Multi-player PacMan jumps between devices

"A computer game that lets characters leap from one mobile console to another has been developed by Swedish programmers. Researchers at Viktoria Institute in G�tenberg have put a spin on the classic arcade game, PacMan, by allowing players to play on several different computers simultaneously. In a further twist on the original maze-style game, participants can assume control of one of several ghost characters, which must collaborate in order to catch the main protagonist - PacMac himself. The game - PacMan Must Die! - is played on Toshiba Pocket PC hand-held computers, which automatically connect to one another via an ad-hoc wireless computer network. When a ghost leaves one side of the player's screen, instead of reappearing on the opposite side of the maze in the same display, it instantly leaps to the nearest person's console. To continue, the player must look over that person's shoulder at his or her computer screen. Project leader Johan Sanneblad says the game was devised to encourage greater interaction between mobile computer users. 'Most technology today makes the user more and more isolated,' he told New Scientist. 'I wanted to do something to encourage people to collaborate.' Personal identification The researchers have just completed a two-week trial of the technology among high school students. Sanneblad says players began thinking of their characters and consoles as extensions of themselves, developing a strong identification with them and also with other players. 'People felt really connected,' he says. A video (Quicktime,12.6MB) available on the project home page shows a game taking place on two handheld consoles at once." [New Scientist]