3 to Exit by prerna bishnoi

3 to Exit was played at Mantri Square, Malleswaram, Bangalore in the month of September/October, 2012.

Hello! If you have finished your dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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!

Introduction

Experience Design

Note on Scounting for Players The Hunt The Pitch The InItiation

Rules of the Game

Characters S.Yadav Amar Anthony Akbar Kunal Manjunath

21 23 27 31 35 37 41

Let the Games Begin

Maps

Welcome to the mall! Look around you. Do you see the iconic escalators transporting large crowds from the promotional event on the upper ground floor to the array of stores on the floors above? Have you noticed the expressions on the faces of people as they just stand and wait for the landing? Have you ever been too nervous to jump on to that first step or have you just simply glided down with ease? No visit to the mall is complete without a ride up and down, up and down, up and down... Look around you. Do you see the occasional person, young or old, thronging around that information kiosk? Have you ever wondered whether they were actually lost or were just having fun tapping in and out of the mall map, watching the triangle twirl persistently while telling them “YOU ARE HERE”? The interactive mall mapping kiosk is a new and fun attraction! Look around you. Look up, a little above eye level, while you wait for the elevator which hopefully won’t be crowded and won’t go right past your floor. Do you see the wild deer, up close, leaping through the tall grass, being chased by the majestic lioness and then a beautiful overview of the wild, the tall grass swaying in the light breeze as the lioness devours the deer? Have you noticed how the bright yellow and green scrolls at the bottom of the screen never have any advertisements? The television provides great entertainment while one waits for the tardy elevator at the mall!

Look around you, especially if you are tired. Do you see the crowded wooden bench, in the middle of the corridor, flanked by foliage? Have you ever sat on the bench before, exhausted after a slow and long walk around three winding floors, moving (need some verb here, anything else if not ‘moving’) in and out of shops? While sitting there, have you stared so hard at the shops around you that the text and colours blur under the diffused yellow light of the mall? Have you observed the people sitting next to you: paid attention to their clothes and accessories, their gadgets, their ethnicity, their class? Have a seat! Make yourself comfortable. Look around you, one last time. Before leaving the mall, like the many other mall-people, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten to take a photograph of yourself against the beautiful back lit tree mural! It makes for a great profile picture. Upload it now! The game begins at these stations and engages the players repeatedly in these mall time-pass activities till boredom pushes them into action.

Prerna Bishnoi Game Master

Five characters, Kunal, Manjunath, and three brothers, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, have volunteered to do user testing at Mantri Square Mall. The game follows their challenge to EXIT the mall. But the rules are clear: only 3, no more no less can EXIT at a time!

This game is played on two levels. In the first level, the game world, the physical space of Mantri Square, is re-imagined as a user research facility. The players are asked to role-play as characters who volunteer for this user testing. The volunteers need to test the different facilities provided by the mall for the entertainment of the mall users, eg., escalators, information kiosks, televisions, benches, murals, etc. The objective of this exercise, as the volunteers are informed, is to improve the engagement value of these facilities and improve Mantri Square. The game play involves the players â&#x20AC;&#x153;lockedâ&#x20AC;? in various designated areas, having to repeatedly test the particular mall facility (escalator, kiosk, etc.) that they have been assigned to. For example, Akbar stands in front of the mural, repeatedly taking photographs of it, of himself standing against it, and of other people

photographing themselves against it, over and over and over again till he is “unlocked.” Unlocking involves figuring out a particular action that frees the player of his obligation to go on repeating his task, or waiting for some one else to perform a particular action that will do the same. While some players have been given the capability of unlocking themselves, others haven’t. In the second level, outside the game world, the players are physically confined to their designated areas, and are constantly repeating certain mundane activities (like taking photographs against the mural). These activities are the same ones that people usually perform when they visit the mall. Except this time, the player is forced to look at the activity as a sequence of actions and is forced to keep on doing the same thing over and over again.

The intention of the game is to bore the players, and use this boredom to mobilize them to act. In the game, the act is to free themselves and exit the mall. The overarching idea of the game is that of the exit – and the game plays with what prompts a person to exit a mall space that has been designed for their engagement and interest.

3 to Exit is designed to give the players an experience of repetitive actions. This experience has resulted in boredom for most players, and in my experience, always a break of character for Akbar whose character is written as someone who doesn’t want to EXIT. This boredom may also result in a chaotic situation in the end if more than 3 people are unlocked and are willing to EXIT. A negotiation or an impromptu challenge should follow. In the event that the game world clashes with the real world scenario, for example if the players have to leave the mall, go home, they must be encouraged to continue and finish the game if possible. However in case the player disappears or quits because of boredom the game must go on. The actions in the game have been borrowed from existing things people do in malls. For some players, especially Amar the experience is more exciting as the game begins with him unlocking himself. Since the game isn’t surveyed through cameras, S.Yadav’s character is very important to maintain the story and the discipline. A stern S.Yadav, with a straight face, who maintains his/her own discipline is most desired. To enhance S.Yadav’s character a ‘Fan of the Month’ badge can be pinned on to his/her clothes. He/she must carry some item from the mall- shopping bag, finger food etc. Players (Amar and Akbar) may experience initial hesitation taking pictures of strangers. Over all the game is designed for a slow, long drawn experience for some and a quick, challenging experience for others.

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 disected to understand where such people would be concentrated: the central atrium railing, hanging around the arcade or near the food court contemplating a bite or sitting on the bench playing games on their cellphones or one would just have to guage from their faces and catch them on the move. The hunt for players is determined by gender as well.

My experience has shown me 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 wise to approach boys especially groups of boys to play the game. That way there are less chances of them abandoning the game. The mall has a very strong courting undertone. One of the major pass-times 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’ve approached the boys the pitch involves explaining the game to them. Here language can be a barrier. Look out 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 guage 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’ve agreed to play the game give each player an instruction sheet with the rules of the game and details of their characters. Give them time to read it, understand it, ask querries and then let the games begin!

RULES OF THE GAME 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

All the characters have their own objectives) Each character has been locked in a particular place, â&#x20AC;&#x153;stationsâ&#x20AC;?, in the mall, in order to fulfill their objectives. You can leave your station only if you are unlocked. Each person has a unique unlocking code. The mall has only 1 EXIT. Only 3 people, no more, no less can EXIT the mall at a time. Only 1 person, S. Yadav, knows where the EXIT is. Only 1 person, Kunal, knows how to get to S.Yadav.

CHARACTERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Amar: eldest brother Anthony: middle brother Akbar: youngest brother Kunal: kiosk information man Manjunath: escalator man S. Yadav: S/he is the research facilitator. S/he is in charge of making sure everybody is locked and doing their job.

Source: www.facebook.com/officialmatrisquare?ref=ts&fref=ts

S. YADAV (role of S.Yadav is played by an actor) Meet 24 year-old software engineer S. Yadav. With a comfortable job, a handsome salary and conservative work timings, going to the mall to unwind is a routine evening affair for him. He’s a resident of Rajajinagar and Mantri Square is the most exciting place in this part of the town. When S. Yadav isn’t wandering about the mall alone, occasionally leaning against the railing, checking out girls, he is at his usual Taco Bell basement corner table, getting some office work done. At Soup Bowl, a DOTA gaming session with friends is a weekly event which is followed by a drink at Oval bar and snacks at KFC. He carries the mall with him on his smart phone- liking, commenting, sharing, winning prizes and uploading numerous profile pictures. He is the proud five-time winner of the “Top Fan of the Month” award at Mantri Square which he accomplished by incessantly “liking” their Facebook page. As a part of the game, he has been appointed as the user research facilitator, a perk that comes with his fan of the month status. He oversees all the testing activities and makes sure that everyone is fulfilling all their tasks. The game begins with S. Yadav introducing the players to their stations, explaining their tasks to them and then starting his rounds.

Source: www.facebook.com/officialmatrisquare?ref=ts&fref=ts

OBJECTIVE 1.

3. 4. 5.

At the beginning of the game, drop off the players to their stations. Lock them and go over their duties with each one individually. You must keep Kunal at the information kiosk informed about your location/your office. In the end, people will play 20 questions with him to get your location. You must do your rounds every 5 minutes. If 3 people approach you asking to leave the mall, you must check if they are 3 consenting people. You could possibly offer them a better, more exciting location (the pool table on the upper ground floor, bowling in Amoeba) so that they go back to their duty with greater enthusiasm and enter the facility again. If they insist on leaving, take them to the entrance of the long corridor and tell them that the main exit is at the end of the corridor.

AMAR Amar is a second-year engineering student. Although he is the studious kind, a weekly trip to the mall is his much deserved break. He is the eldest of three brothers. Anthony, Akbar and he are very close and occasionally spend a day at the mall just hanging out and bowling at Amoeba. Being the eldest, he is very aggressive and possessive about his siblings. His loyalty to Mantri Square encouraged him to volunteer as a user tester. He has been appointed to and locked on the bench opposite Mother Earth on the 2nd floor. He is now required to test the bench for its comfort and entertainment value, answer a questionnaire, make certain observations and report to S. Yadav as and when he approaches him for updates.

OBJECTIVE 1. You are desperate to EXIT the mall. 2. You will not leave the mall without your 2 brothers. 3. You must complete all questions on the questionnaire before unlocking yourself. You will be asked to submit it at the EXIT. 4. You can unlock yourself if you capture 6 gazes, i.e., you have to take photos of 6 people looking at you. Only then can you move from the bench. 5. Clue: The key to unlocking your middle brother Anthony is â&#x20AC;&#x153;switch off the TVâ&#x20AC;?. Collect pictures that represent each of the words above. You can unlock Anthony only by showing these pictures to him.

QUESTIONS 1. Is the bench you are sitting on comfortable? 2. If yes, how comfortable? Rate it on 5 3. How many people are sitting next to you? How many men, how many women? 4. What are they wearing? 5. Who do you think they are- where are they from, what do they do, are they married/single? 6. How are they sitting? Do they look comfortable, relaxed or do they look stressed and hassled? You can ask them if you like. 7. Are their feet together or stretched out? How are your feet? 8. What can you see from the bench? List all the shops that you can see. What do you see first? 9. How many people do you think sleep on the bench you are sitting on? 10. Sleep on the bench and rate how comfortable it is. 11. What is the most exciting thing you can see from the bench? 12. How would you rate your overall experience of sitting on this bench? 5 excellent 4 good 3 average 2 good 1 excellent 13. Do you have any suggestions to improve your experience of the bench? 29

ANTHONY Anthony is a second-year PUC science student who’s interested in electronics. Although the mall is not his favourite place to unwind (he would much rather watch TV at home), the occasional visit to see the newest/ latest gizmos and gadgets gets him excited. He also gets dragged to the mall by his elder and younger brothers to bowl at Amoeba. Out of all the malls in the city, he loves Mantri Square most/ because of the variety of electronics on display. Along with his brothers, he too volunteered to be a user tester for their televisions. He is an independent person who loves being by himself and will put his own interests above other things. He has been locked in front of the television located between the elevators, near Reliance Digital on the 1st floor and has been asked to test out the T.V. for its clarity and entertainment value and to complete a questionnaire regarding the same.

OBJECTIVE 1. You are desperate to EXIT the mall 2. You and your freedom are your only priorities. 3. You must complete all questions on the questionnaire even if you have been unlocked. You will be asked to submit it at the EXIT.  4. Unlocking code: “switch of the T.V.” You can be unlocked only if someone shows you that code in pictures. Clue: Your youngest brother, Anthony is locked in front of 5. the mural. The way to free him is to get a picture taken of the 3 of you (3 brothers) in front of it.

Do you have any suggestions to improve your experience of the bench?

Source: www.facebook.com/officialmatrisquare?ref=ts&fref=ts

AKBAR Akbar is a first-year PUC student. Just out of school, he is thoroughly enjoying life in PU. He and his gang of friends land up bunking classes and chilling for hours on end at Mantri Square. They even do their homework there. Their favourite pastimes are taking studly pictures of each other, giving themselves a variety of profile pictures to choose from, and, of course, looking at girls from the third floor central railing. Akbar is the youngest of three brothers and Amar and Anthony are always bossing him around. He was the first to volunteer for the user testing at Mantri Square. He has been given the task of taking pictures of the backlit tree mural near Oval Bar to test the lighting, the colours and everything else that makes the mural the perfect backdrop for a photograph.

OBJECTIVE 1. You love the mall. You love taking the photos. You DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE. 2. You must take a minimum of 10 pictures of the wall and of people taking pictures of the wall, even if you get unlocked. 3. You can get unlocked if you get someone to take a picture of yourself with the person who has come to unlock you, against the black wall. 4. You are more interested in moving to another space in the mall to take more photos instead of leaving.

KUNAL Kunal is an engineering student. He and his friends usually go to their local mall situated in the vicinity of their college hostel but occasionally they make the trek across the city to visit Mantri Square, one of the largest malls in the country. Once, while they were window shopping, Kunal discovered the information Kiosk and found it extremely useful. In fact, every time he has gone back, he has helped many lost mall goers by using the information Kiosk. When he heard that Mantri Square required people to volunteer for user testing, he was the first to apply. However, he was made to test the elevators and the fountains outside before being assigned to the information Kiosk between Soup Bowl and Kwality Walls on the second floor. He is now extremely bored and tired of his task of testing the interface over and over again and is desperate to leave the mall.

OBJECTIVE 1. You want to leave the mall desperately. 2. You can only speak in Yes and No. 3. You can be unlocked only if someone asks you â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do you want to EXIT?â&#x20AC;? 4. Your duty is to help people use the information kiosk and observe whether they can use it and how they use it. 5. You have valuable information. You are in direct contact with S.Yadav. He gives you information about his whereabouts in the mall. So, in case 3 people approach you to ask you about S. Yadav to find out the EXIT details, you must challenge them to a game of 20 questions by answering only in Yes and No.

MANJUNATH Manjunath’s first memory of Bangalore is Mantri Square, located near the central railway station, which he saw when he came from Mangalore 3 years ago to study commerce. It was much bigger than the malls he had seen back home, with many more shops, much more entertainment and so much more crowded. When he got offered a position as a volunteer to user test the mall for a competition, he accepted it readily. He was asked to test the functioning, the experience and the flow of the escalator from the second to the third floor near the Scary House landing and he took it up as a challenge.

OBJECTIVE 1. You like your challenge but in the event you see any of your fellow volunteers unlocked you would feel like leaving too. 2. You have to complete a minimum of 13 and a half loops up and down the escalator, even if you get unlocked. 3. You can get unlocked if somebody “unlocks” your cell phone. It is a self initiated act. 4. Clue: the way to unlock Kunal, the person at the information kiosk is simply to ask him “Do you want to EXIT?”

The game begins when those who can unlock themselves fulfill all the required formalities and start decoding the othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; locking codes. The game progresses in a fragmented manner across the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor of the mall. The charactersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; personalities hold the key to how the game unfolds. The game ends when three and only three consenting people, having completed their required tasks, have been unlocked successfully and they approach S. Yadav for directions to the EXIT. It is here that the game can break into chaos as coming to a consensus with the number 3 may require some negotiation, some sacrifice and some compromise since the consequence of not exiting is that the game will restart with the remaining players going back to their individual tasks, back to the cycle of repetition and boredom!

Lifestyle Gehana

Pantaloons

Neeruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fastrack

ida d A

First Floor

as s en oc Cr niz e D rx

Nik

cia

m Pu

t ne s a l P ort Sp W

S.YADAV ANTHONY

Reliance Digital

Home Centre (Lifestyle) Ethnicity (Pantaloon)

Fabin

Cafe Pascucci

S.YADAV

Howards Storage Wor AMAR

Mother Earth

Second Floor

ndia

TH NA

rld

KUNAL

Mom & Me

Amoeba F E C Reliance Timeout

Flavours

Kool Kidz

AKBAR

CO UR

Pizza Hut

Bon South

Mandarin Trail

Third Floor

Shiv Sagar

TH NA

S.YADAV

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 54