British dev wants to make a game you can ignore

Lecturer working on nontraditional project that takes real-life actions and translates them into RPG actions.

NEWPORT, Wales--Immersive games that eat up all your free time might become a thing of the past, and games that are "easy to ignore" might be the next big thing. Mark Eyles, speaking at this week's Women in Games 2007 event, which he founded in 2004, introduced just such a project.

Eyles, a lecturer in computer games at the University of Portsmouth in the UK and former industry veteran, has developed a game titled Ambient Quest, which will soon be available to play for free online.

In Ambient Quest, players wear a pedometer attached to their belt or pocket, which counts the number of steps that they take. For every 300 steps, players get one move in the PC role-playing game. Each move opens up more squares on the map, as well as opportunities to find food, treasure, or fight monsters to gain experience. Eyles commented, "Players' real actions in the real world affect an avatar in a virtual world. You can either change your actions in the real world to help your avatar. Or not."

Eyles said that he got the idea for the project--which is part of his PhD research--while he was listening to Brian Eno's album Music for Airports. He said, "I was thinking, if that album was a role-playing game, what would it play like? And on the cover it says 'as ignorable as it is interesting.'"

These kinds of pervasive games could be used in a number of ways, Eyles believes. "Imagine a job which involves fairly repetitive actions--for example shelf stacking--that is not so interesting in itself, but [by 'keeping score' of such actions] the game actually makes it interesting," he said.

The idea of a player's real-world actions or environment affecting the game is not entirely new. Other games that have attempted to integrate real-life actions into their gameplay include Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand, where a specially designed Game Boy Advance cartridge measured the amount of sunshine in your real-life environment to gauge how much power the vampire-slaying hero would had in the game.

236 Comments

  • mozzle

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:06 pm PT

    ok then. . .

  • boffo21

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:08 pm PT

    and thats gunna sell because...

  • Kratos66

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:11 pm PT

    For some reason I don't think the gaming equivalent of "Music For Airports" would sell very well, but it's an interesting concept regardless.

  • sentay0

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:16 pm PT

    So friggin' stupid!

  • patch7331

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:16 pm PT

    Once this is released gamer deaths will be an all time high

  • rhys211

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:24 pm PT

    boffo21 and thats gunna sell because...

    It's free

  • BenUK

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    Interesting... Doubt it will do well though

  • spoof411

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:25 pm PT

    retarded

  • Lord_Satorious

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:28 pm PT

    Here's a game you can _really_ ignore; http://www.progressquest.com/

  • GrimBee

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:33 pm PT

    I thought "gundam" on the ps3 was a game to ignore...

    Also - anyone ever played ultraman? now THERES a game to ignore!
    So... basically, this game lets you play a game, without actually playing a game...

    is THIS part of the game?!

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:40 pm PT

    wow...I thought every game other than Halo or GoW on the 360 was easy to ignore...this one wins an award...

  • monco59

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:41 pm PT

    What the...?

  • Sagacious_Tien

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:42 pm PT

    Its an interesting experiment. Worth trying though.

  • ChrisJ2004

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:54 pm PT

    Monco59.. my words exactly

  • R-Force

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:57 pm PT

    Sounds interesting but I think I'll ignore it for now, thanks.

  • Renegade194

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:59 pm PT

    Wait... What???? I'm so confused.

  • maccaaccam

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:08 pm PT

    so what happens if i just sit in front of my computer shaking the pedometer for s few minutes instead of walking?

  • SpiderFreak

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:10 pm PT

    ...This sounds like complete and utter crap.

    I'm sorry, but it does. I'm all for more physically active gaming or going outside for fun rather than playing games (I wish there was more to do where I live), but this is just stupid. I'm not going to play a game that REQUIRES me to go take a walk every day just so I can move forward a step or slay a monster.

    SF

  • Daytona_178

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:10 pm PT

    put the pedometer o top of your washing machine and sit back!

  • cichy69

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:10 pm PT

    so.. you have to walk in real life, so you can move one square.. not very interesting... ; |

  • philip-joe

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:14 pm PT

    This is good for those videogame players who have no activeness in their life at all.

  • heyheydoh

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:14 pm PT

    Try not to get run the hell over!

  • diablos101

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:29 pm PT

    Seems interesting but 300 steps for one move perhaps the balance needs to be put right. Of course this game wont be for the part of the gaming market that just wanna play twich games or just play games in their room for hours on end. Of course i do this, but it is an interesting concept in which levelling ur self ur own stats (getting fit) is implemented in the virtual world. FOr those who do fitness such a gym, you know that it like to not experience plateu or no obvous results at first... Its motivation, frankly i would pass on this experience until i a) know more about it 2)if i can actually be bothered... but personally as a game concept it aint that bad

  • O_OdazX_X

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:31 pm PT

    thank god for that alimighty word "free" online games.

  • living420

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:32 pm PT

    Id just shake the pedometer until I had as many moves as I wanted, Or put the thing in a dryer for a few days. I love the idea though, making menial tasks interesting.

  • spartan_104

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:37 pm PT

    Finally, an appropriate answer to the digital pat-on-the-back that xbox live achievements offers. Hopefully, this will get gamers off their asses and go become productive members of society. Just remember, someone can be both a gamer and someone who contributes.

  • blueflamedino

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 5:45 pm PT

    yeah... and there is no way to cheat on this walking thing right... I mean kids won't find a way to cheat, and they will really want to play this game because it wil be a AAA title, the intentions are good but the methods are bad

  • Lostfile

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:08 pm PT

    Sounds kinda weird since you would have to walk, sit down at your computer for one turn, walk again, sit down again, repeat.

  • Darth_Tyrev

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:47 pm PT

    Great idea to try to get gamers more exercise...

    Now let's just think of a good game idea.

  • lotsofgunfire

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:50 pm PT

    i'll put my pedometer on a piston

  • Dragonblade01

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:53 pm PT

    ehh, not really my style, i play video games for fun, and as an escape from the real world, so blending real life and virtual life like this doesn't really tickle my fancy

  • bowop1

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 7:11 pm PT

    Instead of making a game completely using the real world, how about just bonuses for real world stuff. For example, I have a job that requires me to walk all day, it would be a nice extra benefit if all that walking gave me in-game bonuses as well as my usual paycheck. But I defintely don't want to be forced to get up just to play a game.

  • kirbyfanatic

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 7:30 pm PT

    sounds like complete crap to me

  • ryustruck

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 7:51 pm PT

    sounds, interesting. Ill have to try it out when its released

  • everythingj

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:08 pm PT

    i would do this if the game was really fun and i actually could advance while i was using the device at work somehow. However, since i work at a starbucks, i'm usually stuck behind the bar making drinks all day, instead of walking vast distances. Is there a way to get points for standing? =)

  • epormada

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    Good! Maybe it will help all thoughs fatties get on a treadmill!

  • maddogtannen316

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    yes, yes, let's condemn creativity in gaming..i mean hell, maybe we could all play Halo 35 or Final Fantasy 3000 next week...NO

    It honestly is quite sad to see it isn't completely the developers problems coming out with unique titles, but rather the fickle brain dead public who just want another sequel to anything and everything.

    I think it is a fantastic idea, and Boktai is a poor example to give as common ground. A completely new game idea > a novelty

  • QualityJeverage

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:18 pm PT

    This sounds like those old Digimon toys that were popular with the kids for a year or two. In any case it's not an entirely new concept, though it's certainly more realized than ever. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

  • Gnorbooth

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:49 pm PT

    Brian Eno FTW.

  • warstomp

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:51 pm PT

    crap idea.

  • SmallPower

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:02 pm PT

    I love listening to Brian Eno while playing pc games - usually Taking Tiger Island by Strategy, Here Come the Warm Jets, and Another Green World. The albums he produced for Bowie are also good - well at least Low is anyway.

    Ambien Quest sounds a little bit ridiculous however.

  • jsrock_on54

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:06 pm PT

    this is the dumbest idea ive heard in a while

  • exedeath

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:11 pm PT

    I think this guy is forgetting what age gamers are. A high percent of gamers are adults, and we have jobs. Now I don't know about you guys, but I like to spend my days off relaxing, and not walking around town. We just want to sit down, and relax. Thats what games are for. They help you forget how your whole company is screwing all their employees, and how all the people you meet outside are morons. This game better be something awesome.

  • sinceps1

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:19 pm PT

    The article gives you just enough to be interesting, but is easy to forget... lol. They never say in that whole article how this works, which kind of makes reading six paragraphs a waste of my time.

  • DoomsdayForte

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:21 pm PT

    Oh, when they said "game you can ignore" I figured it was a project making a game so bad that no one would buy it. XD

    Actually, this idea is pretty neat, though it's already done to a degree with other things. Whatpulse counts keystrokes and mouse-clicks. Last.fm counts the number of times you play a certain song (as does iTunes). And so on. I'd like to earn EXP in an RPG for every 500-some keystrokes I take. =P

  • ahyumifan

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:25 pm PT

    Worst idea ever created. You can just shake the goddamn pedometer with your hand for faster movement then. Wow...

  • zsc4

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:28 pm PT

    I really don't know what to make out of this news

  • pearcer

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:36 pm PT

    I can see it now chinese gold farmers take to the streets lol

  • KevinCC

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 9:38 pm PT

    With some tweaking at various levels, this idea could be used for a truly stellar game - it just needs to be cheatproof, so no shaking to get more steps, no using an extra-bright light to simulate sunlight... I'm seeing -something- with the Wii controller, but exactly -what-, I do not know. I just know that there's something there with all its unique functions... maybe the number of times the rumble is triggered, but only the full amount if several games are used to trigger the rumble? Or maybe something based off of entering unique combinations of buttons, say, resetting every time the A button is pressed? There's potential on all platforms for this... figuring out how to implement it without it coming off as "gimmicky" or "tacked-on", now, that's the tough part.

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