EXPECTATIONS

Some of these I'd like to point out as particularly relevant to keep an eye on.

"Only do work that matches our shared vision and goals."
"Celebrate all work."

^ For me, it is important to define shared vision and goals in a way that allows me to celebrate all work. I wonder what Marie would say to this.

"Say no to growth when we are low on energy or time."

^ Yes yes yes

"KNOW WHY YOU WANT HELP
Why do you want helpers? Do you need specific labour and skills? Or are you interested in the excitement, diverse skills, and community growth that can come with a team? What do you need help with? [Then follows a list of specific tasks that A MAZE required help with]"

Yes, this is very very important. I am not so good with needing specific labour and skills, but I've never organized or been part of organizing a team or event at such scale as something like A MAZE which has significant requirements of physical assistance. I strongly value autonomous helpers who are motivated to do work, and whose work inspires me. I don't really need help "making games"... Sometimes there is a game that I cannot make, but it is usually a conceptual problem. Maybe I actually do value working with a designer or designers.

"TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND MOTIVATIONS AND SKILLS"
"BE MINDFUL OF HOW THE WORK IS BEING DONE"
"TALK ABOUT [various] EXPECTATIONS"

I do these a lot, in part because these wear on me very quickly when they are not 'correct' and I assume the same of others too. But...

"WHO IS HELPING WHO?
Consider organizing . . . so that everyone is a helper. The model where hundreds of uncredited and undervalued underlings support one charismatic artist or curator is hopefully dying out."

It's interesting, I think I'm strangely moving back towards this model, or else working alone. I am totally OK with working alone. I am a terrible helper on a group project, although I love to help others on individual projects. Well, maybe I'm not a bad helper, but I don't really believe in a model where people are helping a group or collective action. I believe in individual action, with one person at the helm, receiving help from their friends and allies, who are in turn being helped with their individual actions.

I've met people who don't mind being underlings, who are happy to fade into the background. I can't relate to them but supposing my attitude and their attitude are seen as legitimate, does that not suggest the 'hundreds of uncredited underlings' model as in fact suitable for certain interpersonal dynamics?

"MAKE A PLAN FOR TRAINING NEW HELPERS

Don't let the glorious new energy fizzle away. Make a plan for how you will welcome and train new helpers. For example:

- After a helper reaches out, meet them quickly while energy is high.
- Warmly welcome them, and tell them about the community and expectations. Learn about their motivations and skills and assign them an easy task with a short deadline. For example: write a two-sentence description about a game by Monday.
- A few days later, do a punctual check-in: how are they doing? If their first task is complete, thank them and get their feedback before assigning another task.
- Cycle through a few small tasks . . escalating autonomy and difficulty. If the helper has misestimated their capacity, it's best to know quickly. If all goes well, they easily become integrated with the team."

Part of my interest in this section, TEAMS, is that I'm not very good at working with teams over a long period of time. Reading this, I think it has been attempted with me, and I haven't really taken to this process of being slowly introduced with small tasks... Another part of my interest is wondering, 'Could I lead a team?', and I really don't know the answer to that one. Could I get the necessary experience? I guess I have made things by leading (small) teams before (i.e. I have made games with others doing music, or sound, or art).

Teams (p53-)

"HOW TO FIND VOLUNTEERS OR PAID HELPERS

- Put out an open call. Share your vision, the available work, and details about duration and money. Use visuals and lead back to a short form.
- Send your call directly to people you'd love to work with. It's scary, but it's worth it.
- Look for help in the right places. [..]
- Choose your team carefully. [..] Your team will shape the experience of every visitor to your exhibition. If your curatorial team is diverse, your exhibition will reflect that diversity. If anyone on your team is abusive or toxic, that rot will eat away at your team and be reflected everywhere, including on the exhibition floor."

OK the last section I'm going to take a look at seriously is TEAMS.

"THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CREATING A DIGITAL EVENT
. . . Don't expect anyone to be in front of a screen 24 hours a day . . . Just like in-person events, . . digital events can provide set times for [interaction] . . . Keeping a balanced set of sync and async activities offers wider accessibility to participants"

Whooph. Lots here in the ONLINE section that describes stuff I don't really want to deal with, at all!

p57, ONLINE

"WHEN IS IT SUITABLE TO GO ONLINE?
You may be interested in organizing an online event to . . .
- expand your audience beyond regional boundaries
- enhance the audience experience using a particular tool or software
- emphasize the theme . . . as it analyzes or critiques [something online-adjacent]
- better serve.. the online nature of the works or creations
- bring thousands of attendees to an event from around the globe
- avoid high costs of physical event organization
- be able to have an event at all"

p68, VENUES

"- When going online, you shouldn't try to emulate the experience of a physical event; instead, consider what you have to gain from the online experience.
- Online exhibits put the focus on the experience over the object . . . [I do not know what this means]
- Choose the software or tool based on your audience and the experience you want to create. . .
- Aim for a ludic experience. Find playful, dynamic ways of approaching the game experience. . . . for example, field trips to online games with a specific goal (scavenger hunts), virtual performances, ludic gatherings playgroups, or playful video calls."

Whew, lots of good advice about things I can't think about right now, but i"m going to read ONLINE as well as the online portion of VENUE...

Oh my god noo it's my chapter. I am not even going to read it. skip skip skip

Audience (p35-)

Some example audiences are discussed in this chapter.

"PROFESSIONALS . . not only those who make games for a living. . . [they] may work in many game-related industries . . . interested in educational workshops, skill-building events, and networking opportunities. . . . industry workers . . . may have vested interests in subjects such as worker rights issues in the game industry."

"GAMERS . . . [have] a high degree of game literacy, but often in specific games and genres. Gamers may become disinterested in games other than those they like."

"The ART AND CULTURE AUDIENCE is not motivated by an interest in games . . . instead . . . with a broader view of culture . . .
. . . venue (e.g. regular museum-goers[..]) . . . context ([..] a medium adjacent to their geek culture [..] the event for the party) . . .
While this audience often needs more game literacy mediation, their less stringent expectations may make them more interested in various games. . . . [these] audiences will judge included games not necessarily by "game standards" but rather by broader cultural comparisons."

"SPECIFIC IDENTITIES // An audience from a particular geographical location, ethnicity, class, gender, or cultural group may present unique curatorial challenges."

Themes (p29-)

VOICE
"who are you, and what do you care about?"
good advice

CONTEXT
where is the exhibition happening?
a question again of audience but also place. "the physical environment of your event presents practical limitations and thematically impacts what you choose to show." i ran into this with the mobile controls of droqever... how annoying!
who is it for?
"consider who else might be invested in the exhibition's narrative, personally, professionally, or even financially . . . weigh this carefully when funding opportunities arise. These constraints or directives may fundamentally alter the theme"
when is it happening?

VISION AND SCOPE
"Write a curatorial statement early in this process that clearly states your vision for the exhibition."

PURPOSE AND MEANING

A clear, concise statement for what you wish to convey . . . A theme as general as "the history of games" doesn't provide reasons to include one work over another

AUDIENCE

Considering who you're selecting for and presenting to . . . pout yourself in the shoes of who you're curating for; consider how you can satisfy and subvert theiryour expectations

Selection (p23-)

"- What is the purpose of your selection?
- Who is it for?
- What are your constraints?
- What process(es) should you use?"

i am remembering that part of the goal is to be curatable, something like that... make your own mixtapes, so to speak. how can i facilitate that if the games live on a website, if they exist in an immutable blob? hmm.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Budget (How long can you sustain the activity? What various expenses can you afford?)
- Venue
- Time (Are you scheduling for overlap with other events? Who will be responsible for promoting, documenting, and maintaining that documentation? Is there a plan to pass off these responsibilities?)
- Durability (Maintenance if things break)
- Safety (and accessibility)
- Programming (are there other events happening at the same time or esp. within the event? e.g. talks, parties, tours)
- Interpretation (themes, who will attend, how will you frame the work for your expected attendees)
- Participants (artists)
- Documentation (How do you hope people remember this activity, and what do you hope they learn from it? how do i hope i remember this activity, and what do i hope i learn from it? selfish motivation i am aware but as a self-curator i suppose it is what it is. solipsism and sonder.)