Autopond
by Josh Goldfoot
Copyright (c) 2000
Autopond builds community
by causing users to cooperate with each other in winning a game in which
the whole world is on the same team. Each user, upon loading Autopond for
the first time, is assigned the permanent goal of obtaining 5 specific
cards, chosen from 120 possible cards. Each user starts the game with 7
cards, none of them useful to the user. Users trade cards with each other
by beaming them back and forth as part of mutually acceptable trades. A
user can also win a new card by beaming the Autopond application to a new
player. Each time two players meet, they exchange information about every
other player they know and what cards those players are looking for. This
allows players to find and meet each other, and cooperate in helping each
other win the game.
Collectively, the game and
its players form an autopoetic unity. Autopoetic unities are networks of
production of components that recursively, through their interactions,
generate and realize the network that produces them. Autopoetic unities
store decentralized information, with each component storing the information
most important to it in its own memory, but only rarely storing all available
information. Because there is no true unity of information, the autopoetic
unity creates a completely dynamic network that can be seamlessly split
and rejoined.
Use notes
The first time you run Autopond,
you will be asked to enter a name and a note to share with the world. You
will not be able to change your name later, so be careful. You will be
able to change the note later. Don't use a name or put any information
into the note that you won't mind being shown to a lot of people you may
not know.
From Autopond's main screen,
you can see the seven cards you start the game with, plus your five goal
cards. You also have access to four basic commands: Meet, Trade, View,
and Spread.
MEET
The Meet command is the most
fundamental part of Autopond. When you encounter another Autopond player,
align the infrared ports on your Palm OS computers. One of you should then
press the "Meet" button. Your computer will tell your friend's computer
about you and your goals, and your friend's computer will reciprocate with
the same information. Then, you will tell your friend's computer about
everyone else you know, and your friend's computer will reciprocate. The
more people you meet with, the more complete your knowledge and the stronger
the autopoetic unity.
TRADE
Use the Trade command to offer
an exchange with another Autopond player. After Meeting the player, tap
the Trade button. The Trade dialog box displays all of your cards, and
all of your friend's cards. The numbers after each card represent the number
of players you know of who have that card as their goal - this gives you
an idea of the value of the card. Select the cards you wish to receive,
and the cards you are willing to give up in return. Then press "Offer."
Your offer will be sent to the other player. If the other player accepts,
he will send back an acceptance, and the trade will be successful.
SPREAD
The Spread command lets you
beam the entire Autopond application to a Palm OS user who doesn't have
it yet. It's to your benefit to Spread to as many other Palm users as you
can, because each time you Spread you will receive a free card. You won't
get a free card if you beam Autopond with the Application Launcher, however.
Be sure to Meet with the user after you Spread to him.
VIEW
The View command lets you see
everyone in your contacts database. It displays their names in a list.
Next to each name is the Degrees of Separation between you and that player:
0 for people you've met yourself, 1 for people the 0's have met, 2 for
people the 1's have met, and so on. An asterisk ("*") next to someone's
name means that you have a card that is one of their goal cards. Click
on a name and click the "Details" button, and you will see details about
them: their goal cards and their "note," which might contain contact information.
SCORE BREAKDOWN
Your Score is always displayed
on the main page. You can choose Score Breakdown from the Unity menu to
see why your score is what it is. Scoring is as follows:
-
250 points for each goal card
you actually possess
-
10 points per person having
a goal card that you possess (i.e. if you know of 5 people who want Tomb,
and you have Tomb, then you get 50 points from that card)
-
1 point for each person you
know of, however indirectly.
Note that your Score will always
go up (and never go down) as you Meet new people.
HOT CARDS
From the Unity menu, "Hot Cards"
lets you see the eight highest-demand cards, based on what you know about
what other players' goals are. The ranking will change as you Meet new
people. Your score depends in part on how popular the cards you have are
with other users. |