Too eager to get started to read any further? Here you go
The items that surround you might feel mundane, but what would the host of an alien shopping channel make of them? It’s a question you’ve probably never asked yourself, but we’re here to answer it anyway (you’re welcome).
Just take a photo of an item (or save the weirdest item you can find on Google Images), submit it to the channel, and watch it get evaluated by our expert alien (as opposed to alien expert). Think: Antiques Roadshow meets extraterrestrial QVC.
Okay. But WHY?
Well, from your perspective, it’s a fun way to spend a few minutes and get an interactive glimpse of what we’re working on.
From our perspective, these playable experiments (we’ll be releasing one every week) act as a kind of pressure release valve for the sheer abundance of ideas coming out of our studio in Chengdu and London.
The results of these experiments are fed back into a platform to improve it and broaden the range of what’s possible, so that we (and you) can build on top of these ideas in the future. This is one project where ‘scope creep’ is an actual objective.
Getting ahead (of ourselves)
One issue we’ve discovered with this technology is that, when you can build things so quickly, you can end up with what looks like a finished article before you can say, “software development lifecycle”.
The timeline for developing mobile games that we were previously familiar with was sufficiently slow-paced that it exposed flaws and problems along the way, so any finished article was the result of countless micro-improvements.
So the speediness of a hybrid generative model can be both a blessing and a curse. But we’re working on that. Cursebusters.
Boxing clever
To keep things spicy (and to keep things moving), each experiment is time-boxed to 2 weeks (developing and releasing a simple 2D mobile game like a basic puzzle, or an endless runner game typically takes 2 to 4 months).
So, each one will be released to you, our loyal and enthused following, warts and all. This one was influenced by Bargain Hunt and its perma-tanned host David Dickinson (UK), Antiques Roadshow (global phenomenon) and a 24 hour live AI-hosted TV talkshow (China). It’s stripped back to its essence. The fun bit. The valuations (though I’ve learned that on the Chinese version of Antique’s Roadshow, any items that are identified as fake are destroyed there and then on the show! Incredible).
The platform is helping us speed up as well as add more creativity to the experiments, so stay tuned; it’s going to be a fun and increasingly more fruitful time!
ANYWAY. Back to our alien shopping enthusiast…
Please submit your objects to our thrifty three-eyed friend for valuation here!
NOTE: Star Credits are, unfortunately, not redeemable at Anorak, or any popular high street retailers (that we’re aware of).