Thanks for the comments guys. We're really excited about the potential for other types of play too. We've talked about narratives and smaller games breaking out on the platform, but we know that's just the start, so we're looking forward to hearing what people come up with and exploring it through development.

Katie, we think there is interesting potential for how that information feeds into a digital space too, for instance the mysteries you mention could then start to need exploring and solving through tuning online channels, allowing for co-operative play and a blurring of the distinction between location and remote engagement. Once an object is woken up, it no longer has to be tied to it's situation, it can become a communication channel. We can't wait to see what people come up with.

Good god, what utter nonsense.

Hi everyone,

it might be that we're trying to fit a lot of ideas into a short description - we've also got a longer version which goes into a bit more detail, if it helps: http://panstudio.co.uk/2012/12/the-playable-city/

I like this one, I like a bit silly, and as a photographer I like looking at everyday objects differently and this really takes that idea to the limit!

Having in mind that people are being more and more alienated as more and more of our lives is based in "virtual reality' this project proposes for people to stare at the screens even more but now having irrelevant conversations with objects on the street. The scenario of this project is that of people standing on the street texting, like they usually are, everyone on their own little screen yet now having vapid conversation with an objects. I think it is important to consider social implications of the interactions that are proposed by these projects, and this one misses to do so.

Wow I agree with the poster above^, Seriously, after reading this I was curious about what others would say and I'm surprised by all of the raving reviews. This project is flat. It does not grab me and make me want to interact with it at all. Honestly, it isn't inviting, compelling or mysterious for me to want to "play" aka text my phone in public and have an insignificant conversation with an object. If I was visiting Bristol I would rather talk to locals or anyone I meet for that mater rather than a lamp post.

I also wouldn't consider this playful, more like an anti-social and mediocre use of technology.

love the idea of utilising and animating normally inanimate city 'furniture' but kind of agree with one of the posts that more needs to be thought about why would people be having those interactions, what are those conversations about, how do they become in any way meaningful and how does it become something that isn't just people standing around looking at their screens in the street?
There is no obvious interaction between citizens in the real world which makes it essentially a lonely activity.

I think it's clear that the world is for better/worse (up to us) changing, things like this are happening, if you are aggrieved or depressed by the idea of people floating around in their own bubbles why not try playing around with the technologies that fascinate them so? You never know you might pop their bubble or make them realise a thing or too (so might you). Negativity (not to this proposal, that's your entitled opinion, but to emerging technology in general) however, will unlikely change anything.

I reckon (I might be wrong) that the concept of this proposal isn't to get us all new obscure social lives with objects, or even to become further abstracted from reality than we already are, but (maybe) is about playing around with the capabilities and implementations of new and existing technologies in the hope of generating a few ideas of how we can make cities more open (not closed), more dialogic (not dictatorial), or just more fun (for other people not just you). My nieces and nephews would find this funny and engaging, which is realistically more than you could say about their potential interactions with average person on the street.

Given our strong dyadic relationship to objects, social interaction with them has been highly underplayed in human history so far and I think it's not infeasible to suggest that this will be normal in generations to come.

Also, the detractions here make some people sound like the grumpy old man from 'UP' - wonder if they would accuse the dog of having 'vapid' conversation ha! hilarious!