[B]An new interactive game exhibit has hit the Vancouver East Cultural Centre that is part multiplayer experience and part interactive theater. The result is more [I]The Sims[/I] than [I]Call of Duty 4[/I], with 200 people involved in the experience.[/B]

The event is best described by [URL=http://www.thecultch.com/content/view/222/330/]the theater's promotion[/URL] for the event:

[INDENT]Best Before is a PuSh Festival commission that pulls the multiplayer video game out of the virtual realm and plugs it into an intimate theatre setting. Each audience member navigates an anonymous avatar, interacting with a panel of on-stage experts — an electronic artist, a game tester, a politician and a traffic flagger. A simulated city, BestLand, gradually develops as each of the 200 audience members add their personal touch with game controller in hand. Taking its inspiration from Vancouver's gaming industry, BestLand evolves and devolves as the audience clashes and collaborates while making personal, social and political decisions.[/INDENT] Tim Carlson, a Vancouver playwright, was familiar with the production company creating the perfomance and was excited when he heard they were coming to Vancouver. He said the troupe became fascinated with the city's video game industry and built the perfomance around it. In [URL=http://www.kelowna.com/2010/01/29/audience-controls-the-show-fascinated-by-vancouvers-video-gaming-industry-berliners-shape-new-creation-with-lots-of-local-help/]a story for the Canwest News Service[/URL], he explained the audience participation a bit further:

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/29/interactive-game-exhibit-hits-vancouver]read more[/URL]

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