Reality Game Produces Vivid Emotions

Margot Knight was part of a high-speed art theft and was diligently chased by several cops. The most interesting part of the story was not the part where she was held up at gunpoint, or even the part where she made a large sum of cash from an expensive painting, but the fact that it was all in her head.

Or, at least, it was mostly all in her head. A project has been made that has effects similar to the virtual reality type machinations that are usually featured in Science Fiction. The main character is a female art thief, who had since retired, but is currently itching for a new heist. The kicker? The project (also referred to as an alternate-reality game, or ARG) incorporates reality into the mix, directing players into real live buildings or locations to progress the story. The story alternates between both worlds, creating a new type of atmosphere. Jeff Wirth, the director of the interactive performance lab at the University of Central Florida, explains:

"We’d done a couple of these (games entirely in the real world) and they’ve been very successful, and each time we look for a new challenge," Wirth said. "Now we wanted to do it so the story took place in the real world and the virtual world. So sometimes she’s experiencing locations they go to in the physical world, and then later (they’re) going to the same places in the virtual world, or vice versa."

For now, the game takes pace in several locations in Orlando, Florida, but hopefully with added success of the project, new locations will be added.

The main question that follows a project such as this is when does it stop being just a game? Is there such a thing as too real? Are players out for a thrill they can’t experience from regular video games? IN my opinion, this might just be "too real" for me. I’ll take a regular game on the PSP any day.

*Photo courtesy of CNet News*