Gaming: Pheon-line

Bust a Move completions by Katechava, Sheepeeh, MaryKateTait, and Bathlander

Bust a Move completions by Katechava, Sheepeeh, MaryKateTait, and Bathlander

Georgina
December 29, 2010

The secret world of Terra Tectus is besieged by war. Citizens are split into two factions, Staves and Knaves, who battle for power. The division is not as simple as that of good and evil--both sides can display positive and negative traits. Knaves can be connoisseurs but also sociopaths, Staves can be stewards but also unyielding.

The situation is dire and the Terra Tectans can no longer do this alone. Humans from our world must enter Terra Tectus and help restore balance to this once great land.

This is the beginning of the story behind Pheon, a new alternate reality game at the American Art Museum. Players accept and complete missions through Facebook in order to "prove their worth" to the game's characters. There are many missions to choose from, several of which are based on the museum's collections. For example, Bust a move asks you to digitally insert yourself into a sculpture (see illustration), Statue Hunter invites you to browse the museum's online database of outdoor sculptures then challenges you to tell a story using only photographs of yourself with statues, and Just Folks tasks you to find an example of folk art in your home or neighborhood.

Players proceed through the game by accepting and completing missions, but they only gain points if other players vote favorably for or comment on their efforts. The current missions are relatively simple and can be completed by a single player. In the next couple of months, however, we will add more complicated missions that encourage people to work together.

Find out where your loyalties lie and begin your adventure today at pheon.org.

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