SnagU impresses NYC crowds with addictive gameplay
With over 20 large-scale games to choose from over the course of three days, the first ever Come Out & Play Festival offered more gaming than one person alone could take in. With the help of some resident New Yorkers, however, I've compiled impressions of what can only be described as a mere sliver of the weekend's offerings.SnagU, winner of Cisco Systems and mtvU's Digital Incubator Grant, is a photo-based scavenger hunt using camera phone technology. Players must take pictures matching selected keywords, and submit them via phone for review. I talked with Noelle Weaver, member of a local communications firm, who played SnagU casually over the course of the weekend. She credits her continued interest in the game to its lack of needed attention: "I love the idea that I can play no matter where I am," Noelle says, "be it the line at the DMV or just walking down the street."
Each time she sends in an image, a new keyword gets sent back to her phone. There is no rush for her to send in as many images as possible, as points are rewarded based on creativity, and not just on speed. The game also encourages unique interpretations of the keywords. The word 'eye,' for example, illicited both an image of someone's eye, and a doppler radar image depicting the eye of a storm.
While discussing the festival, Noelle and I casually investigated our surroundings, looking for a clever image to accompany her latest word: 'common.' "The cool thing about this game," she says, "and where I give kudos to the concept--is it really makes you open up your eyes and look at the world around you in completely new ways."
Players vote for the best pictures online, in order to determine rankings. A special version of SnagU was played over the three-day Come Out & Play Festival, with two winners determined at the event's conclusion. Both received iPod Nanos as prizes.
Even though Come Out & Play has ended, SnagU is an ongoing experience, and anyone with a camera phone can participate by signing up.





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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris Taran @ Sep 25th 2006 12:58PM
I couldn't be more underwhelmed by the idea of SnagU.
Draco @ Sep 25th 2006 1:04PM
I like the idea of the game, its the cost of sending images with my cell that would make this an expensive game.
Zell @ Sep 25th 2006 1:20PM
Bah @ Come Out & Play! Bah, I say! I found out about it too late (on here) and every game I wanted to sign up for was already full.
;_;
Software Pirate @ Sep 25th 2006 1:29PM
I didn't manage to check much about SnagU, but I do have a video from the COAP opening on my site! Later this week I'll be putting up two more videos of interviews I had with the creators of Manhattan Megagolf, Plundr, Identity, Spy School, and some others. For now, you can check out what I have here: http://softwarepirate.org/2006/09/23/come-out-and-play-episode-5-part-1/
Please don't consider this spam, and I'm sorry if that's the case. It's on-topic and about the COAP festival, which had a lot more impressive and creative games than SnagU.
nyc @ Sep 25th 2006 1:46PM
Results 1 - 10 of about 22,000 for illicited. (0.85 seconds)
Did you mean: elicited
foobob @ Sep 25th 2006 1:48PM
boring sh!t for the casual gamer...
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Sep 25th 2006 1:57PM
No phone use in the DMV line, at least in New York City.
mandarin @ Sep 25th 2006 3:53PM
So tell us Noelle, you play these games while you're walking down the street? Especially in downtown NY?
Oren Ross @ Sep 25th 2006 5:45PM
Hey Joystiqers,
I am actually one of the designers of the game, and I think you should at least try it out before making any claims. While it is not for the hardcore gaming community, it does actually give you a fun game to play on your camera-phone. We would love to hear what some of you think about the game, as we are constantly trying to make it better. So join the game (we dont charge you for playing, but your service provider definitely does, so we advise you to check that out, or change you plan to unlimited image messaging) and send us your thoughts through our feedback system or emailing us at contact(at)snagu(dot)com. If you are having trouble with signing up, let us know what kind of phone you have and who is your service provider and we will help you get started.
Thanks and we cant wait to hear from all of you.
SydRocks @ Sep 25th 2006 6:12PM
Wow, that sounds cool. Too bad I don't have internet access on my phone... I'll look into it.