She pulled him closer as they stood by the edge of the waterfall.    She had always liked him.  Since they first met 13 months ago on this island, she has been wondering if she can ever find the courage to kiss him.  At night, she sometimes dreams she hears a voice whispering to her ear: You can do it.  You can win him over.  Just bring him to the waterfall when you’re alone.  Whisper the words to him:  We’re Alone.

Today she decided to do it.  The dream kept happening, after all.  There must be a reason why.

She felt his heat against her skin and tried to still her heart.  It was beating so fast she was afraid he would notice.   He looked into her eyes and leaned forward to kiss her.  She bit her lower lip in anticipation.  

“We’re alone,” she whispered.  

“Just like the voice said,” he agreed.  Her eyes widened at his words, wondering what he had meant by them.  But the question would go unanswered.  The wind whipping around her and the scream erupting from her were too loud.  She hit the shallow water below and crumpled against the rocks.

He stared at her from the edge and smiled.  The voices whispered to him that she would bring him to place where they would be alone.  That he would have the chance to finally try killing someone. That the person would let him know it was time by telling him, “We’re Alone.”   He couldn’t believe it would happen, but it did just like the voice whispered to his ear last night.  He never noticed the dragonfly on his shoulder.

They called it the Dream Island.

The reality show had 12 teenager contestants.  Each were given the freedom to redefine their lives while in the island, which was populated with animals, dragonflies, and rich in various resources. They were to have one year to do what they want, with only cameras recording their every move.   It was a chance of a lifetime to bring to life one’s own dreams.

That was what they were made to believe.

By day 401, they realized no one had come to bring them home.  Worse, all of the cameras on the island had gone still.   Had they been abandoned?   Did something occur to the world beyond the island.  Did some calamity wipe out the rest of civilization?  Or some freak accident kill the staff of the show, and left them completely alone?  

In truth, a different kind of audience watches them now.
Because they are part of a different show.  

Not all the dragonflies in the island are insects.  Some are multi-sensory self-powered drones which the audience uses to spy on the contestants, and in some cases, influence their actions.  Unlike most reality shows where the audience merely watches, and at most votes on certain instances, in this show the audience has a stake on the results.  The show has 12 selected members of the audience who have been given control of these drones.  And have selected a contestant they want to win.  By using the drones, the audience members can monitor the island, and even attempt to prod the contestants to do things… like get rid of other contestants and have theirs be the last one standing.

Each audience member wants their own selected contestant to win.
Just like you do.

Welcome to the
EYELAND

SET-UP:

3-12 players
At least one d6 for each player
One six-sided die distinctly different from the rest

One print out of the Contestants sheet
One print out of the Sponsors sheet
Glass beads, buttons, or pieces of candy to denote as +1 counters.

Written by Tobie Abad

http://tagsessions.blogspot.com

PLAYING THE GAME:

The Contestants
Unlike most games, however, the player does not have a character sheet in this game.  No, the player doesn’t need stats.  Instead the players collectively create the contestants of the show. Players first take turns filling the Contestant sheet.  The Contestant sheet has up to twelve spots to fill up.  There will be a number of contestants equal to the number of players+1.   Starting with the player who most recently remembers having a dream, the players write down a name for a contestant.  

Once all the contestants have names, each then write a dream that contestant wants to fulfill while on the island. No two dreams should be the same, and they should somehow be achievable while there.    These were the dreams they had in mind when the contest started.  

Then, take turns writing what has changed.  Maybe the writer spiralled into depression.  Maybe the geek started working out.  Maybe the chef now uses his food to seduce the girls.  Be creative, yet plausible.  

Finally, each write a trait that describes the contestant.  This helps describe how he handles thing, or how he might react to certain events.  Bear in mind, at the point when the game starts, each contestant has been on the island for over a year, and now believes they are completely abandoned by the show and free to do things.  Does this terrify them?  Empower them?  Transform them?  That is up to you and your friends.

Regina waded in the shallow waters as she looked for more sea urchins.  She was hoping to prepare a nice uni surprise for Manuel, the fittest man she had ever seen.  She never had the courage to approach such men before but here on the island, she felt she had nothing to lose.

The cameras closed in towards the surface of the water a few feet from where Regina waded.  There was a dark patch suggesting more urchins beneath the waters.  But Regina felt suddenly scared.  Memories of some movie she saw when she was young suddenly resurfaced.  Though unlikely, she suddenly felt scared there might be a great white shark closing in on her from beneath the waves.  It was as if she could hear the “dun dun dun dun” beat despite being in an island thousands of miles from any radio.

She broke into a run, and tried to rush out of the water as fast as she could.  The shock of pain that exploded the moment she stomped on the urchins was enough to have her lose her balance and drop to the water.  Her head landed on the Yoshimatsu carving knife half-buried in the sand.

A tiny dragonfly fluttered away.  Almost imperceptible, the ostinato of bass notes played by a tuba emanated from its gossamer wings.    John Williams’ theme for Jaws has claimed another victim.

CONTESTANTS SHEET

Length of Game
Ideally, each game session represents the last few days before the reality show finally ends and the winner is proclaimed.  In game time terms, the game lasts for a few days.  At this point in time, the Contestants are now much more suggestible and eager to do something having been “abandoned” for so long.  And that is where the Audience comes in.

The Audience

Each player is a member of the Special Audience of the show.   Each chooses a contestant they want to win and marks this on the Contestants sheet.  The players have access to the Dragonfly drones, as well as the benefits granted by the Sponsors.  Each player wants their selected contestant to win (which means to survive) no matter what, even if the contestant herself might want otherwise.  

Each player gets one six-sided die.  

Jovan could hear Urim calling from the shelter.  He was probably having trouble with something again and wanted her to come over and help him.  But she was busy working on a new painting, and to be honest, after spending a year embracing the chance to do nothing but paint, she wasn’t too keen on going back to how things used to be.

She used to always follow her husband’s beck and call.  But the Dream Island had granted her a freedom she never knew she wanted.  She heard him call again and found herself smiling as she ignored his voice.  Wetting her fingers with the Carver tube paints she found in the shed, she continued painting the sunset she was working on and realized perhaps there was another aspect of her life that needed a sunset as well.

The Sponsors

Sponsors in the game represent various companies and industries that have chosen to participate in the show.  Each Sponsor can cause a specific effect in the narrative, but this can only happen if the Sponsor’s product is featured in the scene.  For example, if contestant Che wants to convince contestant Rocky to build her a tent, the player, as the Audience, might invoke the Sponsor Covergal to help her out. Che then finds a lipstick under a rock near her and uses it to raise her appeal.  

There are twelve Sponsors in total, regardless of the number of Contestants in the game.

Each Sponsor has a name, suggesting the products and focus of the brand.  However, how the Sponsor helps in the show can depend on the voting session each day.

The Sponsors are:
Covergal: Beauty
Mello: Energy Drinks
Yoshimatsu: Knives
Nothin’ Fancy: Clothing
Marxoro: Cigarettes

Shinji: Music
Wardens: Medicine
Carver: Art supplies
Indigo: Portables
Mayon Gear: Hardware

Hashtag Healthy: Homeopathic Remedies
Vaerner: Alcohol

Players are encouraged to be creative on how a Sponsor can help a contestant achieve a goal.

Rocky and Yoshi were building a boat.  Despite the others’ protests, they were determined to sail away from the Dream Island and find out what happened to the world beyond the water.    

“I wish we could create a storm this moment,” the Audience member gasped as she wondered how to stop this boat from sailing.    Vaerner was incapable of supplying a change in the weather, but the case of gin they secreted on the island was enough for Aldwin to use as fuel and burn the boat to ashes.  It was the only way, he believed, to save Rocky and Yoshi both from a lingering slow death at sea.

SPONSORS SHEET

Scenes
The game begins with the player who last watched an episode of any reality tv show.  That player is given the distinct d6 which we will call the LIVE CAM die.  This die identifies the current player.

Each player’s turn represents the show focusing on a contestant, or a group of contestants for a few minutes.  The player, as the Audience with the drone, decides who these contestants are.  This may or may not include the one he wants to win.  The game is played with the player describing events from the Audience’s point of view, as if it were being viewed on television.  He however gets to supply any dialogue, and decisions the contestants make.

Using the drones, the Audience can then zoom in what he wants to, approach or follow, or even  lead and manipulate the contestants if he finds a creative way to do so.  The player can freely narrate what the scene will be about.  As the player narrates what happens, he can simply declare how it resolves.  If no one contests, then it happens as narrated and the Scene ends.  The Live CAM die is then passed to the left and that player starts the next scene.  

However, if any other players contest how a scene unfolds, that’s when the dice and Sponsors come in.

Also note if the player at any time, wants to focus on any other location or to shift instead to other contestants who are not in the current scene, his turn ends and the LIVE CAM die is passed to the left.  That player then starts a new Scene.  This reflects the first player’s drone taking time to go to the new location in the island.  

Contested Resolutions

In this game, players are in some ways, all game masters.  When the description of how a scene unfolding is to happen is contested by any other players, this is resolved in the following manner.

a) The current player narrating the scene roleplays as the Audience member, saying aloud what he wants to accomplish and how it can be accomplished with the help of Sponsors.   He describes the role a Sponsor plays in unfolding the scene.   The player must involve Sponsors equal to at least half the number of players, rounded up.
b) Any player who still has a six-sided die can place the die on the declared Sponsor to show the sponsor agrees and did supply the needed contribution.
c) The other players can choose not to support the action and keep their die.
d) For each contestant in the scene, check each Trait if it helps the Unfolding Scene or not. If it does, place a +1 counter to Unfolding Scene.  If not, place a +1 counter to Murphy’s Law.
e) Once enough Sponsors have been invoked, all dice supporting the action are gathered with by the narrating player.  He places these into the Unfolding Scene adds his own die and the LIVE CAM die to the pool.      
f) All the other dice are gathered and placed in Murphy’s Law.
g) Dice are rolled, and the higher result determines how the narrative of that day ends.  All players can contribute to the narrative based on where their die was, and the current player incorporates their suggestions to the final narrative. On ties, Murphy’s Law wins.
h) Dice are returned to every player.  The current player adds a new Trait to any contestant that was present in that scene.  
i) The LIVE CAM die is passed to the left. That player now begins the next Scene.

End of Day
Once all players are done running at least one Scene, the Day can end.  If there are any players who are not done, however, (such as a player who needed to end his Scene early due to a location change or shifted focus to other characters), that player can still have a Scene if the other players are fine with it.

When a Day ends, the players will go through the Contestant list once more and add a Trait to any Contestant they feel warrants a new one based on the events of the Day.  The player with the LIVE CAM die has final say on any Trait additions.  Note that no Contestant loses a Trait.  Traits are never lost.

Last Day
The game continues until there is only one (or no) contestants remaining.   Once this happens, we enter the Last Day of the game.  In this last day, each player takes a turn to describe what their dragonfly drone is broadcasting, accompanied by his own monologue of what he thinks about what happened on the island.

Maybe there’s a winner.  Maybe there isn’t any.
The camera is live.
We are ready to watch.