Category: bbc.co.uk
Date: 10.11.2004
Printable version
BBC interactive
Drama & Entertainment (iD&E) has commissioned Jamie Kane,
an interactive mystery for teenagers, which uses video, mobile and artificial
intelligence to immerse its target audience in the world of a missing
pop star.
The project is scheduled to appear on bbc.co.uk in early
2005.
The script has been written by best-selling author,
Matt Beaumont (E: A Novel; The Book, The Film, The T-shirt) and
centres on the mystery disappearance of fictional pop star, Jamie Kane,
played by newcomer, Simon Bailey, currently playing London's
West End in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
However, Jamie Kane is more complex than an traditional
online game and more interactive than any linear drama: only by immersing
themselves in the fictional world of Jamie Kane and his fan club will
players be able to solve the mystery.
The project exploits the full potential of the web by
squirreling away clues on fictional websites and offering artificial
intelligence conversations, created by Creative Virtual, specialists
in chatbot technology.
Daily updates via email and mobile phone messages, if
they choose to sign up for the experience, will help users with the
search for their pop idol.
By solving a number of hidden puzzles, commissioned
from BIMA-award-winning online games agency, Preloaded, players receive
new clues to help them in the search.
Each game is designed to test a player's powers of observation,
memory and logic.
Jamie Kane combines artificial intelligence to generate
messages from other 'fans' on the trail of the pop star, and video footage
to create an authentic fansite, which will include mock performances
and media interviews from the fictional performer, amongst them a Top
of the Pops one-to-one with presenter Fearne Cotton.
Rob Cooper, Senior Producer, iD&E, says: "Jamie
Kane marks a real step difference in the way bbc.co.uk is approaching
content.
"We're moving away from static sites to create
a rich audio-visual experience for our users which should keep them
on their toes as they search for Jamie Kane.
"We've been working very closely with Preloaded
to ensure that the games are not only fun, but test a player's powers
of deduction."
Production is currently underway in London.
