More More Meta Meta!
Posted by Kwip on April 6th, 2010 Comments Off
So I’ve blabbed about this plenty, but I just can’t seem to let it go. That’s what happens when you walk to work and get distracted by thoughts of what your perfect game would be like after having played new MOGs (or read about upcoming MOGs).
But the thing is, as soon as an idea starts bouncing around my head, some new technology shows up that takes my thoughts to entirely new directions. Even old technology (“old” by interweb standards) can start me thinking about new applications for MOGs in a meta sense.
Confused yet?
Let me start with some examples. In Star Trek: Online, one of the activities you can do is farming anomalies. In space and in the ground missions, this is accomplished by getting close to the anomaly and hitting a “scan” button. This gives you various resources that can later be used to build custom equipment. If you watch the animation, your character whips out their tricorder, which looks remarkably like an iPhone…
Bingo.
Why isn’t there an app for that? Seriously – get crazy, Cryptic. Star Trek fans are FAMOUS for going overboard. They wear their costumes to jury duty, for Gord’s sake! Can you imagine their excitement if they could whip out their iPhones/iTouches while walking around and “scan an anomaly?” Tie it in with the GPS app. Make an anomaly or three spawn every new half-mile the person covers or something. Make it so they don’t have to get close to it (so you don’t have Trekkies swerving off the road or walking into people’s homes, something we all know would happen).
Think of the potentials if you’re tying in with Google Maps: have specific missions that relate to landmarks in the area. You have the Memory Alpha station in the game (based, I always assumed, on the wiki) – why not tie it in to “ground missions” – if you visit local libraries, you get experience or something that you can spend at the digital Memory Alpha. Not only is this a win as something fun for gamers to do, you help get some traffic into our failing libraries. Hell, you can go REALLY crazy and make some libraries into scavenger hunts – librarians can print out bar codes that the iPhone can recognize with it’s camera (or iPads/iTouches/PDAs can just input a serial # into) and give the player some kind of XP bonus or a special in-game item. Sure, most librarians out there would be horrified at the idea of a group of unwashed n3rds coming into their libraries and scouring their book racks – but other librarians would love the idea of n3rds coming into their libraries and scouring their book racks!
Libraries should be dear places to n3rds; and to most of us, they are. But there’s a growing generation that have never stepped foot in their local library. Can you imagine how some librarians – and admittedly, it would be a TINY TINY percentage – could take advantage of this? Keep the special bar code behind the counter – make the n3rds hunt down certain books in the library (or put books back!) before they gain access to the code. Or – and this is where people will REALLY start yelling, I’m sure – what if you gave the code out whenever a n3rd came by and donated a book? Or even just checked out a book?
If I were a librarian, the “quest” I would set in place would be that trekkies had to research an interesting but somewhat obscure series of facts about the local city/town. Sure, there could be some boring stuff there – but maybe you’d find yourself reading about the Lancaster Rifle (a personal favorite that I only became interested in thanks to a influential high school teacher who gave me my own quest – the reward being avoiding detention).
But let’s get even crazier – let’s start getting even more high-tech. Consider what Nintendo is doing with their DSis and Ghostwire – using the in-game cameras to “peer into the astral world.” But imagine something like that which would tie into Secret World – a game that’s entire premise is based on the real world around us – why not actually USE that real world? In every sizable city across the globe, there’s some well-known historic location that would SURELY be of interest to the players of Secret World. Why not an app that ties into the MOG somehow? If you visit X number of supernatural “hot spots,” you gain some special in-game skill, XP, or back story/lore. Even if it’s just badges, gamers have proven they LOOOOVE those meaningless (stinkin’!) badges!
Or it could just be a fun mini-combat game. Creatures that only show up through your special “device” that you have to battle – like Ghostwire, only with punching! Use that iPhone accelerometer – the app is actually a magic sword: holding it before you, you can see the monster and deflect his attacks and launch your own attacks.
Personally, I love the idea of this, because I am evil and love the idea of n3rds on a train beaning their fellow commuters in the back of the head with an over-zealous swing…
And think of the PR potential – what if you tied in your game with Nike+? Blizzard, where’s the quest where you train for a run across the Shimmering Flats? Audio clues kick in when a mob starts chasing you, and you can outrun them for bonus XP, or they catch you for an XP hit? Think about it: You plot a path in Nike+ through different sectors and Nike+ plays appropriate music for each area, including when the different mobs start chasing you. You could train for a marathon AND level your DeathKnight in one HEALTHY pastime!
Yes yes, this is assuming a lot of things. But it’s a starting point, just an idea – of course there’s all sorts of obstacles, but nobody is doing ANYTHING like this! Why not? There is so much potential for overlapping gaming and reality! Who is going to be first to tap into it with something that’s not only unique and clever, but downright fun?
