After Shock: earthquake alternate reality game
Today, Jason Tester, my colleague at Institute for the Future, and Art Center College of Design launched a fascinating new alternate reality game that simulates public response to a massive earthquake. After Shock asks the key question: What will you do when the big one hits? The game runs for three weeks. Jump in anytime! From Wired News:Play After Shock (aftershock.net), "LA Preps for the Big One With Massively Multiplayer Earthquake" (Wired)Aftershock, run by the Institute for the Future and Art Center College of Design, is based on a 300-page U.S. Geological Survey scenario report that details the extensive damage that Southern California could experience in the aftermath of a 7.8-magnitude quake on the San Andreas Fault. The game began on Thursday and will run for three weeks, prompting users to complete real-world missions – and submit content based on them to the gaming community.
"Disaster preparedness was at the point where the messaging had hit the limit. You can give people this really elegantly designed flyer, and they stick it in a drawer and it hits them in the head during the earthquake," said Jason Tester, the lead game designer at the IFTF. "[The game] says, 'You are experiencing a real earthquake.' We're trying to make it feel visceral."
Previously on BB:
• Jason Tester: Case for Human-Future Interaction
• Aftifacts from the Future at IFTF
Share this post
Where not otherwise specified, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States and other countries.