http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon
I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of the Gameboy pokemon games. If you are not: stop reading. One of my suite-mates showed me this crazy website called TwitchPlays. On this website, the “Internet” works together to beat the game. Together, 24 hours a day, 15,000 to 70,000 users enter commands into this pokemon game while watching the result of the commands via live-stream.
I know what you’re thinking and the game would absolutely be overloaded with 70,000 commands per second. That is why the developer established 2 main modes. Twitch explains it a lot better than me.
TwitchPlaysPokemon now has two modes for determining the input to make in the game, they are called anarchy mode and democracy mode. Anarchy mode is the “classic” mode, where everyone’s inputs are applied immediately. Democracy mode chooses the most popular input provided during a 30 second voting period. Democracy mode is automatically selected at the start of every hour and can be deselected by successfully voting for anarchy mode using democracy mode’s input voting system.
( I have to wonder if he is collecting data on the effects of democracy versus anarchy )
The host also features a live chat so that people who are entering commands can organize and communicate. It has been rather funny to watch thousands of people struggle to beat one game because it is a classic case of one step forward, one backward, two to the right, who the f*&# pressed start, someone press back, we need pokeballs, no we don’t… etc. The main issue is that there is a 30 second delay between typing a command and it being executed. There is also a delay between typing in the chat too. The only thing that isn’t delayed is the screen which you watch the video on. Thousands of players have turned to IRC’s (internet relay chats) and organizational documents to communicate and coordinate more quickly. Right now they are playing crystal after spending the prior 16 days beating the first pokemon and making it through the elite four. I wish them luck and I’ll be cheering them on… Especially after seeing them make it to the final person of the elite four last night and loose.
-Mookie
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