The Rift net hunt (with Silicon Graphics)

Client Objective: Silicon Graphics wanted to promote the Indigo2 IMPACT, their latest and most advanced desktop workstation. They also wanted to introduce people to their new VRML browser, WebForce.

vivid Implementation: vivid partnered with Silicon Graphics to create an online game that would promote their product by introducing players to its many uses. "The Rift" was a three week-long series of wordplay, puzzles, and VRML playgrounds, combining sci-fi fantasy and cyberculture sensibilities with technological and historical innovation. The plot revolved around the Rift Surfer, an interdimensional entity running amok and wreaking havoc on the history of mankind. Twice daily players from around the world would log onto the site to find out what mayhem the Rift Surfer had caused and set about correcting it. Solutions to the clues lay scattered about the Internet, on Silicon Graphics' customer sites and elsewhere. Two different VRML worlds were available during the game for players to test drive the WebForce browser and acquaint themselves with an exciting, emerging technology. The top prize, an Indigo2 IMPACT, went to five graduate students at Northwestern University who banded together to tackle the toughest puzzles, solving the final heat in just under 24 hours (23:41 to be precise).

One of the most noteworthy aspects of "The Rift" was the community that developed around it. Players interacted heavily with each other, in the game discussion area and over email and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Some players even created their own Rift-related websites (the "I Hate Clue #10 Page" and "Unofficial Rift Help Page" were especially memorable). Players formed teams, forged alliances, and helped each other out in ways that extended the gameplay far beyond the edge of the monitor.

vivid was responsible for designing the game, creating all content (text, graphics, audio/video, and clues), directing the development of the VRML worlds, and handling all engineering issues (including HTML, scripting, and database design and construction), as well as providing daily game administration. vivid also helped Silicon Graphics promote "The Rift" to the media and on the Internet.

Producer: Lynnly Labovitz
Team: Brian Ng, Drue Miller, Henri Poole, Hussein Kanji, Jake Donham, Karin McDonald, Maurice Tani, Nat Johnson, Nathan Shedroff, Paul Guth, Raoul Rickenberg, Todd Krieger, Ty Shipman, Zachary Smith

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