Fiasco Reflection
I played the main street game set in Fiasco and was Keita’s father, gambler with Ruohan and professional/employer with Kathy. The game theme combined crime, murder with betrayals. Characters that had conflicts with other characters are willing to kill each other in exchange of monetary interest.
The story started with Kathy getting into jail for stealing after her thief friend Wenyi left her at the crime scene. The suitcase they stole turned out to be extreme valuable and everyone in town wanted to have it. Me and Ruohan decided to meet with someone who claimed to have the case at a secret gambling table behind a Mexican restaurant and won this case with our gambling skills. Next day, I went to visit Kathy in jail since she was my client and had no intention to bail her out until she threatened me to report hidden drugs in my gravel store. Hearing about the secret of suitcase from Kathy with more details and names, I called Ruohan that the suitcase was in someone else’s hand, my son’s former spouse Wenyi. I never liked her and the fact that she threatened to kill my son recently exacerbated my resentment. This became a great chance for me to make her disappear. Ruohan was willing to kill Wenyi for the case but only willing to give me 30% of the share for the suitcase. I wasn’t satisfied and contacted Wenyi in secret about Ruohan’s assassination plan in exchange for 50% of the share. Meanwhile, I also reminded Kathy about Wenyi’s betrayal and told her about Wenyi’s show-up location next day, promising her mother’s life insurance in exchange for the assassination. Next day, Ruohan was killed by Wenyi, who was killed by Kathy soon after. I took a photograph of Kathy at the crime scene to silence Kathy then took the suitcase by myself. Unexpectedly, Wenyi put a poisonous snake in the case and killed me as soon as I opened the case.
The story line is determined largely by the group decision about whether the ones having conversations would be able to achieve the object/goal he/she wanted to, which can be difficult for the story to unfold the way each player imagined. I planned the plot based on the conversations and background information established as the story unfolds and tried to use the conflict for the characters to turn them against each other and achieve my goal of getting the secret suitcase. The role playing in real person is definitely more immersive and interactive than video games and planning my next moves as I hear more about the other players brings more variabilities and uncertainties to this game. I enjoyed setting other players against each other without them knowing my real motive and became the villain in the game. The aftermath is something I cannot choose and my ending of dying when others brought the new challenge of fitting the plot into that ending. Overall, this is a really interesting and interactive experience.
One strategy I frequently used in this game is convincing people to do something that benefits themselves and me without giving out my true intention. That also makes the game more mysterious and adds more turning points as the story unfolds. I became much more aware of what the other players are saying and understood they wanted in return. This game encourages me to become a better listener and mind reader in order to be better. In true writing projects, especially novels that needs character creation and descriptions. This kind of skill is extremely important for the writer to create a vivid, complete, and human-like character in the book. Predicting what each character’s thought process and decision making is the first step towards making a unique and great character in books. By putting my mind in other character’s mindset and simulate their thinking and decision making, Fiasco gives me a glimpse of what I need to do in order to create a character in books.
