Bytten Ernie Awards 2012

Special Award - Improviso

I was tempted to place this one in the Strangest Game Experience category, but that one was already hotly contested and Improviso warranted special mention. I didn't get the full experience I needed to enjoy it properly, as this is a game that requires more than one person - and, like The Restaurant Game before it, this game is a social experiment. Two people take on the roles of Director and Lead Actor, and make a movie. A pretty hokey sci-fi B-movie, and one filled with cardboard props.

Despite only having myself in the game, I had a good chance to look around. The detail is impressive - objects can be manipulated, special effects can be used, a range of sets are available and there are over a dozen possible "scripts" to go through. I hope MIT managed to get some useful data from their experiment. It was clearly a lot of work!

Read on for Steve's choices for the Bytten Ernie Awards 2012.