Project Details: Cross media real world game (online & real world)
Date of Project Realisation: 2010
Project Dimensions: Online & real world game
Project URL: http://www.maconmoney.org
Project Overview: Games engage people with issues, ideas and other people, and that engagement shifts the ways in which the world is perceived. Macon Money is a city-wide social game designed to address the issue of socio-economic segregation and to bring together residents in the city of Macon, GA. Macon Money has been developed as a part of an effort funded by the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation that spans research, development and evaluation of games designed to address some of the hyperlocal issues facing a handful of American cities.
Macon Money is the first game to use a real-world local currency. Tens of thousands of US dollars worth of Macon Money have been printed up and to earn this currency players cash in “bonds” that have been distributed to residents of Macon. The catch is that each player gets just half a bond and to turn it in must find a person holding a matching half.
To find their match, players use whatever means their imagination and ingenuity can invent – social media (on Facebook and using hashtags on Twitter), online message boards, the Macon Money forums – even face-to-face events. “Cash” in hand, the winning players then decide how and where to spend their Macon Money.
Since the game launched in mid-October of 2010 more than half of the bonds distributed have been redeemed for Macon Money bills. More than half of those bonds were redeemed by person to person connections made by individuals living in different parts of the city (specifically different post codes).
Local participating businesses accept Macon Money bills and redeem them for US Dollars. Businesses benefit from new patrons who are spending money that they might not otherwise have spent locally.
Through real world rewards Macon Money brings together diverse local residents while creating social bonds.
Group Biography: Macon Money was funded by the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation and was designed and developed by Area/Code.
Games define imaginary spaces that we enter into and explore; Area/Code highlights the connections between these imaginary spaces and the world around them. These connections can take many forms, including urban environments transformed into spaces for public play, simulated characters and worlds that occupy real-world geography, game events driven by real-world data, and situated media that corresponds to specific locations and contexts.
Since Area/Code was founded in 2005, it has been devoted to creating innovative, social games that engage communities in new forms of participation. Area/Code takes advantage of today’s environment of pervasive technologies and overlapping media to create new kinds of gameplay. We are inspired by both the future potential of ubiquitous networked computing and the long historical tradition of games as social interaction.
Area/Code games highlight the connections between the interactive systems and imaginary landscapes inside of games and the real world around them. These connections can take many forms:
• Facebook games that create innovative new forms of social interaction
• online games that respond to broadcast TV in real time
• game systems that explore real-world social issues
• urban environments transformed into spaces for public play
• game events driven by real-world data
Area/Code works with game publishers like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, non-profit organizations, universities, advertising agencies, media firms, and large consumer brands. Clients include: the UK Department for Transport, Nike, Nokia, MTV, The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, and Intel. Area/Code and its work have been covered in the Wall Street Journal, Creativity, The New York Times, Businessweek, The Chicago Tribune, MTV, Ad Age, and some of our favorite blogs including Joystiq, Kotaku, boingboing and PSFK.
The Macon Money team includes: Frank Lantz, Kevin Slavin, Kati London, Kevin Cancienne, Demetri Detsaridis, Mark Heggen, Moti Bahat, Mechel McKinley, Alex Tween, Greg Shakar, Rachel Morris, and Theresa Reagan. The project wouldn’t have been possible without the inspiration, guidance, and support of the team members from Knight Foundation: Alberto Ibarguen, Trabian Shorters, Paula Ellis, Jessica Goldfin, Mayur Patel, and Beverly Blake.