Games

Torrent Raiders, the thesis project of MFA student Aaron Meyers, is an application which serves two functions: it is both a graphically stunning BitTorrent visualization program and a tongue-in-cheek game of counter-piracy.

BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer protocol for file sharing, changed the way large data passes through networks by allowing multiple users across the globe to share the burden of individual file uploads and downloads. One of the interesting by-products of this is that any given computer using BitTorrent may be dowloading and uploading a vast array of information from sources all over the world at any given moment; the data passing through a single computer is a microcosm of global internet traffic.

Torrent Raiders is, on its surface, an accessible and stunning means of visualizing this file transfer. The data, represented by small colored blocks, pulses back and forth from the computer (represented by a hovering ship) to the glowing cities on a 3-D globe. A TorrentRaiders user can move around the globe, observing and absorbing the continually changing patterns.

Torrent Raiders, however, goes beyond mere visualization. To further engage the player, the software is also a playable game that uses arcade-shooter mechanics and a fictional narrative framework to make a statement about surveillance in the 21st century. The player takes on the role of an MPAA operative tasked with tracking individual torrent swarms. By moving across the globe, the player can locate and shoot torrent swarms. By attacking, the player can track the data in order to collect evidence against individual file sharers. Their scores, as well as "bounties" for individual torrents, will be posted on a message board that will be used as the backbone of the Torrent Raiders community.

Meyers realizes the complex emotions that will be evoked by forcing players to play as "the enemy" of BitTorrent within a BitTorrent client. "While committing virtual violence on the packets of data they are policing, they are too complicit in the process, creating a complex and provocative aesthetic experience of information."

To learn more about Aaron Meyers' project in his own words, you can visit the official Torrent Raiders site. You can download his thesis paper by clicking here.