gaming Curiosity: The Social Experiment

[FedoraMemes 582]

So pretty soon, there is a game being released called Curiosity. It is the first of 22 Social Experiments by 22Cans. The game is made by Peter Molyneux, creator of games such as Populous and Dungeon Keeper.

 

Basically, the game is this giant black cube made up of (I think) 60 million other blocks, and at the centre of the cube, there is something, but the catch is, no-one knows what it is, which is why it is called 'Curiosity'. The game is an online game, so the whole world is playing it at the same time, so you can either work as a team, or work on your own to try and get to the centre. You can destroy the blocks faster if there are more than one person attacking the block at once. However, only the person who delivers the final hit, can gain accesses to this thing. There are also things that you can buy to aid you, like chisels, pickaxes etc. But the most powerful weapon you can buy (this is in real money remember) is a Diamond Chisel, which costs $77,000. Yeah, $77,000. That means that the person who buys it can find out what this thing is, but at the price of $77,000.

 

Well, what do you guys think? Will you be playing it? Will you buy that overpriced chisel?

 

Here is an article that explains more, and contains a game trailer. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119211-Molyneuxs-Curiosity-Delayed

[Haven Celestii 9,385]

Wow that sounds like a really interesting concept, but using real money just to see something hidden is way ridiculous. I might look into it, but it honestly doesn't pique my interest that much.

[Planty 1,053]

If at the center there is a prize of like $500'000 then i can see how many people would buy high priced chisel's ect.

 

and unless they have very good encryption/codeing i think people would find a way to find out what the secret is without playing

[Ink 191]

This sounds absolutely awesome - we need more games with epic stuff like this! If the center of the cube is truly "life changing" as the article states, however, why make it such a daunting task to reveal it? He could have just said it. :I

[StingeMuffin 244]

I honestly don't think that anyone would buy the daimond chisel, but who knows? Maybe what's inside the cube can only be seen once, by one person, and once one person has seen the inside, the game shuts down for everyone else (that'd make seeing it all the more valuable). Maybe there isn't anything inside the cube, and those who've spent 3+ days chiseling away at the thing with their free, default chisel will be thrown the "it's about the journey" speech. I could see something like this being used for a lottery of some kind, where whoever reaches the center of the cube first wins the money that everyone spent on buying chisels, but I really dunno.

 

It's tempting to know what's in the cube, but if it's so hard, and potentially so expensive to see it, you have to wonder if there really is anything inside.

[Demiurge 108]

This seems really interesting. I bet the creator is going to make a shitload of money.

Wouldn't it be fun if there was nothing in the center? Or if there was a portal to another cube?

[PonyTrollz 19]

Curiosity is actually a rover that N.A.S.A. will send to Mars.But this game has nothing to do with it.But the game sounds interesting.But 77,000$ for a weapon!Nobody would buy that thing!

[StingeMuffin 244]

This seems really interesting. I bet the creator is going to make a shitload of money.

Wouldn't it be fun if there was nothing in the center? Or if there was a portal to another cube?

 

Like a portal to the "true cube," that only the winner can chip away at? What if the winner was given the option to be given an "ending," or sent to another, deeper cube, where they would work towards a more satisfying, but still unkown, reward?

[Demiurge 108]

Like a portal to the "true cube," that only the winner can chip away at? What if the winner was given the option to be given an "ending," or sent to another, deeper cube, where they would work towards a more satisfying, but still unkown, reward?

 

Maybe.... who knows? The creator of the game did say that the prize would be "life changing". It could be a house, a yacht, vacations. He might even be looking for an heir or something. Or it could be a rubber duck.

[FedoraMemes 582]

@@StingeMuffin, pretty much everything you've said are theories that I've been throwing around my head for the past few days, trying to figure out the point of the experiment. I think that the game does shut down when the thing is found.

 

@@PonyTrollz, maybe at the centre of the cube, there is a gateway to Mars!

[Demiurge 108]

I just thought of something. What if the winner is chosen to be one of the first civilians to actually travel to Mars?

That would be worth investing $77,000.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Demiurge

[termenchecks 146]

LOL it would be SO awesome if someone gets to the center and there's just a turd there. the creators would be the biggest trolls that has ever lived!

[Fire_Fly 499]

I think the chisel is overpriced because Molyneux KNOWS people are willing to spend spend spend, just to find out what's at the heart of the cube. The game's called Curiosity for a reason.

 

The game does sound interesting, though.... A race to the center of a completely unknown structure, where anything could be waiting..... It's so simple....but so evil...

[Titan Rising 2,156]

Maybe I should design a present app... Where you get a present but you need something to cut the string with so I sell knives/scissors for $5 each lol.

[Whiteshade 1,426]

A rickroll awaits in the center of the cube. It would be quite interesting if a bunch of people bought 77k chisels only to have this be the case. Incredibly amusing.

[Twiliscael 3,960]

Two things could happen:

1) The very few people who buy the diamond chisel are complete idiots and will have wasted a large fraction of their yearly income

2) The winner could be the smartest man in the world because he would be one of the only people to buy such an expensive weapon

 

Wouldn't it be great for someone who didn't spend any money on the game to win? It would be awesome for them AND it would piss the living hell out of the people who paid big bucks.

 

Maybe on the inside is a portal to Equestria!

[Cakesplat 38]

The "hidden thing" is probably goatse or something.

 

I guess I'll play out of curiosity, but I'm not going to be working too hard on it. I hope they publish what this was all about after the experiment, though.

[Ink 191]

I wonder what the difference between the chisels is, by the way. Would the noob chisel dig 1 block at a time and the diamond one 10? Is it a visual world where you can literally see other players and such, and would you be able to freeload on their work?

[Planty 1,053]

Two things could happen:

1) The very few people who buy the diamond chisel are complete idiots and will have wasted a large fraction of their yearly income

2) The winner could be the smartest man in the world because he would be one of the only people to buy such an expensive weapon

 

Wouldn't it be great for someone who didn't spend any money on the game to win? It would be awesome for them AND it would piss the living hell out of the people who paid big bucks.

 

Maybe on the inside is a portal to Equestria!

 

Well thats the thing, if you just follow around someone with the chisel then you can ninja in at the last moment and take it for your own.

 

But im presuming you can also kill other players in this game ?

[Sepia-chan 495]

It was supposed to be released like a week ago, but since the Mars rover, Curiosity, is of the same name, it was delayed to find a new name, I think.

But yeah, it's ridiculous. But imagine that some kid who downloaded it (for whatever reason) buys the diamond chisel with his parent's credit card. It'll happen, I guarantee you.

[FedoraMemes 582]

@, oh god, I can see that happening. If it does, it will be the funniest thing ever.

 

Here is a trailer that Molydeux made that was supposedly proposed by the Microsoft marketing team. It shows how such a simple idea can be turned into a cheap marketing platform.

 

[Bohtty 1,775]

I'll give hackers 2 days to get to the center or one person to decompile the game and see for themselves. Thats the problem with a game idea like this.

 

I just thought of something. What if the winner is chosen to be one of the first civilians to actually travel to Mars?

That would be worth investing $77,000.

 

Would it? Would it really? What if I don't want to go to fucking mars. There is no internet there. There is no TV there. There is nothing there.

[Bohtty 1,775]

I can honestly see the purpose for this.

 

I know Molyneux is not expecting anyone to buy the 77,000 $ chisel. However he wants to see the results of the following:

 

- Will people form groups specifically to attack the cube from one side, how big will these groups get.

- Will people financially pull through to get the pickaxe and win. How will the orchestrate such a thing.

- Or will it not be bought and will people lone wolf it

 

The intent is pretty clear, that the experiment has to do with the DLC and experimenting about approach

 

Am I still the only one that thinks a hacker is going to find out whats in the center on day 1? I mean if anyone is going to come close to buying the chisel, I am sure a hacker will get to the center.

[Bohtty 1,775]

People hack the government for fun and never get caught. I don't this black cube could stand up to anyone of those people. Nothing can ever be 100% secure and I am almost certain that their security won't be government grade or better.

[FedoraMemes 582]

I can honestly see the purpose for this.

 

I know Molyneux is not expecting anyone to buy the 77,000 $ chisel. However he wants to see the results of the following:

 

- Will people form groups specifically to attack the cube from one side, how big will these groups get.

- Will people financially pull through to get the pickaxe and win. How will the orchestrate such a thing.

- Or will it not be bought and will people lone wolf it

 

The intent is pretty clear, that the experiment has to do with the DLC and experimenting about approach

 

These were some of the things that I've been thinking about. I mean, it's got to have a purpose, right? It's a social experiment.

 

@@Bohtty, no, of course it's not gonna be 100% secure, and we all know that, but all we can really do is hope that no-one does (which is highly unlikely).