___In
the 21st century, the world is fragmented into cellular spaces, establishing
a network for mobile phone communication. Tapping into the structure of this
global system allows for the emergence of a new paradigm in interactive gaming.
Wherever cellular signals can bridge two locations, this new game is found,
extending beyond the crippled video screen, and into the familiar world we
traverse every day. This is a brief introduction into the concepts of how,
where, and on what levels wireless, autonomous play is now possible.
___The
central idea is of a game taking place on the level of cell phone communication.
Not a videogame that is simply played on a cellphone, but rather a real-world
game that utilizes the existing cellular communications framework as its interactive
structure. Omnipresent yet normally unseen connections between cellular users
become extracted and exploited by a smartly-equipped gamer. To the gamer's
eyes, a cellular user is a conduit, unknowingly funneling their surroundings
across the ether, into the space of those that they have called. As with the
callers' own voices, this transfer is a bi-directional phenomenon. In this
way, the present environs of the callers dictate something of the virtual
environment presented to the player; a player approaching a Cell (engaged
cellular user) receiving a call from a fast-food restaurant may witness the
materialization of frightened hamburgers into their gaming space! Such objects
of the wireless transfer are the game's 'monsters', targets that are now locally
present, to be pursued and blasted via the gamer's own wireless weapons. An
interface of smart clothing enables them to have a mobile console right on
the body, checking his or her own location and status with the help of GPS.
___All of these events
are invisible to the unconnected public - their presence being revealed only
through the use of the wireless console. The cellular users themselves are,
without a doubt, oblivious to everything they do. The visible exception occurs
as more and more gamers appear, and Cells frequently find themselves encircled
by an enthusiastic but insatiable gaming mob, each seeking a prime opportunity
to blast anything and everything that may materialize from the public display
of wireless conversation.
___Since the game parameters
draw from immediate occurances in the real-world, it is guaranteed that every
encounter will be unique, as the locations of Cells and their related calls
change over time, and from instant to instant. It also goes without saying
that the city, with its dense concentration of Cells at almost any time, becomes
the preferred stage for ambitious high-speed gaming.
___What follows are examples of how these concepts will play out in practice. Although we have adopted the visual style of the video game for this presentation, it is important to remember that Cellular Gaming is a physical experience, made possible by the tight integration of cellular and GPS networks.