BotFighters

{{Short description|2001 video game}} {{Use American English|date=June 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox video game | image = Botfighers logo.jpg | developer = It's Alive Mobile Games AB! | publisher = | engine = | series = | platforms = Mobile phone (SMS) | released = {{ubl|{{Video game release|EU|March 14, 2001|}}}} | genre = | director = | producer = | designer = | programmer = | artist = | composer = |caption = |alt = }}'''BotFighters''' is a location-based mobile game and a pervasive game,<ref name="spacetimeplay"/> developed by It's Alive Mobile Games AB!<ref name="pgbook"/><ref name="itsalive"/> (acquired by Digiment<ref name="digiment"/> in 2007) designed to be a MMORPG<ref name="Oppermann2009-thesis"/> played in an urban environment.<ref name="pgbook"/> It was possibly the world's first commercial location-based game.<ref name="pgbook"/><ref name="netlocality-botfighters" /> It was first released in Sweden on 14 March 2001, and later in Russia, Finland, Ireland and China.<ref name="pgbook"/><ref name="the-inquirer-botfighters" /><ref>[http://www.laois-nationalist.ie/news/story.asp?j=3057 Laois Nationalist: Mobile could be playing an expensive game] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811183416/http://www.laois-nationalist.ie/news/story.asp?j=3057 |date=August 11, 2007}}</ref> In 2002, it was awarded with an Award of Distinction, Net Vision category in the Prix Ars Electronica.<ref>[http://www.aec.at/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_projekt.asp?iProjectID=11697 Ars Electronica Archive] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021014415/http://www.aec.at/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_projekt.asp?iProjectID=11697 |date=October 21, 2006}}</ref>

The mission of the game was to locate and destroy other players. Each player was represented in the game as a robot warrior.<ref name="spacetimeplay"/> Successful battles were rewarded with money which could be traded in, via a website, for armor upgrades and other features for the player's robot. The game was temporally expansive, because there were no safe zones or timeouts; players were always playing. The likeness of the game has been compared to that of Paintball.<ref name="pgbook"/> The game is no longer playable.

==Gameplay== ''BotFighters'' was a location-based mobile game and a pervasive game, that made use of the positioning technology of a mobile phone in playing the game.<ref name="theguardian-botfighters" />

==References== <references>

<ref name="spacetimeplay">{{Citation | editor1-last= von Borries | editor1-first= Friedrich | editor2-last= Walz | editor2-first= Steffen P. | editor3-last= Böttger | editor3-first= Matthias | title = Space Time Play | place = Basel, Boston, Berlin | publisher = Birkhäuser Verlag AG | year = 2007 | chapter = BotFighters: A Game That Surrounds You | pages = 226–227 | language = | chapter-url = http://spacetimeplay.org | isbn = 978-3-7643-8414-2}}</ref> <ref name=pgbook>{{cite book | doi = 10.1201/9780080889795 | first1= Markus | last1 = Montola | first2= Jaakko | last2= Stenros | first3 = Annika | last3= Waern | title = Pervasive Games. Theory and Design. Experiences on the Boundary Between Life and Play. | publisher = Morgan Kaufmann Publishers | year= 2009 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Yk4CCx6UyIIC&q=Pervasive+Games.+Theory+and+Design | isbn = 978-0-1237-4853-9 | access-date = October 18, 2013}}</ref> <ref name="itsalive">{{cite web | title = It's Alive Mobile Games AB | url = http://www.itsalive.com | access-date = 2013-10-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050207084809/http://www.itsalive.com/page.asp | archive-date = 2005-02-07}}</ref> <ref name="digiment">{{cite web | title = Digiment | url = http://www.digiment.com/ | access-date = 2013-10-18 | year = 2007 | archive-date = 24 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180924100132/https://www.digiment.com/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> <ref name="Oppermann2009-thesis">{{cite thesis | last = Oppermann | first = Leif | title = Facilitating the development of location-based experiences | publisher = University of Nottingham | year=2009 | url = http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/14215/ | id = {{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.508291}} | oclc = 757085363 | degree = PhD}} {{free access}}</ref> <ref name ="the-inquirer-botfighters">{{cite web | last1 = Dennis | first1 = Tony | title = Botfighters - a new Russian addiction | url = https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1005392/botfighters---a-new-russian-addiction | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091213070152/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1005392/botfighters---a-new-russian-addiction | url-status = unfit | archive-date = 13 December 2009 | website = The Inquirer | publisher = Breakthrough Publishing Ltd. | access-date = 18 October 2013 | date = 21 October 2003 }}</ref><ref name="netlocality-botfighters">{{cite book | last1=Gordon | first1=Eric | last2=Silva | first2=Adriana de Souza e | title=Net Locality: Why Location Matters in a Networked World | date=2011 | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | isbn=978-1-4443-4065-5 | page=[https://archive.org/details/netlocalitywhylo0000gord/page/67 67] | edition=1. | url=https://archive.org/details/netlocalitywhylo0000gord | url-access=registration | quote=BotFighters -encyclopedia -wikipedia. | accessdate=27 June 2019 | language=en}}</ref> <ref name="theguardian-botfighters">{{cite web |last1=Dodson |first1=Sean |title=Ready, aim, text |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2002/aug/15/electronicgoods.games |website=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |accessdate=27 June 2019 |date=15 August 2002}}</ref>

</references>

==External links== * [http://www.gamespot.com/mobile/action/botfighters/ BotFighters] on GameSpot * [https://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2002/02/50205 Have Cell Phone, Will Shoot] – article on BotFighters and other location-based games from ''Wired'' * [https://www.theguardian.com/internetnews/story/0,7369,774494,00.html Ready, aim, text] – article on BotFighters from ''The Guardian''

Category:2001 video games Category:J2ME games Category:Java platform games Category:Location-based games Category:Video games developed in Sweden