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Better than 3D, better than virtual reality – it’s reality. Who’d have thunk it? A new company is developing reality-based, real-time games where you control live-action characters in various gameplay genres including platforming, action adventure, and real-time strategy. Known as PlayGod, this new concept will be similar in scope to a concert or Broadway production. It will involve nearly 50 actors, technicians and crew members to stage each game. It will be played in a specially designed theater with the player operating the control system from atop a mobile command center. Acrobats will be dressed up in various costumes to bring the characters to life. They will receive signals directly from the player in their HUD and will react accordingly with the appropriate reactions. Moves include running, jumping, punching, shooting, and interacting with objects or other characters. Due to the sheer scope of the production, PlayGod will only be available at major theme parks. “We’ll be looking at facilitating at least four people in a multi-player format to keep costs down,” says founder Dirk Rogers. “We would like to keep it affordable for families, to the tune of about ten dollars for 20 minutes,” Rogers says. “We’ll have a simulated version of the game in the Green Room so that players can get familiar with the concept and controls. This way they won’t be wasting their time and money learning the game on-the-spot. After a ten-minute tutorial, players will be good-to-go when they are transported to the PlayGod arena.” The PlayGod arena is comparable in size to community club hockey arena. The players will be individually situated in high-tech control rooms that will be the size of a Cessna cockpit. Attached to the arm of a crane, the control room will look down at the activity and allow players as swoop down to ground level to give them the best perspective. “It’s going to be incredible fun watching real people jump across platforms, fight monsters with lasers, and command squads in strategy games. The acrobats doing the actual stunts will have to respond perfectly to the controls given by the player, even if that means certain death, although it’s just a virtual death and not a real one,” jokes Rogers. “Although we’ve had our share of unfortunate accidents while testing and developing PlayGod, we are confident we have the bugs worked out,” Rogers claims. “At this juncture we are only offering one level,” Rogers admits. “It will take about half-hour to complete. In the future we plan to connect as many as three arenas together to allow for multiple stages. After the players move to the second arena, workers can begin changing the first level. You won’t believe just how realistically we’ve been able to re-create such unrealistic worlds. We use state-of-the-art lighting, sound equipment, technicians, set designers, and of course our skilled and trained acrobats, all of whom are former circus performers. We guarantee the world will be impressed,” Rogers promises. PlayGod is scheduled to debut at a theme park near you in the summer of 2011. *This article is presented as an exclusive Cheat Code Central feature titled “Are you dumb enough to believe this?” Please check back each Friday for the newest edition. |