[Project 4 –Interactive Fiction (IF)] - The Future We Deserve * edited *

April 26, 2018


The link to my final game: http://philome.la/b_ruitao/privacy-vs-transparency/play


Plan Set: final versions of:

A Transparent Place

The premise:


In 2040, the earth is getting more and more polluted. Sophia is a time traveler. She travels through different time zones to find a new place to start a new life. One day she arrives at a place, which is pretty nice and clean. It locates under water and all buildings are constructed with glass, therefore, every person can see other people everywhere. Because of this clean water and glass environment, inhabitants don’t have any private space to hide any secret from each others. Even the time they spend on bathrooms, fitting rooms or bedrooms in their homes, they can be seen by strangers. People ignore how other people feel and how themselves think as doing something that should be private. There is an unwritten law in this world, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” The citizens in the transparent world share their personal information to the public. Once a person touches a glass door and enter a glass building, their information automatically input to the public database. In this place, getting killed means their bodies will become transparent. No one can hear them or see them anymore. 


The transparent rule in the story is a complicated issue, since it has two sides. It has advantage to the society, such as people can notice other people’s need and help them as soon as possible. Also it's easier to monitor the government if everything is transparent. However, on the other side, it makes people lose their privacy.





 Space map

 Glass building

Play test1

Player: Olivia


1. Choices are not clear

2. Show more consequence of people without privacy

3. Sophia has more struggles, and have more reason to leave

4. More description of the glass building

5. Breathing is a problem under water


Play test2

Player: Tara


1. Privacy issue is an interesting concept

2. Add more detail to the shopping mall part

3. Discover people’s feeling

4. Demonstrate how they live there by showing how new technology work

5. What if people can see other’s mind, since it’s a transparent place


Play test3

Player: Hridae


1. Sophia should have more options

2. I want reasons to make decision

3. Show the evil side of the world, make it worse

4. Show what’s going on after ending


Play test5

Player: Tiger


1. Description of the transparent place, show the darkness

2. Add more conflict

3. Any government force in the story?

4. Cut it into many pages, avoid too much reading in one page


Play test4

Player: Marianne


1. Show more consequence of transparency, maybe people are hiding, being isolated

2. More details to the scene, see naked people, bleeding in the hospital

3. More dialogue discussion about privacy

4. The disadvantage of transparency, emptiness, no color, no nature, no sense of time, lose track of her age, or time passing

5. Some more good thing about transparency, easy to catch the criminal

6. This issue is complicated, which means having good side and bad side. That’s why it’s hard to decide  


Play test6

Player: Jimmy


1. Introduce Sophia, who is she?

2. Explain why they can breathe in the glass building

3. Too much to read on the “Shopping mall” page

4. The endings are too rough

5. Explain how she adapt to new life

6. Why she doesn’t want to leave her hometown? Because of homesick?

7. After she leaves the transparent place, can she go back to her hometown 10 years ago?

8. Introduce other newcomers


Play test7

Player: Rebecca


1. More description and experience of struggles in the transparent place

2. Makes story crazier and more scary

3. Sharing personal information could lead to advertisement

4. I like Sophia, she’s very brave


Play test8

Player: Rachel


1. The ending is too short, it can be more details, such as Sophia talks to the newcomer and encourage him or her. They can only have 3 candies a day to maintain their independence.

2. More description for the ending


Play test9

Player: Saloni


1.Change the color of buttons

2.Keep the text the same

3. Make sure no distraction to player

4.Play again at the end

5.I like it. It provides enough information to me. I don’t want too much detail s to limit my imagination.

6.More options may lead to more confusion.


Play test10

Player: Claire


1.The buttons are not clear

2.White background and black text is preferable

3.Make it more readable

4.Keep the text the same

5. Choose action not result


Insights: Players like to put themselves into the character. I didn't use first person perspective. But most of them think they are Sophia when they are playing the game. Players choose the options based on their own personality. Some people like more details and description while the other don't want the information to limit their imagination. Most of them want to play it again to know other ending, therefore, it's important to put "play again" at the end of the story.


I changed the violent ending to a more gentle one. Educating children should be a better way for the character compared to fighting in the war. 








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