Spouse Aggro

Recently we upgraded Leala to an iPhone 3GS, so I took her year old 3G iPhone and threw it on my line. I replaced a 20 dollar Blackberry (thank you, good credit) and stepped into the world of the iPhone. I gotta’ say, it has me more excited than ever before about mobile gaming and social networking.

The exciting thing about this kind of mobility is that it will allow for even more immersion, not less. Soon we will log into fully 3-D games (already we have some decent 3-D’ish games) from our portable devices, while we post real life pictures into the game. Our lives and gaming will be more tied together than it is now, this is for sure.

We started the Scavenger Quest project on MMOVoices, basically an attempt to create a collaborative “game” using only basic tools. After messing with rules and possible pic posting sites, I have decided that the main tools will be the social network, Twitter and the players phone. I had to think about how to work it so that anyone can participate, but also how to allow for players to contribute from anywhere. It has to be portable and yet still customizable.

It also must be something that we can do together as a group. So far the funnest games we have played as a social network have been social games like WURM Online or Ikariam. Games that allow us to easily help each other seem to be the most enjoyable. So I decided that instead of us each having a small tract of land while competing against each other, maybe we should all pitch in to build one shelter, or one farm, or to hunt together.

I am thinking that we should still use the real life pictures as “materials”, meaning that if the game asked to build a shelter players would need to each contribute X number of (let’s say) wood. Player Bob would take a real life photo of wood in his area (sounds silly, but stick with me) and would Tweet it to the official Twitter account for the game. (Which by the way is @scavengerquest ) When the certain number of building materials are reached, the wall (or fireplace or bow and arrow) is built and the image updated on the official Scavenger Quest page on MMOVoices.

This is a basic, basic idea. Essentially it would be a way for players to contribute to the “game”, while a persistent world is maintained on the site, but also while having it all dependent on real life “performance.” Imagine the “Scavenger” part…a Tweet goes out from the official game Twitter account saying “A fire has broken out, the community needs 5 pictures of buckets of water to put it out…you have 5 hours.” or something similar. The players would send in the pictures and defeat the “enemy” and the official page is updated.

Rules could be tweaked for combat and such, but the idea is to allow players on the site to contribute to something that they all benefit from. Sounds nutty, but I am an artist and could draw up all the art for the game. I could easily draw up the town complete with all the items to be built, and add the layers as they are built. It would be fun.

I think the next step it to follow @scavengerquest on Twitter, and add the official MMOVoices page to your bookmarks. I am going to whip up some basic art and update the page, so keep an eye out. I would like to send out the first “scavenger hunt” for the first items need to “build” the town within a week. Consider it testing, and of course I would love any input.

The idea is to use the iPhone and all it’s capabilities. Of course, if players do not have an iPhone or a phone that does what an iPhone does, they could always use the site and the old fashioned digital camera and uploading the pics. I want us to be able to contribute to a “game” like we did in WURM Online, but using only basic tools. Eventually you could have “quests” that are timed and more urgent, rules for combat and all sorts of other standard MMO items. Essentially, it is like a MUD that is built on MMOVoices.

I prefer this idea, being that it would be easy enough to maintain and nothing to pay for. The tools are already there, and I want it to give us some idea what developers go through when making even very basic games.

Any and all ideas appreciated!

Beau