If you don’t run, jump and avoid obstacles fast enough, the Internet service provider will throttle you.
This isn’t a glimpse into a dystopian future or the plot of a new science fiction novel. It’s the premise of “404Sight,” a video game created by U graduate students in the Entertainment Arts and Engineering program.
The game is a statement about net neutrality, the idea that service providers should keep the current status quo of the Internet that allows equal access to all content without blocking or favoring specific websites for financial gain. In February, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ruled the Internet was a utility, which kept it open and costs low. However, the game developers said this doesn’t mean a more expensive Internet can’t happen in the future. Tina Kalinger, community manager for the team, said service providers like Comcast are petitioning the ruling and trying to get it repealed.
Rachel Leiker, an artist for the project, said they latched on to the idea of making a game centered on net neutrality because it appealed to them on a personal level.
“As a student game development team, we don’t have a lot of resources that are open to us,” Leiker said. “Having … access to the Internet has been absolutely vital to our development process and, we think, to the game industry as a whole.”
The title “404Sight” comes from the computer error code 404 Not Found, a response users get when they follow a dead or broken link. It’s also a play on the word “foresight,” a reflection of the team’s belief that people aren’t planning for the future of the Internet constructively.
Leiker described “404Sight” as a “3-D parkour runner” with similar elements to games like “Temple Run,” where users run from a monster while collecting coins and dodging hurdles. The parkour elements were inspired by “Mirror’s Edge,” a first-person game in which the protagonist carries messages while avoiding government surveillance.
As of April 23, a week after the game’s release, “404Sight” had over 80,000 downloads on STEAM, making it one of the most successful products from the program.
“It’s kind of just taken on a life of its own,” Kalinger said. “We’ve just been stepping back and looking on it in awe because we never imagined that it would be this popular.”
The team began working on “404Sight” in January 2014 as a requirement for graduation. Leiker and Kalinger said they don’t have any immediate plans for future development and are focusing on graduating next week.
“This is a very rigorous program and by getting to this point in publishing, we have not slept in two years,” Kalinger said.
“404Sight” is available for download at http://404sight.com/ or on the online video game store STEAM.
@Ehmannky