Google Answers Logo
View Question
 
Q: Interactive media games ( Answered,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Interactive media games
Category: Arts and Entertainment
Asked by: nextplay-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 19 Aug 2004 05:43 PDT
Expires: 18 Sep 2004 05:43 PDT
Question ID: 389873
Looking for an Interactive game that where played in a Movie theater,
and projected on one big screen.
Tens of people were participators in such game. Using personal remote
controls, wired or wireless.
I can?t remember where it presented exactly or when but I do know it
happened before the year 1999 even long before that.
 
It was not an interactive movie it was a game!!!!
It is very important that you will find this kind of game that was before 1999!!!

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 19 Aug 2004 07:34 PDT
Dear Nextplay,

Please take a look at Millennium?s End v. 2.0 In The Grey Zone III -
Rol Playing Game.

?The Gray Zone III is a collection of seven short and episodic
adventures. Episodic nature fits well to RPG conventions allowing
large number of gamers to play and check the adventure. Since
scenarios are fairly short and GM will arrange pre-generated
characters, new players are quite welcome to check the action. ?
http://nikita.letku.net/me/GrayZone03Title.html

Millennium's End Game Flyer
http://nikita.letku.net/me/English-MEFlyer.doc

Read the 1994 Chameleon Eclectic - Press Release regarding the
Millennium?s End Cinematic Game here:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Millennium%27s+End+RPG&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&selm=2n7beb%24qme%40solaris.cc.vt.edu&rnum=9

Millenium's End is a Role Playing Game, published by Chameleon
Eclectic Entertainments Inc. portraying the world of 1999 just a few
shades darker than it really is for most of us, where players run
characters in technothriller-like adventures.
http://www.lange.demon.co.uk/Roleplaying.html

Overview of the game
http://www.kracik.com/me/cee/index.html#overview

Is this the kind of information that you have in mind or are you
looking for something else?

Thanks,
Bobbie7

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 19 Aug 2004 08:56 PDT
There were numerous types of interactive events on the big screen
prior to 1999, but it's sometimes hard to know which were "interactive
movies" and which you might consider "games".

For instance, in one 1995 event, viewers pressed buttons once a minute
to direct the movie to it's next scene, as described this way:

"...ads show how moviegoers with hand-held electronic gizmos take
turns selecting action on the screen once every minute...a theater
full of raucous youngsters who try to cajole each other into pushing
certain buttons to advance action..."

==========

It's still a film.  But it has the elements of a game as well.  Does
this sound at all like what you're after?

If not, perhaps you could give as a bit more detail about what you need. 

Thanks.

pafalafa-ga

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 19 Aug 2004 09:26 PDT
Here's another 1995 description of the same event:

==========


The object of this video-game-cum-movie is to use the pistol grip to
control the outcome of a bike-messenger race...led by the alien...By
pressing buttons on the grip, audience members become "players" in the
movie, choosing plot twists every 15 to 60 seconds...Players score
points, which are flashed onto the screen, and there can be a
winner...

==========

Clarification of Question by nextplay-ga on 22 Aug 2004 07:43 PDT
I?m would like to clarify my last clarification.
For its seems I have made a little mass in all
Then this is how it goes:


1. according the question, an interactive movie has not relevant to my issue!
(Interactive movie = Movie which the audience control the plot by their reactions)
 
I am looking for a GAME like video\computer game on the big screen,
which the audience compete against each other.


2. it is very important to me that The action took place in a movie
theater. Standard one.


3. Concerning the given answered, its not clear enough, where the action you
mentioned took place, and the activity it is not a game.
 
 
4. Hope that will help get more focus on the target.

My apologies!
Thank you,
NextPlay
Answer  
Subject: Re: Interactive media games
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 22 Aug 2004 17:24 PDT
 
Hello nextplay,



It took a while to pin it down...but here it is.  

The action seems to have taken place in Canada, according to an
article from The Gazette in Montreal.

Due to copyright restrictions, I cannot reproduce the article in full,
here.  I've provided the most relevant excerpts below, and any
librarian should be able to assist you in obtaining a full copy of the
article, if it is of interest to you.

Please do not rate this answer until you are fully satisfied with the
information I've provided.  If anything here is not clear, just post a
Request for Clarification and let me know how I can further assist
you.

Cheers.

pafalafa-ga


==========


The Gazette 
Montreal, Quebec
March 4, 1993


Playing video games on movie screens a natural



So, there you are driving your hapless opponent into the ground in
Streetfighter II and you're thinking: "This TV screen isn't big enough
for the both of us."  ...you might be ready for Nintendo's Mega Screen
Meltdown. The problem is, you need to get to Toronto or Edmonton to
take part.


...Nintendo is using Toronto and Edmonton to test-market a new
concept: playing Super NES games on a full movie screen...

...Every Saturday and Sunday for the next couple of months,
participants will be able to play Nintendo games such as Streetfighter
II, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Axelay or Star Fox on large
Cineplex Odeon screens.

The experiment, which started recently at a Mississauga, Ont...will
continue there this weekend. Then the action shifts to the Scarborough
Town Centre...Then it's downtown to Toronto's Eaton Centre
Cineplex...Tests will also be held in Edmonton...

...It works like this: three one-hour playing sessions will be held
each day...It costs $3 ...The only catch is that not everybody who
pays to get in will be able to play. Players will be selected by a
ballot system...But non-players can, of course, root for their buddies
and also win prizes in music, video-game and movie-trivia contests...

Two video-game consoles are situated on either side of the room and
players can either play each other in games such as Streetfighter II
or compete on a split screen in oneplayer games like Super Mario
World. Participants will get to play for five minutes and then turn
over the controls to the next gamer...The action is nicely enhanced by
the huge graphics and the Dolby sound you can only get in a movie
theatre...

============


The article in the Gazette also mentions that "Super Star Wars" was
one of the games available at the movie theatres.



Oddly enough, variations of this one article (which also appeared in
the Toronto Star) are the only mentions I can find of the
video-game-on-movie-screen phenomenon.  It would have seemed like
something that would have garnered a bit more media attention, but for
whatever reason, the article above is the only substantive piece that
turns up in searches of a variety of newspaper databases.

I hope this is exactly what you need.  Again, if you have any
questions, just give me a holler, and I'll be glad to help.


pafalafa-ga



search strategy:  searched a variety of news databases for variations
of the search terms "video game" "movie theatre" "movie screen" "big
screen".

Request for Answer Clarification by nextplay-ga on 23 Aug 2004 00:08 PDT
Thanks for the information,
But is not the game i look for because not tens of player participate
in it (unless i didnt get it).
)-:


as it wrote:
...The only catch is that not everybody who
pays to get in will be able to play....
....Two video-game consoles are situated on either side of the room and
players can either play each other in games ...


I am very sorry but i need the exac information including all parts:
1.Interactive game that where played in a Movie theater,
and projected on one big screen.
2. Tens of people were participators in such game. Using personal remote
controls, wired or wireless.
3. happened before the year 1999 even long before that.
4. It was not an interactive movie it was a game!!!!

best wishes,
NextPlay

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 23 Aug 2004 09:36 PDT
Hello nextplay-ga,

Thanks for getting back to me.  

You should probably read the full newspaper article yourself, to
decide if the description of the on-screen game meets your needs. 
Because I cannot post the full article here, certain details were
necessarily missing.

For instance, it's apparent from the article that (1) the game is
played in a  movie theater packed with kids and other game players,
and (2) lots of people get to play.

However, not everyone plays simultaneously...they take turns, and --
depending on the game itself -- may play solo on split screens (like
playing Pac-Man for instance), or may play directly against other
players.

You can get the article from most libraries with the reference
information I provided.  You can also retrieve it yourself online from
the Dialog OpenAccess service:

==========

http://www.dialog.com/products/dialogselect/

At the pull-down menu, select "Business & News"


http://openaccess.dialog.com/business/


On the left hand side of the page, select "See all searches"


In the resulting fram, select Canada (under the heading, Newspapers),
and in the search box that opens up enter in the "Entire Text" box:


Playing video games on movie screens a natural


This will retrieve the article for you, which you can read in full for
a small fee after you sign in with your credit card.

==========

After reading the article, if it still is not what you need, then
please get back to me and let me know, and I will continue looking for
more information.

Also, if you do need more info, it would be a great help to me to
understand a bit more about WHY you are searching for this particular
story.  Any additional context will help me in my search strategy (for
instance, should I be looking for patent information, or only for news
stories?).

Thanks.  Look forward to hearing back from you.

pafalafa-ga

Request for Answer Clarification by nextplay-ga on 26 Aug 2004 04:09 PDT
Hello again.
I am very sorry but this project is not what i am looking for.
It must be A game that allows tens of people to be participators.
Not Just one on one.

It is very close but it is not help my research.

For your question, I am not need something from the patent area.
Just an information about a place like that or even planing of such a place.
Ofcource before 1999 and the other rules...

hope we find it.
Thanks alot,
NextPlay

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 27 Aug 2004 06:32 PDT
nextplay,

Thanks for getting back to me.  I'm looking into some additional
sources of information.  Please allow me a few days to explore them
thoroughly, and I'll get back to you to let you know what I find.

pafalafa-ga

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 27 Aug 2004 09:52 PDT
Does this look at all like it fits your needs:

=====

Now technology is breaking the barriers, as a generation of
computer-literate, game-obsessed entrepreneurs turn unearthly ideas
and dreams into concrete experiences, directed by the viewers
themselves. The latest wrinkle has been introduced in Chicago with the
opening of Battletech Center, a 4,000-square-foot game parlor offering
an interactive video game that pits teams of players against each
other in a 31st-century war on far-flung worlds.

To its developers, the game is one of the first commercial
applications of ''virtual reality'' technology, which uses computers
to generate artificial environments. Its designers, Jordan Weisman and
L. Ross Babcock, describe the game as ''a virtual-world interactive
sport.''

For about $7, explore the shimmering deserts of a distant planet.
Command a giant robot, complete with an arsenal of high-tech weapons.
Turn your enemies into molten metal slag. No guts, no galaxy, as the
saying goes around Battletech Center.

More than 10,000 science-fiction addicts, computer freaks and
gray-flanneled business people have gone to the North Pier
entertainment complex, not far from the Loop in downtown Chicago, to
play the game since the store opened in early August, Mr. Weisman
said. Executives from Nintendo, the video-game company, have already
visited to examine the game.

Players assemble in the ''ready area,'' which resembles a movie set,
and devise battle strategies. Two teams of four players each are
sealed into individual covered cockpits that snap shut, obliterating
the outside world. These computer-driven capsules are the nerve center
of a huge walking humanoid tank. A color video monitor is the player's
''window'' on the extraterrestrial landscape; it changes to reflect
the player's movements, as well as to reflect the time of day and the
weather.

=======

Other articles about the BattleTech Center make reference to plans for
more elaborate games, but it's not clear if they ever came into being,
and what role movie screens might have played in them.

Let me know if this is of interest.  

pafalafa-ga

Request for Answer Clarification by nextplay-ga on 29 Aug 2004 10:05 PDT
I see it is very hard time job to find the project I am looking for.
 
The project you gave me at your last answer is not on a big screen.
)-:
I am really sorry but again it?s not what I am looking for.

Please visit the following web site:
www.activearena.com
The product there is the same product as the one I am looking for, but
unfortunately  after 1999...

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 29 Aug 2004 10:29 PDT
Nextplay-ga,


Thanks for that link...it's a BIG help.  From what I can tell from the
site, the "Active Arena" idea is in the conceptual stage, at least as
far as movie theaters go.  I don't see any mention at the site of
theaters that actually are using the technology yet.

In addition, the description of the Active Arena concept given here:


http://www.activearena.com/content.htm


is as follows:

==========

Activity subjects include various interests aimed at diverse
audiences, different age groups, education, entertainment as well as
special communities, trends, contemporary movies and fan clubs.
 
Activities include: 

--Interactive movies and shows 

--Trivia games attended by hundreds of players     

--Voting and public opinion polls 

--Interactive learning and student participation in lectures  

--Auctions 

--Detective games 

--Virtual or photographed characters with unique technology 

--And an infinite number of possibilities adapted to any type of audience? 

===========

Notably absent from this list are typical video-style computer games
-- shoot-em-ups, aliens, jumping from level to level, finding secret
tools and powers, and so on.  From what you said in your
clarifications and comments, it seemed clear that these were the type
of games you are looking for.


It could be that the thing you are looking for -- video-style games on
the big screen -- simply didn't exist in 1999 beyond the examples I've
already provided, which was a direct adaptation of Nintendo-style
games on the big screen.


Maybe it's time to put your cards on the table...Can you tell me --
very explicitly -- what you are looking for  -- comparisons with known
games would be a great help, in this regard?  Also, it would help a
lot to understand:  Why you need this information?  Why the 1999 date
is so important?


The more you can tell me (bearing in mind...this is a public forum
that anyone can read), the better I can assist you.

Thanks.


pafalafa-ga

Request for Answer Clarification by nextplay-ga on 31 Aug 2004 09:48 PDT
Dear searcher,
i know that site, i gave you the link.
as i tald you:
"The product there is the same product as the one I am looking for, but
unfortunately  that product is after 1999..."
it is a new product.

It was just a refferance.

I am looking for an older product i heard about(it was not invented by
the same company).

let give it another try.

again, the rules:

1.Interactive game that where played in a Movie theater,
and projected on one big screen.
2. Tens of people were participators simultaneously in such game.
Using personal remote controls, wired or wireless.
3. happened before the year 1999 even long before that.
4. It was not an interactive movie it was a game!!!!


Thanks 
NextPlay

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 31 Aug 2004 19:05 PDT
How's this one look...?  It's got a whole audience of kids sitting in
a movie theater and clicking away at the controls, in order to control
what's on the big screen.

=====

The Boston Globe

May 5, 1995


"Ride for Your Life," the third in what must be regarded as a
still-evolving series, is much livelier and smarter than the
inadequate pair of initial Interfilm outings. It's much more like a
video game. You don't just vote on which paths you're going to propel
the narrative down; you must score enough points to keep poor old
Planet Earth from being enslaved by aliens. This new offering also
zips around more rapidly, since the screenwriters have made two
leading characters bike messengers who streak around Manhattan,
slipping like fish between the lumbering - or completely stopped -
taxis, cars, buses and trucks.

So it's more kinetic, more competitive and also more skill-based.
After a couple of tries, you'll learn how to improve your point
totals, especially during the climactic bike race between Tyrone
Henderson and Matthew Lillard....

=====

Let me know.


paf

Request for Answer Clarification by nextplay-ga on 01 Sep 2004 00:56 PDT
Hi,
It seems interesting,
but, how do you know that it was on a movie theater big screen?
and, how do you know about the tens of remotes?

Thanks,
NextPlay

Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 01 Sep 2004 09:53 PDT
Hello again, nextplay,

It's very obvious from the various articles on "Ride For Your Life"
that it is played in a movie theater with a full audience that is
watching and playing on the big screen.  However, I cannot reproduce
the full articles here, so it doesn't always appear evident from the
excerpts I can provide.  You should read the full articles yourself (a
librarian can get them for you) to get the full context.

Here's another article -- and some excerpts -- that might help:

=====

The Houston Chronicle
May 5, 1995

..It's not enough that video games have invaded theater lobbies. Now
they're invading theater auditoriums, too...''Ride for Your
Life''...allows the audience to direct...the story...via...joysticks
at their seats...

==========
Comments  
There are no comments at this time.

Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Google does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. Please read carefully the Google Answers Terms of Service.

If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by emailing us at answers-support@google.com with the question ID listed above. Thank you.
Search Google Answers for
Google Answers  


Google Home - Answers FAQ - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy