Passively Multiplayer Gaming

errorjustin writes "In a recent Mobile Games Conference keynote speech, Justin Hall had the audience imagine their life as a videogame: 'You gain 'experience points' by using MSWord or by sending emails. Every item you cross off a 'to do' list gives you an experience bonus, until eventually you 'level up' your life. You become U+1.' So what can be done with all this user-generated data? That's where the idea gets exciting: 'Imagine a mobile game that alerts you that a bomb is going to go off in 24 hours. To defuse it you need to assemble 16 levels of chemistry expertise, and 22 levels of physics expertise. The friends on your friends list all have levels for both skills - levels that have been determined by their real-life expertise and activities. You'll need to pull enough people together, either friends or friends of friends, to defuse the bomb.'" Would certainly make your average Monday a little easier to handle. The winner of this year's Game Design Challenge had an interesting idea that was somewhat similar.

Comments

correction

[bersl2]

You gain 'experience points' by using MSWord

Actually, I think that action just abuses wisdom and intelligence.

Hey thats MY game

[cliffski]

Didn't I just DO this? --->

http://www.kudosgame.com/

Re:Does compiling count?

[syntaxglitch]

And therefore using Gentoo is like running a bot? I don't want to get kicked out of life for cheating.

Obligatory: "Probably, but this is unlikely to be enforced, since the number of Gentoo users with lives to be kicked out of is vanishingly small."

Or..

[argStyopa]

Or, if we're talking Real Life (tm) 2006...

"'Imagine a mobile game that alerts you that a bomb is going to go off in 24 hours."
Cool!

Imagine the consequences, you're sitting in an airline passenger lounge, & your cell phone bleeps it has a message. You pop it open and a flashing red popup tells you there is a BOMB times to go off in 24:00:00 and it starts counting down!

The adventure forks at this point - either into an 'action adventure' or a 'low key suspenseful thriller':

1) Mrs Johnson, sitting beside you, happens to see it and starts screaming. You've just aggro'd the whole airport full of security and police.
2) Mr Parker, on the other side, happens to see it and quietly mentions you to the gate agent, who has a halfdozen massive dudes in dark suits and glasses appear out of nowhere to quietly 'suggest' you come along with them.

Either way, AT BEST you end up strapped down spread-eagle on an examining table while the FBI crams a camera up your butt looking for proof you're a terrorist. FUN!

"Sent to Gitmo" : +5 xp!