Torrent Raiders: Interactive BitTorrent Game Project

Torrent Raiders is an arcade-style video game and a dynamic network visualization.

Driven in real-time by the activity of bit torrent swarms, Torrent Raiders takes place on the ad-hoc networks created by bit torrent users. Torrent Raiders playfully addresses issues of domestic surveillance, amidst the recent revelation of the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping and the increasingly Orwellian nature of our so-called “homeland security”. Players take on the role of a government agent tasked with surveilling the ad-hoc networks generated by torrents linked to copyrighted material.

Bit Torrent is a protocol for peer-to-peer file distribution; according to a recent study by CacheLogic it accounts for 35% of all traffic on the Internet. The most popular torrents on the web are new DVD releases. These massively populated swarms will be the playing field. With gameplay and graphics in the nouveau retro tradition of shooters like Rez and Geometry Wars, the core mechanic of Torrent Raiders revolves around capturing data packets from users on the torrent swarm and identifying their geographical location. Players use their Torrent Raider ship, equipped with an array of dazzling projectile weaponry, to search and destroy virtual violators in the torrent swarm. The Torrent Raiders game will be built using C# and the .NET platform; the graphics will be powered by Direct3D and it will use the open source btSharp library for real-time interaction with torrent swarms.

While the decentralized nature of the bit torrent protocol makes the visualization of a swarm impossible with a conventional client, Torrent Raiders permits torrent swarm visualization through distributed surveillance. The information gathered by a player in the game is uploaded to a central MySQL database on a companion website. This website will host animated visualizations created in Processing, driven by the aggregated database of information collected by players of the Torrent Raiders game. As more people play Torrent Raiders, the visualizations become more complex, accurate representations of the swarm. Each week, Torrent Raiders will be automatically directed to a new torrent, creating a gallery of visualizations for the shape of torrents passed.

I am developing Torrent Raiders as my thesis at the USC Interactive Media Division; it will be realized as an arcade cabinet-based installation for the MFA thesis exhibition and future exhibitions. I will be responsible for the majority of its development including programming and design. Artist Corey Jackson will assist with the creation of concept art, additional assets and 3D models. An additional network programmer will assist in integrating the bit torrent protocol functionality. Michael Naimark, Julian Bleecker and one additional adviser will sit on my thesis committee.