On a recent trip to Spain, I caught up with Blast Theory cofounder Matt Adams for a chat about the wireless games his company develops — high-adrenaline, multiplayer roleplaying experiences like "Can You See Me Now" and "Uncle Roy is All Around You." Here's a snip from Adams' explanation of these games, which take place simultaneously in virtual space and real space:
"It's a chase played simultaneously online (by the public) and in the streets (by assigned participants). You're dropped into a virtual city, you use avatars to navigate, and there's a chat interface so that real-world and online participants can text one another.
"You're chased in the real city and the virtual city, at the same time. Three runners on the street are equipped with PDAs, GPS devices and walkie-talkies. To "get" you, they have to come within five meters of your position. The game is physical and visceral, and we were amazed at just how clearly a sense of presence in time and space was communicated. Players in Seattle, Tokyo and Germany communicating with players on the ground in the U.K. could hear weather conditions, traffic, where the busy roads were — "Hey, this road's jammed, why don't you zigzag back and forth here?" They learned where hills and valleys were along the game terrain — "This one's too steep, go there instead."
When virtual players heard a runner say, "OK, she's really close now — let's run up and get her," they told us the hair stood up on the back of their necks with an adrenaline rush — "Shit! They're coming for me now" — it was one of those things we thought would be interesting ahead of time, but had no idea there would be such a strong emotional and physical reaction in an online environment.
