Day of the Figurines

Day of the Figurines is a pervasive game created by the artist group Blast Theory, built on the EQUIP software architecture. It is a massively multiplayer game designed to be played entirely through text messaging. Players take part in an imaginary town where, over a simulated 24 hour period, ordinary town life escalates into chaos as military forces invade, forcing players to make moral choices about whether to help others or focus on their own survival. The game was first tested in spring and summer of 2005, produced in partnership with the University of Nottingham's Mixed Reality Lab and Sony Net Services, with funding from the European Commission's IST Programme. As a hybrid of game and performance, it drew academic analysis published in peer reviewed journals including PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art in 2008 and Performance Research in 2011.