Provocative politics in virtual games (CPB/PBS funded)

Cnet ^ | 03/28/2007 | Stefanie Olsen

[JohnSheppard]

SAN DIEGO--If you want to change the future, play with it first.

That could describe the philosophy of a new alternate-reality game called World Without Oil, which will launch April 30.

Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a backer of PBS, the game will essentially encourage people to envision a world in which the United States has been cut off from oil imports. Then, visitors will be urged to participate in the game by writing their own stories, creating videos or even by conjuring so-called flash mobs in U.S. cities.

Alternate-reality games (ARGs) are interactive story lines that draw on the real and virtual worlds--as well as players' actions--to unfurl the narrative. In recent years, the increasingly popular games have even been used in elaborate marketing campaigns, such as the recent launch of Microsoft's Windows Vista.

Jane McGonigal, a game designer for the research group Institute for the Future and one of the lead designers of the game, said at the ETech Emerging Technology Conference here Tuesday that World Without Oil is the first nonprofit-backed game designed for "social good."

[Uncle Ike]

" envision a world in which the United States has been cut off from oil imports. "

Those who can not or dare not think the unthinkable often find themselves tolerating the intolerable.

[shove_it]

I envision the Pentagon envisioning this already and the vision ain't gonna happen.

[Uncle Ike]

" I envision the Pentagon envisioning this already and the vision ain't gonna happen "

I find your faith in the omniscient, omnipotent federal gummint to be somewhat touching - especially in a conservative......

[metesky]

Happiness through gaming? Captivating thought.

Only two games have brought me happiness: that game of Spin the Bottle in 1956 when I was 12 and learning how to play Hollywood Gin, which I'm really good at and occasionally win money at.

[Pox]

This has some potential!

My mobs would first insure that the bulk of our armed forces are with us and our goal would be to remove all of the anti-American elements from society and move our country back towards the Constitution. Any and all 'police' organizations would have a choice, which would be join our side or die.

My mobs would swarm every broadcaster, beginning with ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, and the mobs would basically gut all of their assets while slaughtering their staff!

My next mobs would do the same to all the major anti-American newspapers across the country starting with the NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, etc.

Then it would be time to get down to business. My mobs would take out every sitting judge they could get their hands on.

The next move would be to swarm every college in America and my mobs would know what needs to be done at these bastions of anti-Americanism.

Next, my mobs would converge on Washington D.C. and eradicate basically everything that moves.

Then, my mobs would convene a new Constitutional Convention with the understanding that their primary mission was complete and it was time to insure that we moved back to our roots and amend our constitution to guarantee our country will never move back towards socialism/communism.

All I want to know is, where can I get my copy!