
SpyParty: a Turing Test disguised as a game - mustpax
http://www.destructoid.com/why-you-need-to-be-excited-about-spyparty-167171.phtml
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chime
I would pay $100 for this game. I don't play games because I have below
average skill, dexterity, and coordination. Last game I played till finish was
the first Splinter Cell game in 2002-2003. I hit save after every shot,
movement, and action because I really suck at shooting targets, especially if
they fire back at me or move. What I love are solo games where I can take my
time, plan my course of action, and hit "go!" This game seems exactly what I
want. Another example is one of the original variations of Desktop Tower
Defense where you couldn't buy/sell equipment/weapons once you hit 'play'.

I divide games into two types: frying or baking. The frying games are where
you have to be active throughout the course of the game from start till finish
and you have to race against time. There may be preparation beforehand but
execution during the main act is critical and if you slow down, you get burnt
veggies. The baking games are where preparation is the only thing that
matters. There is no race-against time and if you prepare well, you're almost
guaranteed to win. I prefer baking games.

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TimothyFitz
A very similar game was released in 2006 called The Ship:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ship_(video_game)>

You can even get it on steam today <http://store.steampowered.com/app/2400/>

~~~
username3
Does anyone still play this?

edit:
[http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10236...](http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1023675&page=3)

 _This game is seriously awesome, yes the player count is low but you can find
certain times where there's actually a full server._

 _You can get this game for dirt cheap from places like Amazon.com merchants
and such... I payed only $0.01 plus shipping for my copy... Bought a bunch
more for my friends so we can all LAN party at least..._

$19.99 on Steam.

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khafra
More of a reverse turing test, but I really like the concept.

~~~
joe_the_user
If or when you get a massively multi-player version, you'll be able to have
every variation of the Turing test (say, a scenario with ten humans and one
killer bot).

What would be really fun is if this were to ramp-up to a large enough scale
that there was a financial incentive to create narrow-Turing passing bots - it
would obsolete the Loebner prize.

~~~
icey
I am actually working on something similar to what you mention in your second
paragraph. I hope to have it in alpha sometime next month.

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ryanwanger
I'm surprised that this game is 2 years away. Isn't that plenty of time for
someone else to create a clone? Sure, the graphics are primitive, but it
doesn't matter for a game like this.

~~~
mrcharles
Pretty sure this is just a one man side project, not something made by a full
dev studio. Give him some time!

Anyway, if the guy is anything like me, he's probably hoping someone will
waltz in and run the concept ahead of him, so he can play it without having to
build it himself.

Really though, he's pretty save. It's too complex for the average indie to
motor through, and it's too out there for a big studio to steal. Plus, aside
from that, Chris Hecker is enough of a name that if someone tried to rip off
the idea, he could probably litigate successfully.

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thorax
I'm sure people will, indeed, run the concept ahead of him. I hope they do (or
he hurries) because I can't wait to play it.

Variations would also be awesome--- Spy versus Spy would also be a stellar
spin and maybe even more fun. Imagine trying to figure out if that "guest" is
also a human spy who has identified you and is about to stab you when you turn
your back.

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Batsu
It's an excellent idea, I can give it that, but I do not see how this fleshes
out into a full game. We're talking about Person A tries to find Person B in a
crowd. Person B has stuff to do, Persona A just has to find him.

If you're playing on the same screen (as the article indicated) Person B can't
have an interesting interface because it's shared with Person A, and vice
versa. Likewise Person B can't be doing anything interesting, because (as
indicated in the article) his possible actions are easily investigated by
Person A.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for new concepts in gaming. I play far too many
games right now... I just don't see how this extends beyond a Mario Party /
Wario Ware style mini-game.

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almost
The article mentions a trick whereby the other player clicked their "Camera
move" stick instead of their "Character move" stick in order to fool the other
play who could here the click the control pad made. This strongly indicates
that the players are on different screens (close together in the scenario but
I imagine usually it would be played over the net)

I agree that it sounds like it would be very hard to make this into a playable
game. But if they manage that it could be really good.

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josh33
Feels almost like a virtual version of the party game mafia. It seems like you
would be able to memorize the different missions and then watch for them, but
I'm sure the developers are aware of that risk.

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nopassrecover
Looks very much like the original concept for The Ship.

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seltzered
does this remind anyone of assassin's creed II for the iphone? In that, you
basically get contracts to kill someone in a crowd, except the guy you're
trying to kill is also a human likely out to get you.

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brianimmel
Sounds really hard... in the good, late night, I can't sleep because this game
is so addictive and challenging sort of way.

