Tech - Unstoppable computer game invades real life

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ISSUE 2131 Monday 26 March 2001

Unstoppable computer game invades real life By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent THE first computer game that cannot be turned off and which pursues players into their everyday lives, to the extent of waking them in the middle of the night with threatening phone calls, is preparing to invade Britain.

Players of Majestic are immersed in the midst of a suspense thriller involving conspiracy plots, menacing fugitives and covert political organisations from which there appears to be no escape.

The game, which begins on the internet, has just been launched in America, where it has a mandatory "mature" rating, allowing only adults to play. But critics say the extent to which it pursues the players could be regarded as harassment.

Neil Young, Majestic's producer said: "Players are just pawns in the game. It is the first game that plays you, unfolding in real time to reach out into your life and connect with you. Once you are in it you are bombarded with phone calls to your home, faxes and email messages to your office, and text messages to your mobile phone. It's up to you to make sense of it."

The point of the game is to solve the conspiracy, making use of hidden clues, but it is neither possible to step out of the game nor to be sure which of the characters in the game are other human players and which are programmed.

In one of the scenarios, the player's phone rings while they are watching television at home. It's a hysterical woman. Someone is trying to break down her door, she says. She screams: "Why is this happening to me?" Then a mobile phone text message warns: "Back off - if you know what's good for you."

A spokesman for the British subsidiary of Electronic Arts, the game's distributor, said: "At the moment you can only play it if you are in America, but we are looking at ways of introducing it over here."

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001

Answers

Sheesh, what a bad idea. It sure looks like harassment to me, if you can't stop it. Worse than getting into trouble with the government. This is one of those things you may wish you never got involved in, like making some business deal with the local Mafia.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001

Howdy, Folks!

Whoa, this sounds kinda like that Moovee, "The Game."

Pretty funny though; I wonder how you'd play if'n you didn't have anything but a computer connection? Y'know, no cell, fax, phone, TeeVee, stuff like that...

I got enough stuff to deal with; don't need to get sucked into this sorta thing!

Peace and Love,

Don

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2001


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