Google launches collaborative game to reveal when I/O 2020 is happening
Every year, Google launches a game or puzzle that people can play to eventually learn the dates for the company’s annual I/O conference, and this year’s game is now live (via 9to5Google).
It’s a space-themed game where users have to work collaboratively to restore an intergalactic satellite network. When you first visit the game’s site, you’ll see the “map” of the galaxy I’ve included at the top of this post as well as a message about the mission and a few progress bars (which have been slowly rising as I’ve been writing this story):
If you accept the mission, a command line box appears with this text:
The satellite cluster nearest your current location has been located. Determine its proper name, then restore its satellites to their original frequencies. If successful, a portion of the Universal Grid will illuminate. Once all clusters are fully operational, the entire Grid will shine brightly and the connectivity of the cosmos restored. Remember, your fellow space citizens will be working alongside you.
You can then type in the word “engage” (no quotes) or click on the Engage box to get to the below screen, where you’ll be able to type in commands to help restore the satellites to their frequencies:
From here, you can pull up a list of commands by typing “help” in the command line box and work to puzzle through applying frequencies. I will fully admit this is where I got stuck — I couldn’t figure out what to do next, even after typing in a few queries into the command line. But hopefully with the collaborative effort of the internet, these puzzles will get solved soon.
In past years, Google I/O has taken place in the first few weeks of May, so perhaps the dates for this year’s I/O will fall in that time frame as well. Here are the dates for the conference for the past four years, if you were curious:
- 2019: May 7th-9th
- 2018: May 8th-10th
- 2017: May 17th-19th
- 2016: May 17th-19th
In a tweet announcing the game, Google also showed off what could be some of the branding for this year’s I/O:
Every year, Google launches a game or puzzle that people can play to eventually learn the dates for the company’s annual I/O conference, and this year’s game is now live (via 9to5Google). It’s a space-themed game where users have to work collaboratively to restore an intergalactic satellite network. When you…
Recent Posts
- Don’t wait for Memorial Day: LG’s C3 OLED TV just crashed to a record-low price
- Indie developers are trying to make horse games that don’t suck. It’s not easy
- The 18 Best PlayStation Plus Games (May 2024)
- The smells and tastes of a great video game
- HMD wants to be the new Blackberry as it launches new affordable handset to appeal to B2B, enterprise markets — Pulse+ Business Edition is as bland as it gets but don’t ignore its shockingly good business credentials
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011