Game Case Study - Lifeboats

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Lifeboats is a negotiation and survival game designed for three to six players. It is set in a perilous maritime scenario where players work to navigate lifeboats filled with their crew members to safety while making critical decisions about which boats sink and which survive. Each session lasts approximately 90 minutes. The case study of Lifeboats highlights how negotiation, alliances, and betrayal can create a tense and dynamic gameplay experience.

Lifeboats Player Experiences

Lifeboats engages players in an interactive and dramatic environment by emphasizing survival and negotiation:

• Negotiation: Players must persuade others to keep their lifeboats afloat, often leveraging promises, threats, or strategic alliances.
• Betrayal: The necessity to vote on which lifeboats sink introduces moments of deception, betrayal, and dramatic tension.

Lifeboats Emergence

Emergence in Lifeboats arises from the players' interpersonal dynamics. The freedom to negotiate and form temporary alliances creates unpredictable outcomes, ensuring no two games are alike. The tension between cooperation and self-interest drives much of the emergent gameplay.

Lifeboats Genre Classification

Lifeboats is primarily a Negotiation and Survival game:

• Negotiation: Players interact heavily to influence voting outcomes and ensure their crew’s survival.
• Survival: The game revolves around navigating perilous waters and making sacrifices to maximize survival chances.

Lifeboats Mechanics

The core mechanisms of Lifeboats drive its focus on negotiation and strategy:

• Voting: Players vote to decide which lifeboat sinks each round, creating tension and opportunity for persuasion.
• Worker Placement: Crew Allocation; players strategically place their crew members on lifeboats to optimize their survival chances.
• Race: Lifeboats progress toward safety in a controlled manner, forcing players to consider positioning and timing.

Key Game Dynamics in Lifeboats

The dynamics of Lifeboats contribute to its intense and interactive gameplay:

• Conflict: The need to sink lifeboats fosters disputes and tough decisions among players.
• Social Strategy: Players must read opponents’ motives and form alliances that are mutually beneficial—at least temporarily.
• Replayability: The open-ended negotiation and unpredictable alliances offer endless variability.

How Dynamics Vary with Player Styles in Lifeboats

Different player styles influence how Lifeboats is experienced:

• Achievers ("Diamonds"): Strive to optimize their survival strategy and dominate the final outcomes.
• Explorers ("Spades"): Experiment with unconventional negotiation tactics or unpredictable alliances.
• Socializers ("Hearts"): Enjoy the interaction and relationships formed during the game, even at the cost of winning.
• Killers ("Clubs"): Find satisfaction in sabotaging others and causing lifeboats to sink dramatically.

Lifeboats Aesthetics

The aesthetics of Lifeboats align with its survival theme:

• Minimalistic Design: Simple components focus attention on negotiation and strategic interaction.
• Thematic Artwork: The lifeboats and crew pieces evoke a sense of peril and maritime struggle.

Narrative and Thematic Elements of Lifeboats

While Lifeboats is not narrative-driven, its theme of survival drives player immersion:

• Survival Under Pressure: The lifeboat theme emphasizes the stakes of each decision.
• Human Nature: The game mirrors real-world dilemmas of trust, sacrifice, and self-preservation.