News
What's the big idea? | Tom | Thought PieAs we presented this at the midway event I thought we better get it up on the blog! The whole idea of Happy Packages was to enable the people of Bristol to leave digital gifts around the city for their friends. The application we are working on which looks like fulfilling that most literally is the latest evolution of the Happy Stamps concept. We are calling it Happy Packages for that very reason.
The idea is that the user creates a trail where they choose the locations, the clues, and the rewards for a friend.
The process starts by visiting a website. Using an interactive Google map they can easily make the trail in minutes. Choosing the location is done by clicking on the map and dragging the markers to the desired places. The rewards can be images or text chosen by the user, so in-jokes and personal photos are encouraged to make it a really personal experience for the recipient.
This all gets bundled up and send to the friend's mobile, so they can start the trail straight away! It could be designed to be done in an afternoon or a month. Using GPS the application knows when the user is within range of one of the designated locations and supplies the appropriate reward. Only when they find the first location are they given the clue for the second, so they have to follow the trail in the order intended by the creator.
One neat use of this we have thought of is that the last location is the friend's favourite bar or coffee house and the reward is a voucher for a free drink. The application could make web requests for rewards so the content provided can be dynamic.
As not many handsets currently support GPS we are using a separate device called BlueNext (cost about £25) which gets GPS information and transmits it to a mobile via Bluetooth. Of course in the future lots more phones will have GPS!
We will look to be demoing this in the next week or so in (and out!) the studio. Although Happy Packages is all about Bristol there isn't actually anything to constrain the application to this city!
Overlaying Digital Realities… | Jon | Licorice FilmProject initial concept:
Harmonize (or the project previously known as ‘Harmonize’) is a site specific collaborative team game.
One player takes the role of the seeker, armed with a PDA and two way radio they play outside on the street. The other members of the team work together using a large screen installation. This screen shows an interactive display of the game area highlighting goals and obstacles that they must direct the seeker to. The seeker can not see these obstacles, so communication is vital to success.
The team must work together in a race against the clock, harmonising their virtual and physical actions to overcome the challenges of the environment. Once the time is up, the team’s score is recorded and posted to an online league table for all to see.
Inspiration:
As well as being inspired by my time spent devolving Mscapes with Hewlett Packard, Inspiration for this project also comes from fond memories of watching cult 80’s kids TV show ‘Knightmare’ and the online/RL cross over of Blast Theory’s ‘Can you see me now.’
Knightmare:
"Knightmare was a fantasy adventure game show, shown on Children's ITV in the UK between 1987 and 1994. It was created and produced by Tim Child and was a Broadsword Television production for Anglia Television/ITV. The show made extensive use of the 'Cromakey' (blue screen) technique to generate rooms and scenes with different backgrounds and graphics.The adventure was set mostly in a dungeon, and there were three 'levels' corresponding to difficulty. Teams of four took it in turns to challenge the dungeon to complete a 'quest' - usually to retrieve a symbolic object, such as a Crown or Shield. The dungeon master 'Treguard', and his assistant occasionally helped teams along their way as they solved problems, puzzles and riddles The 'dungeoneer' is the one person of the team who is guided through the adventure, and wears a helmet to blind them from reality. He or She is guided by the three other members of the team, known as their 'advisors', who sit in the dungeon ante-chamber and watch the adventure through a 'Magic Mirror'.The object of each quest was decided at the start, and teams would be awarded with a medal or FrightKnight trophy upon successful completion.”
(http://www.knightmare.com/introduction.htm)
http://www.youtube.com/v/bxvuLyMGxLw&rel=1 -Video documentation
Can You See Me Now? –Blast Theory
Can You See Me Now? is a game that happens simultaneously online and on the streets. Players from anywhere in the world can play online in a virtual city against members of Blast Theory. Tracked by satellites, Blast Theory's runners appear online next to your player on a map of the city. On the streets, handheld computers showing the positions of online players guide the runners in tracking you down. With up to 20 people playing online at a time, players can exchange tactics and send messages to Blast Theory. An audio stream from Blast Theory's walkie talkies allowed you to eavesdrop on your pursuers: getting lost, cold and out of breath on the streets of the city. “(http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/work_cysmn.html)
http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/mov/mov_cy.html -Video documentation
