Hugely interesting article by one of the creators of the classic ARG game "I Love Bees" (promoting Halo 2).

Lots of thoughts in this article about collective intelligence, a phenomena which is one of the key game-changers of Web 2.0 (already expressing itself everywhere from WalMartSucks.org to Wikipedia to Wookieepedia. The idea of using Web2.0 tools to communicate to a collaborative audience is Transmedia planning, already a staple marketing tactic for entertainment properties like The Dark Knight and Cloverfield.

My favorite part, however, is where it gets a wee bit philosophical. Imagining a classroom of the near-future where students learn "Search and Analysis" (from the Vernor Vinge sci-fi novel Rainbow's End), the professor sez:

I have a theory of life, and it is straight out of gaming: There is always an angle. You, each of you, have some special wild cards. Play with them. Find out what makes you different and better. Because it is there, if only you can find it. And once you do, you'll be able to contribute answers to others and others will be willing to contribute back to you.

This is important because it points out that there's still room for individuality in the "wisdom of crowds" -- in fact, the crowds wouldn't be nearly so wise if they weren't made up of thousands of specialists. In executing "I Love Bees," the designers included a variety of puzzles catering to all kinds of specializations. A theoretical mathematician will shine when solving complex numeric codes, but to answer the ringing payphone in Kissimee, you simply need to enlist some dude that lives near Kissimee.

The entire 43-page summary is available for download here.

Dan
(writing projects and current releases)