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Play peak oil before you live it
Collaborative intelligence wiz Jane McGonigal designs alternate reality games to solve the world's biggest problems. Enviros love her -- but so does the military.
By Eliza Strickland [2007-07-10]

  • How is this a virtual reality or "alternate reality" game?

    Does not seem like either to me. Virtual reality implies that players play in a "made-up" reality (usually aided by computers). This "game" seems like its about 15% role-play, 15% case-study analysis, and 70% web-based scavenger-hunt/web phenomena.

    I’m not saying that this is a bogus game, or its not good in any way. But I don’t think its so revolutionary either. It does not produce the intense, creative interaction of a traditional role-playing game. It does not give the user a taste of sensory stimulation and vicarious identity that a MMORPG offer. Its just a bunch of people with similar interests participating in a massive, unstructured case-study.

    I guess I’m just not impressed as the author of this article.

    -- jesse_covner
    [Read jesse_covner's other letters]
    Tuesday, July 10, 2007 07:00 AM
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