Jane McGonigal just dropped me a line about her new project, World Without Oil. Rather than try to describe it, here’s the summary she sent:

 Earlier this week, World Without Oil launched. It’s the first alternate reality game to address a real-world problem: U.S. oil dependency. The official motto: “Play it – before you live it.” And you can play right now!

 It takes literally less than 30 seconds to sign up as a game hero.  I hope you’ll go sign up right now! Here’s the link: http://www.worldwithoutoil.org/addhero.aspx

 (Signing up just gives you a unique identity in the alternate reality. It means the game will know who you are if you come back and play. Unlike other ARGs, the game won’t start emailing you or burying things in your backyard.)

 Once you’re signed up, there’s lots of fun stuff to check out. The game launched on Monday, and already there are hundreds of player created documents to browse—-not to mention the official “backstory” created by the game’s puppet masters. The latest game updates include video footage of an underground car vandalism effort, instructions for how to throw fuel-free parties, and an eyebrow-raising transcript of the new secretary of state’s address to the nation.

 But most importantly – please take 1 minute today to sign up to play and help make this experimental game project a success!

Read More “An ARG to solve real problems”

Courtesy of Calvin, a look over time at those controversial XFire stats from the last post.

Allergies knocked me down yesterday (well, technically, it was the Benadryl that knocked me down). So here’s another roundup, and perhaps someday we’ll return to the days of overly lengthy articl;es stuffed full of colorful and insightful commentary.

•  Toby Ragaini, of Asheron’s Call fame, is back with a casual MMO startup called Thinglefin.
• Runescape has 1 million paying subs now, and Gamasutra has an interview.
• Kart Rider, probably the most popular Korean game ever, is launching in the U.S. The question for me is, how many American kids have already played it? I am guessing the answer is “a lot.” After all, XFire stats show…
• Actually, let’s do a whole line item for XFire stats. Take a look at those top ten MMOs by hours played. Look odd to you?

Read More “More roundup, due to illness”