GO: Offline
A downloadable game for Android
Explore urban space and scan barcodes on bikes with blue front tires to collect as many critters as you can!
GO: Offline is a game by Dutch playful media artist Leon van Oldenborgh.
It is a completely offline critical response to common practices employed in the location based AR games market, especially the gathering of player geo-location data, and artificially incentivising players to visit paying physical locations.
It challenges the usual server-side calculated placement of collectible agents by appropriating the barcode system that is used by the Dutch lease bike company Swapfiets to identify their bike frames. In this way the main gameplay element of exploring an urban environment with friends stays intact, while also foregoing the need to collect any geo-location data whatsoever.
By making the explicit game design decision to use the swapfiets distribution, this game also gives up any control over the placement of the collectibles, instead relying on the organic movement of these bikes. This approach results in a designed incentive to visit places like big bike garages, a place where you normally wouldn’t really hang out.
GO: Offline is built to create awareness that companies in the location based AR game space are profiting off of both user geo-location data and artificially incentivising players to visit paying locations. It hopes to contribute to the development of new and more ethical gaming practices.
This project was co-produced by Leon van Oldenborgh and V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media as part of the Realities in Transition residencies.
The game is currently only playable in areas where Swapfiets is active. The countries include:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- The Netherlands
- Spain
- United Kingdom
Check https://swapfiets.com/ for more accurate information.
Download
Install instructions
Either visit the links to the app or play stores or download the .apk file to your android phone and open that file to install. Please note that I am forced by Apple and Google to collect some information if you download the game via either the App Store or the Play Store. The only way to completely not send any data whatsoever is to sideload the game on Android via the APK available here. Please read the Privicy Policy for more information on this.
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Comments
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Dear Leon van Oldenborgh,
I hope you’re doing well! My name is Renil Mathew Felix, and I’m reaching out from Banzan Studios, the team behind SnackR—an exciting new platform that combines the best of TikTok, YouTube, and Patreon, specifically designed for creators like you. We’ve been following your work, and we’re particularly impressed by your project, "Go Offline" The creativity behind it caught our attention, and we believe it would resonate well with our growing audience on SnackR. SnackR is an all-in-one platform where creators can share games, animations, and comics, and engage with a dedicated mobile-first audience. This is built by a team of folks who have been creators themselves and have faced the same problems that young creators like you do. Each feature and functionality is built while keeping the ‘Creator’ in mind. We're focused on giving creators control over their content and its reach, and we'd love for you to be part of this journey. While "Go Offline" truly stood out to us, you’re not limited to submitting just that—we’d be thrilled to explore any other game or project you think might be a great fit for SnackR as well. If you're interested in learning more about how SnackR could benefit you and help you reach new audiences, I’d love to discuss this further. Please let me know if you’re available for a quick chat. Feel free to check us out in the meantime: Website: https://banzan.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banzanstudios/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/banzanstudios/ I’ll also share a short video showcasing what SnackR is all about—this will give you a better sense of how we’re creating a platform tailored for creators like you: ~ https://www.instagram.com/p/DCVjW1LIM07/ Here's the actual app on Google Play. Let me know what you think! ~ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.web.banzan_snackr.twa&hl=en
Looking forward to hearing from you! :)
Best regards,
Renil Mathew Felix
Banzan Studios