there is a small community of people who live in the mall. This phenomenon has reached the press as well. Today Mona and Sharleen and a couple of other friends are celebrating six months of living in their ideal home: the mall. They are planning a little get together for which each of them needs to bring along a guest.
OBJECTIVE 1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6.
Wait for Ramesh, a reporter from a local magazine, at the dining table at Reliance Living. Help him fulfill his tasks as well as lead him to the answer to his investigative report. Do not give him the answer directly, imply it. At reliance living, play a game of hang man with him; make his trip to the mall exciting by giving him a clue to your next destination- “sofa at home stop”. Invite him to the living room. Play another round of hang man at home stop. This time the word being “home” and if he guesses that correctly, lead him to the party.
31
Source: www.facebook.com/sharanya.ramesh?fref=ts
32
SHARLEEN (the character of Sharleen was played by an actor) Sharleen is an engineering student. She spent many years of her childhood in Bangalore before her family moved to Dubai. After her 12th, her parents decided to send her back to Bangalore for a better college education in engineering. Sharleen is obsessive about cleanliness and misses the sparkling clean face of Dubai. She misses the extra large malls and how they housed everything from the zoo to the museum to even water world and other amusements parks- everything in one place! She loved spending time just gliding from one shop window to the next, right after school, since she had to cross a mall to reach home from the bus stop. Here in Bangalore, she misses home and the only place that takes her back is the mall. Although she is quite finicky and complains quite a bit about Mantri Square and its cleanliness, it gives her that “international feel�, as if she just walked into a global portal. She moved into the mall out of home sickness along with a distant friend Mona. One thing Sharleen truly enjoys is the choice of food at Mantri. She is quite friendly with the cleaning akkas and the chef annas at the different outlets, so much so that she customizes most of her food. She is also quite particular about her eating habits and always carries her table mat, hand sanitizer and a blue vase for every meal at the food court. Her stay at Mantri Square has been difficult but she has grown to love it. In fact she along with Mona and a bunch of their friends are celebrating their 6-month anniversary of having lived in the mall. They are hosting a small get together for which she needs to bring along a guest from the mall.
33
34
OBJECTIVE 1. Wait for Raghu, a reporter from a local magazine at taco bell. 2. Help him fulfill his tasks and arrive at the answer to his investigative question. 3. Do not directly answer the question; imply it through stories and by narrating incidents. 4. While at the food court, play a quick game of 20 questions as you wait to make up your mind about what you want to eat today. 5. After your meal, take him along with you as your guest for the party!
35
36
37
38
39
40
The game begins as soon as the challenger hands over the task sheets to the players role-paying as Ramesh and Raghu. Although the 20 minute countdown starts there, the progression of the game depends on the coordination and deviations that Mona and Sharleen both take them through. The initial countdown holds no value. The game ends with either Ramesh or Raghu figuring out through their tasks as well as through conversations with Mona and Sharleen, the answer to the question “Why is the number of people entering the mall higher than the number of people leaving it?� Celebrations follow at Mona and Sharleen’s small makeshift home in the service corridor on the second floor.
41
Lifestyle Pantaloons KFC
OVS
Shopper’s Stop
UGF
ord
ssw
Cro
Lifestyle Gehana
Pantaloons
Neeru’s Fastrack
ida d A
FIRST FLOOR
as s en oc Cr niz e D rx
Co
ke
Pa
e
Nik
Mo
i
ch
Ro
cia
a
m Pu
t ne s a l P ort Sp W
Home Centre (Lifestyle)
RAMESH & MONA
Ethnicity (Pantaloon)
Fabin
Cafe Pascucci
RAMESH MEETS MONA
Howards Storage Wor
Mother Earth
SECOND FLOOR
ndia
rld
Mom & Me
Amoeba F E C Reliance Timeout
Flavours
Kool Kidz
FO
OD
CO UR
Pizza Hut
Bon South
Mandarin Trail
T
THIRD FLOOR
Shiv Sagar
Inox Theatre Lobby
Scary House
This book was made at Srishti School of Art,Design and Technology, Bangalore as a part of the diploma project titled M.A.L.L. by Prerna Bishnoi in 2012.
Content: Prerna Bishnoi, Design: Kavya Singh 52