Case and Molly is a prototype game for the Oculus Rift based on William Gibson's classic 1984 science fiction novel Neuromancer, by Greg Borenstein. It alternates between two points of view: an action hero (Molly) who is trying to physically penetrate a target, and a network operator (Case) who supports her by hacking the systems that protect that space. As Borenstein writes, this is "all too familiar."
He continues, "We constantly navigate the tension between the physical and the digital in a state of continuous partial attention. We try to walk down the street while sending text messages or looking up GPS directions. We mix focused work with a stream of instant message and social media conversations. We dive into the sudden and remote intimacy of seeing a family member’s face appear on FaceTime or Google Hangout."
Case is embedded in today’s best equivalent of Gibsonian cyberspace: an Oculus Rift VR unit. He oscillates between seeing Molly’s point of view and playing an abstract geometric puzzle game.
Molly carries today’s version of a mobile “SimStim unit” for broadcasting her point of view and “a readout chipped into her optic nerve”: three smartphones. Two of the phones act as a pair of stereo cameras, streaming her point of view back to Case in 3D. The third phone (not shown here) substitutes for her heads-up display, showing the game clock and a single bit of information from Case.
The game proceeds in alternating turns. During a Molly turn, Case sees Molly’s point of view in 3D, overlaid with a series of turn-by-turn instructions for where she needs to go. He can toggle the color of her “readout” display between red and green by clicking the mouse. He can also hear her voice. Within 30 seconds, Molly attempts to advance as far as possible, prompting Case for a single bit of direction over the voice connection. Before the end of that 30 second period, Molly has to stop at a safe point, prompting Case to type in the number of a room along the way. If time runs out before Case enters a room number, they lose. When Case enters a room number, Molly stays put and they enter a Case turn.
During his turn, Case is thrust into an abstract informational puzzle that stands in for the world of Cyberspace. In this prototype, the puzzle consists of a series of cubes arranged in 3D space. When clicked, each cube blinks a fixed number of times. Case’s task is to sort the cubes by the number of blinks within 60 seconds. He can cycle through them and look around by turning his head. If he completes the puzzle within 60 seconds they return to a Molly turn and continue towards the objective. If not, they lose.
Case and Molly: A Game Inspired by Neuromancer
(via Waxy)
