Gaming Visionary Creates ARG For New York Public Library

Tom Goldman

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
14,499
0
0
Gaming Visionary Creates ARG For New York Public Library


Jane McGonigal's next alternate reality game will give players historical quests in the New York Public Library.

Reality is Broken [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_252/7501-Jane-McGonigal-Lives-the-Game]. One of the methods through which she expresses her views is the alternate reality game, a technique that combines the real world with concepts found in games like quests and rewards. On May 20, 2011, McGonigal will bring a new ARG to the New York Public Library to raise interest in the building's contents.

For one night only from 8pm to 6am, McGonigal's Find the Future: The Game will allow 500 players to participate in a "Write All Night" event where they'll explore the library with laptops and smartphones and answer questions about their experiences. These answers will be included in a book that the NYPL will add to its collection.

Find the Future aims to keep players interested by giving them missions associated with 100 "humanity inspiring" objects found in the NYPL. Players will have to follow clues to these objects, which might end at the Declaration of Independence or a piece of 100-year-old artwork.

McGonigal says that Find the Future is "designed to empower young people to find their own futures by bringing them face-to-face with the writings and objects of people who made an extraordinary difference." She hopes it will "turn players into superempowered, hopeful individuals with real skills and ideas to help them change the world."

After May 20, Find the Future will be available for everyone to play on their own personal devices or through the NYPL's public computers. If you'd like to become one of the special 500 to participate first, you can sign up here [http://game.nypl.org/].

Source: NYPL [http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/04/01/jane-mcgonigal-and-nypl-present-find-future-game]

Permalink
 
E

Erja_Perttu

New member
May 6, 2009
1,847
0
0
Right now I'm cursing my residence on a different continent. That sounds both fun AND interesting!
 
Johnnyallstar

Johnnyallstar

New member
Feb 22, 2009
2,928
0
0
That's pretty awesome, but I'm nowhere near NY. Moving ARGs from video games to libraries to get people a little interested in learning again....

 
S

snave

New member
Nov 10, 2009
390
0
0
Aside from the sheer scale, I can't really see anything innovative in this. Is it not just a library section of a scavenger hunt?

If there's something I'm misisng here, please inform me, as I've read a lot on her work and agree on most of her ideas, but this kinda seems... lacklustre.
 
Jumplion

Jumplion

New member
Mar 10, 2008
7,873
0
0
*Looks at the video*

"Yeah! Pack up your stuff, grab your writer's cap, let's go on an ADVENTURE!"

*Arrives at the public library"

-YEAAAH, ADVENTUUUUUUU-

"Shhhh! Quiet, this is a library!"

Seriously, that video was really overblowing the whole deal. Still, looks cool, wonder what will come out of it.
 
Lightslei

Lightslei

New member
Feb 18, 2010
559
0
0
I'm debating if I should sign up and go, or go later? I'm going to do it at some point.
 
Lord Devius

Lord Devius

New member
Aug 5, 2010
372
0
0
...I thought the term was augmented reality [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality], not alternate reality...

...If it "superempowers" people successfully, have fun, I guess?
 
Mouse One

Mouse One

New member
Jan 22, 2011
328
0
0
As an above poster commented, this is really just a tech-ed up scavenger hunt. But there's nothing wrong with that, and should give kids (and perhaps some adults) exposure to the library system as well as a sense of participation.

Call it "Where in the Library is Carmen Sandiego?"
 
S

Speakercone

New member
May 21, 2010
480
0
0
snave said:
Aside from the sheer scale, I can't really see anything innovative in this. Is it not just a library section of a scavenger hunt?

If there's something I'm misisng here, please inform me, as I've read a lot on her work and agree on most of her ideas, but this kinda seems... lacklustre.
Click to expand...
The aim isn't simply to play a game, but to write a book collaboratively in a gameing environment. I look forward to seeing the results.

In other interestingness, if each person writes only 2000 words, they'll end up with a one million word document. Easy ask in 10 hours. Likely a hell of an editing job though.
 
Baldr

Baldr

The Noble
Jan 6, 2010
1,739
0
0
Easily Forgotten said:
...I thought the term was augmented reality [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality], not alternate reality...

...If it "superempowers" people successfully, have fun, I guess?
Click to expand...

AR(Augmented Reality) usually involves taking a camera and a program and adding something to video feed that is not really there.

ARG(Alternate Reality Game) is combing a game with real world things. All though the terminology is just technical, a lot of people have suggested that the A stand for alternative or augmented.
 
S

snave

New member
Nov 10, 2009
390
0
0
Speakercone said:
The aim isn't simply to play a game, but to write a book collaboratively in a gameing environment. I look forward to seeing the results.

In other interestingness, if each person writes only 2000 words, they'll end up with a one million word document. Easy ask in 10 hours. Likely a hell of an editing job though.
Click to expand...
Ah, cheers for the clarification.

So they're making a collaborative fiction stuffed with intertextual references? That's a lot more interesting -- can't wait to see the results -- although definitely straddles the edge of the definition of what constitutes a game.
 
mechanixis

mechanixis

New member
Oct 16, 2009
1,136
0
0
This is...a very interesting example of Gamification.

Looking at the website, I can't help but feel that it amounts to little more than Huckleberry Finn tricking kids into painting the fence, except Huckleberry Finn is Jane McGonigal, and the fence is the intellectual progress of mankind.

But it's still very interesting...selecting 500 people based on their capacity for vision, sticking them in a room, and telling them, "Contribute to history overnight." Very lofty concept. I'll be keeping my eye on this.
 
S

Speakercone

New member
May 21, 2010
480
0
0
snave said:
Speakercone said:
The aim isn't simply to play a game, but to write a book collaboratively in a gameing environment. I look forward to seeing the results.

In other interestingness, if each person writes only 2000 words, they'll end up with a one million word document. Easy ask in 10 hours. Likely a hell of an editing job though.
Click to expand...
Ah, cheers for the clarification.

So they're making a collaborative fiction stuffed with intertextual references? That's a lot more interesting -- can't wait to see the results -- although definitely straddles the edge of the definition of what constitutes a game.
Click to expand...
Not sure if it's fiction. The website is a bit vague about the specifics. A book will definitely be written though.

As for what constitutes a game, I'm reading McGonigal's book now and early on she identifies the definition "Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" (Reality is Broken pg. 22, 1st edition UK.) You're right in the sense that it doesn't look like what we've come to think of as a game.
 
Alphakirby

Alphakirby

New member
May 22, 2009
1,255
0
0
It seems like a good concept except for the fact that it'll only truely be interesting for the first 500,because they are doing something while after that it'll be a lot more boring. (I live in NJ and could play this but 1.I'm 15 and wouldn't be able to get a ride there and 2.I would probably fall asleep some point during it unless I'm interested long enough,which most likely won't happen.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom