OWL PROWL!

Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Owl-Prowl-1/

Concept: We constructed an alternative controller that explores physical gesture and its relationship to playful experiences.

Description: Owl Prowl is a four player competitive game played with alternative controllers. The four players must play as an owl character in the game space. Their goal is to catch the most mice before the time runs out. Each player uses a plushie owl to control their game owl. The game is played in the center of the frame, where the game is reared projected from a projector housed inside the structure. Each player stands on a corner of the structure, which also corresponds to their game space owls’ homes.

Reflection: Overall I had a lot of fun making Owl Prowl. I learned a lot of new skills such as learning how to use the sewing machine, learning how to make a plushie, and learning that people will be very aggressive even when playing with little owl dolls. It was very sad to see the plushies break after a few hours into the event at Babycastle, but it was an invaluable experience. I learned that people don’t really like to read the rules (or maybe we had to much text and it would be better to have rules in visual form) and that making controllers to appear more intuitive. We noticed players were using the controllers has joysticks rather than spinning their head maybe because the soft owl heads made it more joystick-like.

Challenges: Making the plushies as sturdy as possible. Deciding on the game. We spent 13 hours trying to figure out what the game would be (we were trying to make a game with flip dots). In the end, we planned on creating something that would be way too much to do within the allotted time.

Future Iterations: Reiterate on the controllers