Introduction

I Like Frank in Adelaide, was a mixed reality game for 3G phones developed over 3 months at the beginning of 2004. The game mixes performers with Online Players & Street Players using mobile phones.

Online Players moved around a virtual model of Adelaide's Central Business District (CBD). By chatting and exploring the city Online Players could uncover the secret locations of postcards hidden in the real city. They could then send 'text' messages to Street Players to ask them to collect the postcard on their behalf.

Online Interface for I Like Frank

Meanwhile, Street Players were asked to go in search of Frank - apparently lost somewhere in the city. Street Player's phones showed a map of Adelaide's CBD - centred on an icon representing their location. By updating their position on the map players would receive messages from Frank.

If a Street Player decided to help an Online Player by collecting their postcard then Frank would invite them to a secluded part of the city. There they would be interviewed and asked to write an answer to the question on the back of their postcard.

Street Player receives a video call		Performer guides the player

Online, the lights in the virtual city fade to red and the secluded location of Frank is revealed. Once they reach Frank he invites them to leave their postal address to receive the postcard which has been written for them.

The work was a collaboration between the Mixed Reality Lab at University of Nottingham and Blast Theory.

In the context of A Mutual Friend, I Like Frank provided a unique opportunity to work closely with a mobile network provider; moving forward with technical development for working with mobile phones and networks [more]

It was also an opportunity learn about some of the design issues for phone interfaces and developing artist driven experiences using mobiles [more]

Finally, it provided a case study to look at the development & design processes and how they may be useful or not to developing the infrastructure for A Mutual Friend.