Torrent Raiders is an arcade-style video game and a dynamic network visualization. Driven in real-time by the activity of bit torrent swarms, Torrent Raiders takes place on the ad-hoc networks created by bit torrent users. Torrent Raiders playfully addresses issues of domestic surveillance, amidst the recent revelation of the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping and the increasingly Orwellian nature of our so-called “homeland security”. Players take on the role of a government agent tasked with surveilling the ad-hoc networks generated by torrents linked to copyrighted material.

Bit Torrent is a protocol for peer-to-peer file distribution; according to a recent study by CacheLogic it accounts for 35% of all traffic on the Internet. The most popular torrents on the web are new DVD releases. These massively populated swarms will be the playing field. With gameplay and graphics in the nouveau retro tradition of shooters like Rez and Geometry Wars, the core mechanic of Torrent Raiders revolves around capturing data packets from users on the torrent swarm and identifying their geographical location. Players use their Torrent Raider ship, equipped with an array of dazzling projectile weaponry, to search and destroy virtual violators in the torrent swarm. The Torrent Raiders game will be built using C# and the .NET platform; the graphics will be powered by Direct3D and it will use the open source btSharp library for real-time interaction with torrent swarms.

While the decentralized nature of the bit torrent protocol makes the visualization of a swarm impossible with a conventional client, Torrent Raiders permits torrent swarm visualization through distributed surveillance. The information gathered by a player in the game is uploaded to a central MySQL database on a companion website. This website will host animated visualizations created in Processing, driven by the aggregated database of information collected by players of the Torrent Raiders game. As more people play Torrent Raiders, the visualizations become more complex, accurate representations of the swarm. Each week, Torrent Raiders will be automatically directed to a new torrent, creating a gallery of visualizations for the shape of torrents passed.

I am developing Torrent Raiders as my thesis at the USC Interactive Media Division; it will be realized as an arcade cabinet-based installation for the MFA thesis exhibition and future exhibitions. I will be responsible for the majority of its development including programming and design. Artist Corey Jackson will assist with the creation of concept art, additional assets and 3D models. An additional network programmer will assist in integrating the bit torrent protocol functionality. Michael Naimark, Julian Bleecker and one additional adviser will sit on my thesis committee.

Video games are an ideal though untapped medium for exploring issues of agency and complicity. As a game and dynamic visualization exploring privacy, piracy and surveillance, Torrent Raiders will challenge Internet users, content pirates and government spooks to examine their allegiances and mistrust their computer connections.

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April 2006 - May 2006
- Development and production of GeoSwarm, a swarm visualization plugin for the open source bit torrent client Azureus
- Completion of thesis proposal document and presentation

June 2006 - August 2006
- Development of 2D gameplay prototype in Processing
- Development of game framework, 3D camera system and rendering engine

September 2006
- Begin production of art asset library
- Development of Bit Torrent protocol integration

October 2006 - November 2006
- Continue game development and art asset production

December 2006
- Complete Torrent Raiders Alpha Build
- Bit Torrent protocol integration completed

January 2007
- Complete Torrent Raiders Beta Build
- Begin internal testing and initial surveillance database population

February 2007
- Refine Torrent Raiders Beta, fix bugs
- Finalize art assets
- Continue testing

March 2007
- Develop aggregated swarm visualizations in Processing
- Develop Torrent Raiders companion website

April 2007
- Continue aggregated swarm visualization development
- Deploy Torrent Raiders game and companion website
- Construct custom arcade cabinets to house Torrent Raiders for thesis exhibition

May 2007
- Thesis Show and Presentation!

Preliminary Budget
Dedicated web hosting and server - $2000
Network Programmer fees - $1500
3D Modeler and Artist fees - $1000
Materials for 3 custom arcade cabinets - $3000
Geolocation database and services - $500

Total - $8000

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Carniforce

Carniforce is a video game client for RSG's Carnivore Personal Edition. Taking place in the not-to-distant future, Carniforce puts players in the role of an operative in a secret government agency responsible for policing traffic on local networks. Using CarnivorePE's packet sniffing capabilities, Carniforce's gameplay is dynamically driven by the player's own local network traffic. A selection of common Internet protocols each spawn unique enemies which, in the interest of American freedom, must be intercepted by the player at all costs.

Senseless Prototypes @ Maxis

While interning at Maxis during the summer of 2005, I worked on prototypes for an as-of-yet unannounced title. The design team I was a part of participated in a bi-weekly tradition affectionately referred to as "Senseless Prototypes". For each Senseless Prototype day, a one word topic was chosen and each member of the design team would spend the entire day (and usually half of the next day) working on a software prototype related to or inspired by the topic. My prototypes tended to explore the possibilities of emergence where complex behaviors not explicity programmed arise from a system of simpler rules. Additionally, I spent four weeks under the guidance of game development professionals intensively learning Direct3D and 3D programming.

MobZombies

MobZombies explores a new dimension of handheld gaming by adding location and motion awareness to classic arcade style gameplay. Using a handheld device, and a Garmin Forerunner GPS tracker, players enter a virtual world infested with pixel-art zombies, a homage to vintage 8-bit console games. The goal of the game is to stay alive, running away from or planting bombs to destroy the ever-encroaching zombies. The twist is that a player's physical position controls the position of their zombie-world avatar, forcing the player to actually move around the real world to succeed in the game. The virtual zombie-world is a simple environment -- the game's complexity comes from players having to negotiate real-world objects in order to avoid the zombies and stay alive. The scoring system is simple: the longer you can stay alive, the higher your score. Of course, the longer you stick around, the more zombies you'll encounter.

MediaCoop

The MediaCoop is a public interface for file sharing inspired by the functionality and properties of the ubiquitous vending machine. MediaCoop was originally conceived as an application for Julian Bleecker's WiFi.Bedouin platform where it would be accessed through a users laptop via an internet-disconnected wireless node. Now MediaCoop is being proposed as a stand-alone touchscreen-based public device that a user docks their personal media player to. The MediaCoop enforces its own value system on digital media by requiring users to donate (and delete from their own media player) files in order to earn credits towards media files in the MediaCoop's local collection. The interface prototype pictured here parses a users music library and represents each song as an intelligent particle. By using gesturally initiated commands, users can cause these song particles to arrange themselves into useful and meaningful configurations.

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Aaron Meyers

Aaron Meyers is a media artist and programmer interested in information visualization, game design, artificial life and generative image-making. Since 2002, he has been creating interactive projects with an emphasis on dynamic information visualization and rapid game prototyping in research and commercial contexts. He is currently finishing his second year working towards an MFA degree in Interactive Media at the USC School of Cinema and Television. He excitedly anticipates spending the next year realizing Torrent Raiders as his MFA Thesis.

Aaron's blog
Aaron's Resume

Corey Jackson

Corey Jackson is 3D artist and illustrator about to complete an MFA in Animation at UCLA. His work reflects a passionate interest in the kinetic and autopoetic patterns of nature and processes of growth and form. His professional experience includes working as the Art Lead at Ludicorp for Game Never Ending and as a Storyboard Artist on Nickelodeon cartoons such as Hey Arnold! and Invader Zim.

Corey's website
Corey's Resume

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