I was intrigued by the concept behind Shadow Cities when I heard about it...I just love the idea of using reality and the world around us in more interactive ways. I am a sucker for community driven concepts. The game uses your real life location and surrounding to build a game world where you choose a faction and then play against others 'mages' wandering the city. You use the touch screen to 'draw runes' on the screen that can damage your foes or heal yourself...then it opens up and asks you to conquer opposing bases and spots around your city...the twist being you have to be in range to find them all, and it encourages you to explore your vicinity on foot to look for targets. Think of it like 4Square crossed with some actual gameplay. A game that encourages you to get out and about in your city or town to find some gameplay?...I was both interested and a touch skeptical about how it would hang together. (You can also apparently use 'beacons' to help friends even if you are stuck at home, but I haven't gotten that far yet)
The game is now available on the app store so I downloaded it and have found myself very quickly compelled. I have already had a random stranger talk to me on the street about it (presumably he saw me busily casting my runes as I wandered home from the office this evening)...I am not sure yet about the long term appeal, it definitely has that 'gimmick' hook to it early on..but it definitely has some potential...
Well worth checking out if you are curious or find this kind of ARG activity a little fun...and can cope with the odd occasion where a stranger might say hello on the street...
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