Sharkrunners is the new game we’ve just launched at area/code for the 20th anniversary of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, after three all-nighters and weeks of plotting.

You play as a shark researcher attempting to observe and document sharks off the California coast. But here’s the twist: in true a/c style, the locations of the sharks are based on telemetry data from real sharks in the real world, swimming around with GPS tags on their fins, plotted on the map!

The real world element extends to time - since we’re tracking real sharks, everything has to move in real time, which means it takes days to get places, and your crew can only complete so many dives before they get tired. You set your waypoints on the web site, log off, and get email or text message alerts when your crew has spotted a shark. Then you’ve only got a few hours to log back on and send your crew out to collect some data. But be careful sending them out if they’re over-worked, or they might accidentally provoke the sharks into attacking…

Plus there’s accomplishments to unlock (like collecting all types of data on one shark, or leveling your crew), ports to visit (for fuel and equipment upgrades), and rival players you can compete against. It’s addictive, especially if you’re a data geek.

I’m really proud to be a part of the team that put this game together. There’s so many unique things happening in this game: real-time real-world gameplay, a Flash game that isn’t twitchy, most of your game-time is spent away from the game…it’s quite a lot that’s been done in such a short amount of time. Not to mention the great art direction and the super-human programming prowess that makes the whole thing run.

Play it!

(Yes, my boat is named "Accio Sharks!" These sharks have been the only thing standing between me and finishing Harry Potter, so you’ll excuse me if I try a bit of magic on my sharks.)

(My ID is adamac, if you want to be my rival…)