Don't Hate the Player...

Man, how great would it be if I could get the news while I was playing video games.

Sure, some people are trying this already. There are games out there where you play the news or something. In fact, I think some of last year's Knight News Challenge winners did this stuff. Like Paul Grabowicz from Berkeley. He is making a game where you play through jazz era Oakland.

But I'm not really talking about this kind of game. I'm talking about mainstream games. I'm thinking something like this:

I'm playing Zelda, and I find the map in the dungeon. And the text says, "You found a map! Use this to find your way around the dungeon! And by the way, the Phillies have won the NL East after an epic collapse by the New York Mets! Drink Coca-Cola!" Okay, maybe I could do without the Coke ad, but still, it would be pretty sweet to get the news instantly like that.

Or, maybe I save the princess with Mario. But instead of Princess Peach, I rescue a drunk Lindsay Lohan. Or maybe I'm playing Metal Gear Solid, but instead of playing as Solid Snake, I'm playing as OJ Simpson, and I'm trying to steal back my old trophies. The possibilities are endless.

But really, it could be some pretty simple stuff. What if, when you played a season in Madden Football, the actual scores from the day were downloaded into the game. Or if real time traffic conditions were downloaded into a game like Need For Speed or Grand Theft Auto. That would be cool.

Someone should make this stuff happen. You can already get the news on the Nintendo Wii. Maybe instant downloads of new content that makes your game relevant to the real world in real time... Maybe I'm way off, but that would be cool.

Anyway, today is Oct. 1. Entries are due for Knight News Challenge by Oct. 15.

Enter. Stop waiting. http://www.newschallenge.org