A Game of Telephone

A Game of Telephone

Interactive game-based exhibition

Purdue University 2023

Developed by a team faculty and students from theatre, interaction design, audio technology, and engineering A Game of Telephone was a multi location experience machine focused on the intersection of memory and gamification. The project is part escape room, part immersive environment, and part interactive game. As fully automated solo experience users/players play a game of telephone where they connect to past narratives while seeking to solve puzzles inside an immersive enclosure. The installation takes the form of a disused set of telephone booths, reminiscent of those taken out of use near the end the 20th century. The goal is that the form and the interaction evokes a sense of curiosity and nostalgia for a time before all our memories were offloaded onto our smartphones.

Phase One was produced in spring of 2023 and loosely connected to the Department of Theatre and Dance production of Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play by Anne Washburn. The game consisted of entering the booth once it begins ringing when motion triggered by those passing by. When picking up the receiver they are asked to assist the theatre troupe from the theatre production remember and record a snippet of description from a variety of movie narratives selected based on the players generational cohort. These audio recordings were then fed back into the experience for future users.

Phase Two deconstructed the original booths and expanded the experience for up to four solo players at one time. The experience was staged for the Boiler Gold Rush, the yearly first year student intro to college experience. The game was reprogramed as a game where the students learned and recorded the school fight song while also leaving a recorded memory to their future selves.

During the two exhibition launches over five-hundred players interacted with the experience.

Project Website: https://agameoftelephone.wixsite.com/telephone-game