Collective intelligence used in alternate reality games...

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 17 Apr 2007, 19:55

I have no experience of this sort of thing....

... guess I'll have to take a look. Can't quite see how it would work though!

I suppose I am limited by my imagination!

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 17 Apr 2007, 21:07

Hey writerguy, good to see you engaged here.

Can I ask who approached you to create this game? I see from C/Net it was/is sponsored by Corporation for Public Broadcasting - isn't that the US Government? Just interested in how it all came about.......

isenhand · Post by **isenhand** » 18 Apr 2007, 06:05

writerguy wrote:
GD wrote:Cheers WG. I'll take your word for it! Not sure I'll have much time to delve in myself...
Stop by and take a look after launch on April 30. http://www.worldwithoutoil.org

I'm just sitting here waiting

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 18 Apr 2007, 08:59

snow hope wrote:Hey writerguy, good to see you engaged here.

Can I ask who approached you to create this game? I see from C/Net it was/is sponsored by Corporation for Public Broadcasting - isn't that the US Government? Just interested in how it all came about.......

It was my idea. ITVS (Independent Television Service) put out a Request For Proposals on Internet games. I don't think they knew then about Alternate Reality Games at all, they were thinking more along the lines of an online Flash game where you save Darfur or suss out polluters. And indeed they rejected my proposal at first (this was 2005). But they couldn't forget it and eventually came back and wanted to do it.

CPB isn't the govt exactly, they get govt money, but they're a non-profit corporation charged with funding communication projects in the public interest. Something like that anyway.

Sally wrote:I have no experience of this sort of thing....

... guess I'll have to take a look. Can't quite see how it would work though! I suppose I am limited by my imagination!

Not to scare you away from playing the game, but I also have no experience with this sort of thing** and am also limited by my imagination. I do see how the game MIGHT work, however... kinda like Wikipedia... if everyone pitches in and imagines a little bit of an oil shock, together we might get a pretty good picture of what it will look like.

**have done my homework, however

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 18 Apr 2007, 09:05

isenhand wrote:
writerguy wrote:
GD wrote:Cheers WG. I'll take your word for it! Not sure I'll have much time to delve in myself...
Stop by and take a look after launch on April 30. http://www.worldwithoutoil.org
I'm just sitting here waiting

You should join the other players-in-waiting!
Here's the "trailhead" at the UnForums at UnFiction:
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/view ... hp?t=18592

isenhand · Post by **isenhand** » 18 Apr 2007, 10:17

I'm there now

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 18 Apr 2007, 10:45

Clear as mud that thread!

(I only looked at first and last pages.)

RogerCO · Post by **RogerCO** » 18 Apr 2007, 13:39

Sally wrote:Clear as mud that thread! (I only looked at first and last pages.)

Agree with you there Sally, any idea what language they are talking, sounds like wibble to me.
writerguy's description makes it sound interesting though.

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 18 Apr 2007, 17:37

RogerCO wrote: sounds like wibble to me.

Um, yeah, I guess it is a little ARG-jargon-heavy!

(Command of ARGot not necessary to actually play the game)

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 18 Apr 2007, 20:41

ARG?

Glad to hear we don't need it!

After this build up I'll have to look in to see what it's all about!

(Note to self.... that word "wibble" has a nice ring to it... must use it sometime!)

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 18 Apr 2007, 21:22

wibble wobble the flower pot men (no I haven't been drinking tonight - it just came into my head and I had to get it out)

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 18 Apr 2007, 21:29

snow hope wrote:wibble wobble the flower pot men (no I haven't been drinking tonight - it just came into my head and I had to get it out)

Did they not say "ba lub a lub" or is that just the joke about Bill and Ben in the bath?

RogerCO · Post by **RogerCO** » 18 Apr 2007, 22:45

Sally wrote:
snow hope wrote:wibble wobble the flower pot men (no I haven't been drinking tonight - it just came into my head and I had to get it out)
Did they not say "ba lub a lub" or is that just the joke about Bill and Ben in the bath?

flobadob
dopaflop
little weeeed

(ahem not that sort

)

(and we thought the teletubbies were patronising when we watched them with our kids - embarrassing what repressed memories bubble up many moons later )

writerguy · Post by **writerguy** » 22 Apr 2007, 07:42

Somebody's got to make that valiant but doomed attempt to get this thread back on topic:

http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-04-18/news/future-games/

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 22 Apr 2007, 09:14

Welcome to the world of UK forums!!

Seriously though writerguy, all the other emergency services have training courses and packages. It seems 100% logical that the world has a 'dry-run' for an inevitable scenario such as PO.

Well done with the game, it will be interesting to see what comes out of it!!