Pitch of the Disaster in My Backyard Exercise by Steven and Alvin

1. DISASTER
IN MY BACKYARD
Steven Thys / Alvin Coessens

2. BRIEFING
about the project

3. We developed an alternate reality game
which gives players a real life experience
in crisis management.

4. IN SHORT
About the game
› Storm turns into a disaster
› Authorities are short on staff
› Teams of players have to:
» Manage the online information flow
» Locate supplies
» Locate, help and evacuate victims
› The game is level and mission based

5. SCENARIO
what is going to happen?

6. LEVEL 0
The prequel
» Pre-disaster
» Bad weather
» News reports
» Congress

7. LEVEL 1
Once upon a time in rainy Belgium...
» Disaster
» Storm
» Radio report
» Call for help
» Briefing

8. LEVEL 2
And so it begins…
» Game start
» Troops leave
» First evacuations

9. LEVEL 3
The flood
» Dam breaks
» Area floods
» Water level keeps rising

10. LEVEL 4
Power’s out
» Complete power failure
» No communications
» Leads to fires
» Bonus mission

11. LEVEL 5
Vultures
» Plunderers raid the terrain
» Supplies disappear
» Police officers are called in
» Gunfight

12. LEVEL 6
Bring them home
» Water level reaches peak
» Final mission
» Panic outburst

13. LEVEL 7
Debriefing
» Post-disaster
» Debriefing
» Review of game

14. SCENARIO FLOW
How it all comes together

15. GAMEPLAY
how the game will be played

16. TEAMS
How the players will work together
› 5 members
› 1 leader in control center
› 4 members are the ground troop
› 1 of these 4 stays in evacuation center

17. EFFECTIVITY
How to win the game
› Teams gain points
› Based on:
» Number of evacuations
» Time of evacuations
» Team choices
› Alternatives are possible

18. GOALS
Where it all comes down to
1. Collect medical kits and supplies
2. Find, help and evacuate victims
3. Find key figures

19. CHARACTERS
Visible character in the game
› Key figures
» They give you advantages
› Victims
» They need help

20. KEY FIGURES
People that can help you
› A firefighter
› A construction worker
› 2 doctors
› A handyman
› A soldier

21. NOT PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
People that control and guide the game
› Puppetmasters
› Volunteers
» Victims & key figures ~ actors
» Game managers

22. PUPPETMASTER
The ones who control the game
› Control the entire game
› 1 per team
› Watch over the teams
› Protect the gameflow

23. ACTORS
The ones who make to game come alive
› ~ 35 persons
» 26 victims
» 6 key figures
» 10 looters
» 5 police men
› different roles

24. ACTORS
The ones who make to game come alive
› 10 volunteers
› Update the terrain
› Place/remove items
› Monitor cheaters
› Transport actors to their location

25. LOCATION & TERRAIN
where the game will take place

27. Control center
» Briefing
» Analyzing incoming Tweets/reports
» Evacuation center
Congress building
» Key figures
» Resources

28. Fire department
» Firemen
» Resources
City of Ranst
» Indoor city
» Victims in different houses & shops
» Maze

29. Apartment building
» Fire on first floor
» Trapped families
» Flooded ground floor
Training village
» Neighborhood “Westeroever”
» A school
» Further away from EC

30. Resources
» At stranded airplane
» Typical B-Fast aids
Burning house
» Fire simulation
» Bonus level
» Family trapped inside

32. TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
the interfaces that the players can use

33. USHAHIDI
An open-source crisis management tool
› Crisis management & data control tool
› Used in control center
› Real-time map

34. MOBILE APP
How the troops will help victims
Home screen
» Scan a victim in distress
» Scan a resource you found

35. MOBILE APP
How the troops will help victims
Victim scanning
» Search the QR-code
» Hold the camera still
» Wait for a blinking frame

36. MOBILE APP
How the troops will help victims
Victim screen
» Analyze the stats
» Victim ok?
START EVACUATION
» Victim not ok?
APPLY AN ITEM

37. MOBILE APP
How the troops will help victims
Item scanning
» Search the QR-code
» Hold the camera still
» Wait for a blinking frame

38. MOBILE APP
How the troops will help victims
Result screen
» Analyze new stats
» Victim ok?
START EVACUATION
» Victim not ok?
APPLY AN ITEM

39. ALTERNATIVELY

41. MOBILE APP
How the troops will use resources
Item details
» Status of the resource
» Apply to a victim

42. EFFECTS
some effects to enhance the experience

43. SOUND EFFECTS
To enhance the overall experience
› Ambient sounds on terrain
» Police sirens
» alarms
» water
» fire

44. VISUAL EFFECTS
To enhance the overall experience
› Colored spots and lights
» Fire simulation on buildings

45. PRATICAL INFO
Other things you need to know

46. GAME DURATION
To enhance the overall experience
› Preparations
» 1 day
› Bus ride to Antwerp:
» 1-2 hours
› Arrival, briefing, game start:
» 50 minutes
› Evacuations:
» 3 hours
› Debriefing:
» 30 minutes

47. 6 hours of playing

48. REQUIREMENTS
The material that is needed
It’s a long list…
» Internet connection, 14 radios, 8
smartphones, 4 laptops, light spots and
speakers, 10 flashlights, 3 go-karts, police
tape, 20 first aid kits, 1 vehicle, 1 physical
map, 3 stretchers, 3 wheelchairs and 20
snacks+drinks

49. BETA TEST
Lessons learned & best practices

50. LESSONS LEARNED
What came out of the testing
› It worked
› Mobile app is necessary
› The game is chaotic
› Some teams were too fast
› SFX are really needed
› Players need a clear introduction

51. FEEDBACK
The students provided us the following feedback
› Alternatives for scoreboard
› Use professional radios
› Provide enough resources

52. ANY
QUESTIONS?