Play the Planet

Have you heard of a game called "father io" its an augmented reality game maybe it will give u ideas.

a reply to: Brotherman

Oh! Good tip! No, I had not heard of that one yet - investigating now, and thank you!

-=Vel=-

Baking Your Noodle – Perks, Power-Ups, Spells & Magic Items

What would an RPG be without things like perks and power-ups? Magic items and spells?

Not a very interesting one, for sure.

Now…I know what you’re thinking. “Vel…that’s a bridge too far. Sure, sure, it’s one thing to construct Quests that can “change stuff” in the real world, but spells? Magic items? Now you’re just being silly.”

But…am I?

First, let’s define what a magic item is:
A magic item must be earned via a quest. It cannot be purchased. It must be “keyed to” a specific, named individual, and of course, it must actually “DO something” tangible in the real world. Otherwise, it’s just a game concept. It has to be able to bridge the gap between the worlds, just like the player does.

Here’s the first magic item I’ve developed:

The Ring of Persuasion

Remember before, when I was describing the difference between the Free and Paid accounts? Paid members can create votables, which everyone can vote on. Votables are essentially fund raisers that raise awareness, and ultimately money for Holon-specific social goals (an industrial washer/dryer for the local homeless shelter, more warehouse space for the local Salvation Army, etc).

The rule is – one account per user, one vote per account.

So – one day, you complete a quest, and you get a rather cryptic email from the Quest Admin. It informs you that you can complete the Quest you’re working on as-is, or, you can perform a bit of extra work (as outlined in the email). In addition to the extra work, you also need to secure an RFID tag, a biometric sensor, and 1.5 ounces of silver, delivering these items to your Holon’s FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory).

No further explanation is given.

If you choose to do these things, you’ll get a call from the FabLab managers a day or two after you drop off the materials. On your return to the Lab, you are greeted by a man who is wearing surgical gloves and holding an ornate silver ring.

It’s powered by…you. When you put it on, the biometric sensor bonds to you, and creates a unique account for the ring that is slaved to your account. If you’re wearing the ring when you vote on a votable, the ring’s account automatically votes the same way you did.

End result: You get two votes. The votes can and will impact which projects are given priority in terms of funding, and funded projects are the real world impact.

Magic item.

Spells are done in the same way. I’ve only created a few of these so far, but here are two examples:

Blessing: Reserved for high level characters, each character starts with one blessing “counter” and earns more with each new level (starting at level 7). Blessings cannot be given to yourself, but they may be stacked (a player can receive multiple blessings). Blessing counters automatically generate a small number of GC, every month. So if you, for instance, see a homeless man and want to help, you can simply give him a blessing. There’s a verbal component, so you’ll be wearing your open source equivalent to Google Glasses, etc., and speaking loudly enough that the mic can pick up your words.

The blessing creates a new account for the homeless person (if he doesn’t already have one), then attaches to the new account. The person so blessed can immediately use the Gc award to buy food or other essentials.

In a similar vein, players can Invoke Aid, which is designed to allow players to accomplish ever-larger tasks solo, if no allies are readily available. Invoking Aid is basically a way of “hiring” help from the network, with the network paying Gc for their assistance. Other players can volunteer (or not) to be put on the Invocations list (specifying a maximum range they’re willing to help in).

When the call is made, all those within range on the invocation list are notified, and given a numeric value (how many people are needed, WHAT is needed, etc). They can send a response signal via the Network, and enter an ETA. Each person who does this reduces the need counter by one, until zero is reached. The person making the Invocation is in charge. He or she is the one who directs the effort in question. It’s an ad hoc organizational structure, specific to the task at hand.

And there you have it. We can now introduce magic back into the world.

-=Vel=-

Facts On The Ground – Building The First Holon

It is not enough to simply talk in theory. I, as the game’s Architect and first citizen, need to be sure these Quests work as advertised. That means testing, and testing means real world application. To that end, while I’m building the system architecture to support global implementation, I’m also going to be putting the various Quests I develop on my own, and the ones we develop together here by kicking ideas around, through their proverbial paces in the real world. That’s what the ten-acre land purchase is for. The building of real world prototypes and systems that will prove the concept, begin establishing Holon-level best practices that can be adopted by others, and find out which of our ideas are in need of refinement before being released into the PtP ecosystem.

Here's a broad overview of what my initial plans look like.

Step 1
The first necessary step will, of course, be to secure the land itself. I’m finding 10-12 acre plots in this area for around $15,000 on a regular basis, so that’s my target. I am currently retiring the last of my debts (expenses incurred to get here, and paying off my car), before I can get serious about saving money for that purpose, so that’s step one.

Step one also involves tying the new land into the system’s architecture. This will be accomplished with the Unity 3d development engine, and an add-on package called “Real World Terrains” (already purchased). I simply enter in my GPS coordinates, and the program pulls NASA and Bing maps data (no Google API yet, but I’m hoping that by the time I’m ready, there will be one) to generate a height map. From there, I can create a photo realistic rendering of the actual land, and upload it so that a site visitor can move around on the acreage from the website, just as you do when you navigate terrains on WoW.

As each new prototype gets built, it will be modeled in exacting details, and placed correctly IN the terrain, so virtual visitors can see the work in progress. There will also be info buttons and bubbles that explain where we are with the various projects in the works.

Once the land is in-hand, some advance prep-work will be needed. The property needs to be surveyed to select build sites, a well needs to be sunk, etc., so that’s Step 2.

The very first building to go up on-site will be an 8’x40’ shipping container storage building, so a foundation will need to be poured (Step 3) to support it, the container purchased and delivered (Step 4), and rack shelving installed (Step 5).

Next up – solar panels. I’ve got a source where I can buy blemished solar panels for fifty cents on the dollar. No loss in capacity, but not “pretty enough” to sell to the general public. Perfect. I’m not pretty either, so we should get along well. Step 6 will be to buy a whole pallet’s worth.

Step 7 – I need two sets of blueprints. One for the eventual house prototype, and one for the “power cube” – I’m going to reverse engineer a product by the same name, and make one out of my shipping pallet/storage building. The goal is to double, or even triple the total roof surface area, but have it collapsible, so that the “cube” can be packed up and shipped off to another location if needed. Once the blueprints (Step 8) are done, I’ll proceed with Step 9, building the “cube” and tying in the solar panels to the grid (Virginia is a net metering state, so no battery backup system needed – I’ll also become a net power producer at that point, and start getting paid for kilowatts generated.

Each individual solar panel will be RFID tagged, a unique PtP identity established, and its power generation data uploaded to the site in real time, so that visitors can track and monitor individual panel outputs, or view the output in the aggregate. EVERY system that gets added will likewise be tagged, making the entire area, and all structures in and on it, interactive. Next to the total output, will be the energy production, Holon wide, and the % of that output that’s being tracked by the Holon (along with the total amount of energy being produced in the Holon via renewable sources). Metrics matter!

Step 10 – purchase a complete set of needed tools (sawzal, nail gun, plasma cutter, etc) – going battery powered when possible, and buying extra batteries. Part of the shed’s shelving will be the recharging station. I’m thinking of tagging each battery, and having it upload its current charge to the site, and making that interactive so that visitors can ping me when a battery is on the charger but fully charged, so I’ll know to swap them out if I’m doing something at the time and don’t notice. Real world impacts from digital interactions. To at least that degree, my own actions will be directed by the players.

Step 11 – pour the foundation for prototype 2 – the house. Modern home construction in America sees housing prices start at around $100 per square foot. I think I can build my structure, 1280 square feet, for around $15k. Will be photo documenting the build, uploading the blueprints, parts manifest, and final cost figures to the site. If I succeed – hell, even if I come CLOSE to succeeding, then we haven’t solved for homelessness, but we’ve put one helluva dent in it.

Step 12 – Buy a box truck (Craigslist) – target price, around $3500. Once this is in-hand, I’ll start scouring CL’s free section and stocking the shed with cinder blocks, wood pallets, used tires, and other essentials.

Step 13 – the build of prototype 2. Once it’s liveable, I’ll stop renting here and move in there. Need two shipping containers to make it happen.

Step 14 – Agronomy Lab 1 (prototype 3) – building on the experiments in South Carolina, but taking them a step farther. I think I can build a closed loop, 80% automated aquaponics system that can feed a family of 8 forever, once it’s up and running. Will need another shipping container for this. All the rain catchment barrels will be tagged, and upload their inflows/outflows/current capacities to the site. Power used by the agro lab will be tracked the same way (it’ll draw power from the cube). Will set up user/visitor alerts here so that players can further direct my actions and let me know when a barrel is filled, etc., so we can maintain optimal efficiency. Total crop yield will also be tracked online (garden layout, number and types of plants grown, number of fish in the tank, etc). We’ll make a tool to allow players to design and submit alternate layouts to see if we can grow even more in the same space, or do it more efficiently. Once harvesting begins, the food will be sold, but priced in Gc for anyone interested in buying. It will not be for sale in dollars.

And that’s the current state of the plan.

-=Vel=-

Sounds like a techno work force designed to look like a game... Is this going to be fun to play? To be honest you use the wow avatar as an example of how we interact with the digital world, it is actually brain body interacting with a computer. To me to accomplish in game in real life type of scenario I would utilize everyone having smart phones and proximity to one another. The technology for that is already here.
There is a woman I had met before at TEDxBattenkill named Margaret Dibble from Vermont, she is the CEO and founder of Game Theory, you should email her, she has resources out the butt and maybe interested in what you are doing.

a reply to: Brotherman

Ahhh - thank you for the tip! I'll find a way to get in touch with her!

As to your question about the fun factor - I think so, yes. "Fun" is, of course, a highly subjective term, and what's fun for me may not be for someone else, but having been immersed in it for two years now, I can report that I'm having a blast.

(and yes - the site's already set up to be responsively designed so we can take full advantage of all those mobile devices!)

-=Vel=-

a reply to: Velociryx
Also to easier complete your goal, may I also suggest looking into a modular plant lab technology. Believe me when I tell you if you find what I'm telling you to look at, it will bring your game to life an awful lot faster and harber the ability to have a lot more control over what u plan to do, search for plant lab using LED. I make comic books, story boards, and 16-32 bit games as well. So I'm not completely ignorant to what it is you are trying to accomplish and I wish you the very best of luck even though I personally do not think id have fun with this sort of game as a player.

m.youtube.com...

a reply to: Brotherman

Hey! Just watched the video, and that looks fantastic! MASSIVE scale, which is great, though I also want to build prototypes on a smaller, personal scale that people can do/use for themselves. I'll see if I can find pricing information on what it would take to set something like that up though, because I'd LOVE to build on on the property!

What kind of comics do you do? And is that a Honey Badger in your Avatar pic?

As to the fun factor for you personally...I dunno 'bout that...you're playing the planet right now!

-=Vel=-

a reply to: Velociryx
Horror comics
Short Comic Based on Halo


I do play the game of life everyday, your correct. I use other games as escapism I guess to get away from it, this is also why I dont play sim games unless they are flight Sims.

Small sample of what I do.

a reply to: Brotherman

Just opened up the two threads you linked me to and I LOVE the style of your art! Looking forward to diving into those. Do you have them for sale (amazon or elsewhere? I'd enjoy picking up some copies!)

And - keep this little project in mind - we could use someone with your talents and insights. *thumbs up*

-=Vel=-

a reply to: Velociryx
No, nothing on amazon or for sale yet. I'm still tweaking my demo/ pilot book and working on the main chunk. I want very badly to become a working professional comic artist and video game story boarder and concept artist. Currently in just another 30 year old rig welder/ fabricator. Hopefully I can weld my way into this type of career.

a reply to: Brotherman

Well, when you've got something up, let me know and I'll be among your first customers!

And with art skills, storyboarding and design skills PLUS welding and fabrication - man, the moment I get the architecture back up and running, the possibilities are endless. Where are you located? I'm betting you'd have a lot of fun in a FabLab! (and you're clearly good at ferreting out actionable intel - newsdesk/blogging, Quest design and illustration...wow. You're hired.

-=Vel=-

a reply to: Velociryx
Right now I'm located near Boston Massachusetts, soon ill be headed south to Central Pennsylvania. I may end up making some trips to Rockford Illinois, then Florida towards Ocala then to Wellington. Lol who knows where I end up sometimes.

Today however I'm located in the fab shop dual wielding art desks, I got one set for ink and the other I'm oil painting at lol

a reply to: Brotherman

Well, if you ever find yourself near Galax, VA, shoot me a note and we'll meet up for a craft brew!

a reply to: Velociryx
Hell why not skip the craft brews and move onto some scotch and a conversation. When I get to PA I'll be in Lebanon PA, Philadelphia is halfway between us I think. U2U me we can get in touch via email and u can highlight what I may or may not be able to help you with.

a reply to: Brotherman

Just sent you a note!

a reply to: Velociryx
Received and replied friend.

a reply to: Brotherman

Just wrote you via email - talk further there, and looking forward to it!

Ok man got your email I replied so u should be good to go now.

a reply to: Velociryx

I would like a go at that to be honest as I am always up for going on learning curves.