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About
Picture the Impossible is a community-based game developed jointly by the Lab for Social Computing at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. The game engages members of the community in exploration of the City of Rochester and encourages creativity and charitable giving in the community. Players participate in a range of activities, including casual Web-based games, games that bring players out to events and locations throughout the city, and games that involve the tangible aspects of the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper itself.
Players will have the opportunity to win individual prizes, including Kodak cameras, picture frames and printers, as well as tickets to a gala party held on Oct. 31 at RIT's new Student Innovation Center. The points players score each week will also help local charities earn contributions from our sponsors.
The game begins on Sept. 12 and ends on Oct. 31, 2009. Each week, activities will focus on a different theme related to Rochester; these themes are Arts and Crafts, Local Food, Rochester Firsts, Performing Arts, the Imaging Industry, Famous Figures, and Social Justice.
Sponsors/Partners
A generous donation from Microsoft made the technical implementation of this game possible.
The donations provided to our local charities, FoodlinkNY, Golisano Children's Hospital, and the Wilson Commencement Park, have been underwritten by the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation
WXXI is our primary media partner in this project, providing video resources and services, as well as outreach and marketing.
Kodak has provided all of our individual weekly prizes, including, Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Cameras, Kodak S730 Digital Picture Frame, Kodak ESP7 All-in-one Printers, and Kodak EasyShare M381 Digital Cameras.
SCVNGR provided us with support for our weekly scavenger hunts.
The RIT Student Innovation Center and the Department of Interactive Games and Media each provided significant resources to assist with the development and implementation of this game.
Democrat and Chronicle reporters, photographers, artists and editors provided materials, research and puzzle testing.
Puzzle Developers & Consultants
Special thanks to Larry Shearer, our crossword puzzle designer, and Zack Butler, who designed many of our newspaper puzzles. Thanks also to Nate Kane, Jonathan Berman, Carolyn Dunne who assisted with puzzles and content development. And, thanks to reporter Victoria Freile, who hunted down the horses for the Picture the Horses puzzle.
Elan Lee, Jane McGonigal, Kevin Slavin, Alice Taylor provided valuable advice and consultation during the planning of this project.
