Thousands of people are jumping into a brand-new type of family fun with Internet Roadtrip. This super cool game combines the power of Google Street View with an immersive “roadtrip simulator” experience! Neal Agarwal created an awesome game in which players decide how the virtual car travels by voting. You can do things like honk the horn or change the radio station.
Amanda Silberling, a senior writer at TechCrunch, covers the intersection of technology and culture, including innovative games like Internet Roadtrip. She also received an M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania in social policy & practice. Prior to joining the A New America fellowship she was a PIA Fellow in Laos. Silberling mentioned that the game has gone sort of viral among younger audiences, often boasting about a thousand players online at any given time.
Internet Roadtrip runs largely on Discord, which offers more organizational power than previous eras like Twitch Plays Pokémon. This structure enhances the gaming experience, allowing for seamless interaction among players as they collectively navigate their virtual journey.
What makes it so captivating and endearing is how there’s no clear goal to the game. Participants experience all the fun of deciding where to go, but without the tension of needing to get to a particular endpoint. The highly collaborative nature of the game fosters an atmosphere of creativity and spontaneity, making each session feel fresh and new.
Google Street View provides the backdrop for this online quest. It provides an opportunity for players to experience rich environments that have been rendered by sewing together thousands of separate photos. Certain limitations exist within the platform.
“Google Street View works by taking multiple pictures and putting them together. In some areas of the roads leading to Alaska, there are gaps in pictures available and so we would get stuck there, were we to go to these roads,” – Discord FAQ.
In all of these situations, players are still engaged and entertained, reveling in the joy of chaotic outcomes which stem from their shared choices. Internet Roadtrip has continued to capture the imagination in this way as it mixes technology with education, entertainment, and social engagement.
