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Come Out & Play 2006 in New York City
Crossroads is a two-player strategy street game using GPS-enabled phones. Players compete to capture intersections while avoiding the Baron Samedi – an invisible, computer controlled character who stalks the streets spreading chaos.
Location: The game takes place on a 4 by 6 grid of streets in the West Village. Visit the The Good Life exhibit space at Pier 40, Hudson River Park and check out the game phones from the front desk of the exhibit. Crossroads is a mobile-phone powered urban game designed by area/code for The Van Alen Institute’s The Good Life Exhibition. The game is inspired by the traditions of New Orleans Mardis Gras culture, and especially those aspects of that urban experience which have changed in the wake of flood. Specifically, the game draws from the idea of the second line – the parade of musicians whose route is never determined in advance. Traditionally, the second line moves through the city in a spontaneous and semi-random manner, drawing an unplanned path through disparate neighborhoods and cutting across cultural, economic, and social boundaries. Last year, for the first time, the second line agreed to submit their route to parade officials prior to the event. Crossroads is a two-person, real-world strategy game in which players compete to control urban territory. While the players attempt to organize the city according to their tactical goals they must contend with Baron Samedi – an invisible spirit who wanders capriciously through the city, spreading chaos wherever he goes. The game takes place on the streets of New York near the west-side location of the exhibition. A grid of approximately 24 intersections is the playing field. The players earn points by moving through the grid capturing. The player’s in Crossroads are known as Day and Night, and are represented by symbols of the Sun and Moon. To participate in the game, pairs of players borrow specially-prepared, GPS-enabled phones at the front desk of the exhibition. Designers: area/code
Game design and production: Frank Lantz and Kevin Slavin Programming: Erik Hogstedt info(at)playareacode(dot)com |
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