To make the Greenwich game, each member of the group researched on a specific resource, and we all researched on the area’s history. I was in charge of the museums. My main source of information was the Greenwich Council’s webpage. There, I could find all the museums in Greenwich, including the Cutty Sark, The Fan Museum, National Maritime Museum, Old Royal Naval College, the Royal Observatory, The Queen’s House, Ranger's House, Eltham Palace and The Royal Artillery Museum. Since I could only choose the most important ones to become part of the game, I went into the webpages of each museum so I could decide how relevant the museums were to the area, and if they were worth paying a visit. This is how I narrowed the list down to the National Maritime Museum, The Queen’s House, The Royal Observatory and the Cutty Sark. Then I went off to visit these places to extend my research on them and find interesting ideas for making the tasks in the game.
At the beginning we thought of making the game a treasure hunt. Since the main aspect of Greenwich is its maritime history, we thought of making it themed as pirates. The game would start in the Cutty Sark ship and would end at the park, where the players had to dig a hole to find the treasure. We discarded this idea since it was too farfetched and if one clue was interrupted for any reason, the whole game would end (since one clue led to the other). That’s how we decided on a simple set of tasks to complete. A map was given to them showing where all the places where (since some where very difficult to find) but without showing the names. Instead, we gave them blank spaces with the amount of letters so it would be more of a challenge. Since the completion of a task can only be demonstrated by pictures, we made the players pose and interact for the pictures in different ways related to the places they visited. Some other tasks were created that would lead to photo-tasks so that the game wouldn’t be boring. For example, finding a password hidden in a book that they would later use to get some free candy from a shop. To come up with the tasks, we visited the different places researched by each member, together as a group.
I think the game was entertaining enough and successful in showing the main things to do/visit in Greenwich. We tried not to be monotonous and make the players have fun by the embarrassment factor of acting in front of the camera. The historical aspect of the area wasn’t included as much as it could have been and the presentation wasn’t very appealing. If our group had played the game before giving it to another group we would have avoided some mistakes. The game could have been definitely improved, and more creative tasks could have been created if there was more commitment from the group. As for my roll in the group, I actively contributed in the creation of tasks and the concept of the game. I didn’t do much research into the history of Greenwich, yet, my research of the museums and surroundings was good enough and I was actively involved and committed in every stage of the creation of the game, including the presentation.
Bibliography:
-What is there to do in Greenwich? . Available: http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/LeisureCulture/FAQ/WhatToDoInGreenwich.htm
-Greenwich . Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich
-A World Heritage Site . Available: http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/world_heritage/index.asp
-Places to visit . Available: http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/places/index.asp
-Greenwich . Available: http://www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/greenwich.htm
-Your Ocean . Available: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/package/52/waste/index.html?from=homepage
-For general public . Available: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.2858
-History of the Queen’s house . Available: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.3192
