Projects 2010 > Fortnight > Journal
*SPOLIER ALERT* This post will definitely ruin things for anyone planning on signing up for future versions of Fortnight, so do not read if you don’t want to spoil the magic…
**SERIOUSLY. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU PLAN ON DOING IT EVER**
***THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING***
***********
***********
***********
*SPOLIER ALERT* This post will definitely ruin things for anyone planning on signing up for future versions of Fortnight, so do not read if you don’t want to spoil the magic…
**SERIOUSLY. DON’T READ THIS IF YOU PLAN ON DOING IT EVER**
***THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING***
***********
***********
***********
We are in the midst of our second test of Fortnight, this time with many elements of our technology in place (although not all – and not all connected). I thought it might be nice to share a bit of the documentation we have been collecting for anyone far and wide who won’t be in any of the cities it will eventually land in…
The image below is of the RFID-encoded badges that participants were given on day one. On the other side, was a bird. Everyone had a different kind…
Participants were asked to wear their badges visibly during the entire test period, as a way of being able to identify each other, and also to ensure they had them with them for the various ‘optional tasks’ that were set for them. Here is Kate displaying hers:
The badges allowed participants to access what we have called ‘physical task portals’ -which basically means objects that have a small interaction and that result in some kind of triggered content. One example was a set of opera glasses at the Bristol Old Vic. Participants were invited to place their badge on the tag. When they did so, a short opera clip played and they were given an empty popcorn bag..inside of which was an opera ticket with a password protected URL. The password on the back of the ticket allowed them to see a special video clip online that relates to the opera and to Bristol. Here is what the test version of the portal looked like:
On the first day, participants were told to keep their eyes out for things in the city. One of the things that they might have seen are ducks that were placed in the King George fountain near the water stairs. We dropped a bunch of them in at night and replenished throughout the day. The ducks had a URL on them and participants were texted with a password and a nudge to maybe look for them. If they did, they would get to see a short online film about the ducks… Here is a little glimpse of a lone duck swimming (she’s hiding on the other side):
Throughout the test period, we also had three posters placed around the city that invited people to sms or use a QR reader to respond to a prompt we set. The interaction wasn’t quite right, but its close. Some of the way the posters worked was still manual for this test, and that proved tricky to manage…and a few key pieces of information were missing for participants, but we’re straightening that out too. We also want many more; three was not quite enough. Here is what the one at the Bristol Old Vic looked like:
And finally, for a glimpse into the chaos of our headquarters, here is a shot of Gillian with various pieces of portal, set dressing and technology in the process of being assembled. It might look chaotic, but it was a well-oiled machine (more or less):
We have one more day to go, but so far, so good on the technical side.
On the health-side, the Bristol curse seems to be carrying on as Rachel has had to head back to Lancaster for health reasons. Seems the bug we thought she kicked from last time she was here has come back and landed her in A&E. The thought of having a repeat visit to the Royal Infirmary in Bristol was enough to send a poorly Rachel on a train back to Lancaster where the services are less Victorian. We are all sending love and hearts that she gets better soon.
