Cristian Parker

I’ll map out the journey I’ll sweat over every detail Now your only job is to havefun.

Designer & Researcher, crafting experiences that stay with you

An in-person social deduction game designed for a large group of players.

View Case Study

Use RFIDs to use your Secret Role

The Touchscreen Console hosts the game

A high-immersion game of Mafia, with mechanics meant to challenge players’ deductive abilities. Determine what kind of enemy you’re dealing with, and who amongst you is lying.

Overview

Role: Team Lead - Game & UI Designer
Tools: Figma, Raspberry Pi, Pygame
Status: Console in Development

Liars in the Laboratory is a game run on a console, powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. It takes typical social deduction games and adds a few more simple mechanics, bringing novel nuances and strategies to the genre.

Liars in the Laboratory is a party-game meant to be played with a medium to large sized party. Turn any room into a venue for betrayal, deduction, and mystery. This game differs from the typical social deduction game by creating opportunities for organic clues, private and secret strategy, and a long-form mystery solving experience.

The console's main screen: a time-remaining panel, four buttons (Swap Seats, Role Checks, Add Time, Use Role) and a wheel of player seats marked green or red. — Swap seats with your peers, testing new combinations to try and solve the mystery.

Players gathered on couches during a Liars in the Laboratory playtest. — 4 Successful Playtests have been hosted, ranging between 8 and 20 players.

What didn’t work, and the fix

Cell Phones - A big distractor. Player focus suffered and logical conclusions were missed.

Reference Sheets + Physical Notes + Console

Seat Swapping Confusion - Players took more time understanding seat swapping than other mechanics

Updated Intro Explanation + Reference Sheets

Very Long Games - Host became distracted, easily losing track of time.

Console - Announces Time Increments

Disruptive Game Rhythm - Players had to stop discussion for a few minutes to perform roles

Asynchronous Role Usage / Discovery