MoMA: Talk to Me: "Tentacles 1.0"

Tentacles 1.0 Michael Longford (Canadian, born 1960) of Mobile Media Lab (est. 2007) York University (Canada, est. 1959) Geoffrey Shea (Canadian, born 1958) of Mobile Experience Lab (est. 2006) Ontario College of Art and Design (Canada, est. 1876) Rob King (Canadian, born 1982) of Canadian Film Centre Media Lab (Canada, est. 1997)

Tentacles is a multiplayer game designed to be played in a public space on a giant screen that displays players’ locations via iPhone or iPod touch. Players begin the game in the dark at the bottom of the ocean, each controlling a squid-like form evolving out of the primordial ooze and hunting for life-sustaining microorganisms called tenticules. As each creature eats, it grows and is confronted with other growing creatures, representing other players, that can steal its tenticules and deprive it of nutrients. Players must make a choice, the designers say, to “‘share’ or ‘scare’”—to decide if they are out for themselves or willing to be part of the larger whole, making for a dynamic and philosophical public game.

MoMa | Talk to Me | Tentacles 1.0

 

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http://tentacles.ca