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PMOG

Page history last edited by Brian Croxall 15 years, 5 months ago

Please note: This page has had some slight changes since class. The two main additions are the addition of a Mission Page where you should post the missions that you design and the link to "your first mission."

 

PMOG is a "Passively Multiplayer Online Game." It is a browser plug-in for Firefox that allows you to engage in missions, sabotage other players, and earn fame and glory (maybe) all as you surf the web.

 

YouTube plugin error

 

We will be playing the game for the coming 3 weeks as we read Charles Stross's novel Halting State and other articles related to ARGs and games. You should have installed the plug-in on a computer that you use regularly no later than Friday, October 10th at noon. Please post your screen names on the wiki so we know who we have the pleasure of hunting down.

 

Once you have the PMOG extension installed, come back here for your first mission, which will highlight some of the ins and outs of the PMOG universe. I make no promises about the presence of mines in the mission. For what it's worth, here is a very, very short article in Wired about PMOG, which does a good job of explaining the basic concepts of the game.

 

You will start the game with a complement of tools. You should plan on experimenting with all the different tools: lightposts, portals, crates, mines, armor, and St. Nicks. Feel free to create missions that originate within the wiki (as that's where we will be likely to come across them) but also think about interacting with the larger PMOG community.

 

Grading PMOG Participation

  1. I will expect everyone to create at least one mission of 5 or more steps. You should then post a portal to your mission somewhere on our wiki so it's easy to stumble across them. Give your portal a title like "Nick's mission," so we have a sense of who built it. Also, please post a link to your mission on the Mission Page. Your missions need not be related to our course material (although they are more than welcome to be), but you should not include any material that would be considered NSFW.
  2. I will also expect everyone to have reached Level 4 by the end of the game. Your level is based on your datapoints (which are earned simply by browsing) and by your use of particular tools.
  3. At the end of our PMOG adventure, you will write me a quick 1-2 page evaluation of this assignment: did you love it? hate it? want to mine it? Moreover, what do you see PMOG teaching us about gaming, narrative, and--of course--media?

     

This evaluation and the whole of the PMOG assignment will be graded on the same basis as summaries: in other words, if you make an honest effort to play along, you will get full credit. Your written response is due October 30 in class.

 

 

Comments (4)

Brian Croxall said

at 1:15 pm on Oct 9, 2008

Feel free to use the comments to ask questions about the assignment or about PMOG in general.

Graham Kitchens said

at 9:34 pm on Oct 9, 2008

Um, is there anything special I need to do to level up? It seems like I have what I need to be level 2, but I'm still level 1....

Graham Kitchens said

at 11:36 pm on Oct 9, 2008

Ok, nevermind. I leveled up somehow. Guess it's automatic after a period of time.

Brian Croxall said

at 9:34 am on Oct 10, 2008

That's correct. Leveling takes a while for the servers to account for. Once you've met the requirements, you should see a pop-up from the toolbar in a few hours that lets you know that you have indeed reached a new level.

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