Talking with strangers over a webcam link has become a popular pastime for online users ever since the internet reached global proliferation. It comes as no surprise to see millions of surfers adopt popular webcam- based communication services such as Chat Roulette, Skype or even Omegle as we seek to keep constantly connected. However, many users have been logging into these sites to experience something different altogether.
David Reynolds from South Devon in the UK is a filmmaker who has managed to awaken a new zombie concept that involves some ‘real life’ action. Those who were lucky enough to go cam-to-cam with David last week were treated to a special live shoot ‘em up survival zombie gaming experience which saw the filmmaker don a special bike helmet complete with Go-Pro camera. Keen viewers would enter the chat room to witness what initially appears to be a first person shooter-style game. They would then be prompted to shout out instructions to David in order to control the action they were seeing.
The zombie-filled webcam experience included a cast of 30 and was made with a budget of around £900. It proved very popular with those who actually took control of the game and didn’t skip all the action and the experience was heightened even further by the inclusion of authentic props, make up, and eerie sound effects that are synonymous with the genre. (continues)
Of course Reynolds’ offering is not the first in this new era of interactive video game experiences with a twist and many are now speculating that more ‘real life’ games could be bought to life. Modern games are often particularly complex and boast hugely vast environments to navigate, facets that appeal to modern fans. Traditional games could soon take on a completely different guise; we’ve seen uk bingo operators experiment with web-cam streaming services and more traditional pastimes could soon follow suit.
Earlier this year the popular Twitch platform oversaw a plethora of games coming through that gave players the opportunity to participate in live events. The chat room facility was used to parse commands through to specific video games so that players viewing could type in simple platform-based controls to control movements collaboratively. There was a three day Old Spice sponsored Twitch event called ‘Man in the Woods’ which utilised this concept to guide a man through a special interactive nature adventure, and more recently, retro games such as ‘Pokémon Red’ have been popping up on the video streaming website entertaining gamers looking for a fresh challenge.
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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