Tom Jenkins - Interaction Design, Product Design, Design Research
Oy
Tom Jenkins, Phil Worthington, Andy Huntington
Royal College of Art
October 2004
LCD screens are now commonplace on many London buses. Displaying advertisements, local information and news, classic BBC comedy, or a cycle of CCTV footage from inside and outside the bus. They act as both entertainment and deterrent.
Oy is an is a system of between-stop informal gaming, played for small stakes via SMS, or just for fun with fellow passengers onboard. Oyster cardholders (London Transport's electronic travel card scheme) can use their online accounts to register their phone numbers, and play for top-ups to their travel accounts. A multitude of quick and simple games fill the travel time between stops. The system also utilises live data from the bus, like GPS, speed and ticketing numbers, pulling up games that are context specific and favour the knowledge of regular travelers.
Example Oy games
Oy Spy - A location specific game that rewards local knowledge and quick memory, the prize decreasing along the journey as the places are passed.
Oy Many - A number based game; odds are based on average passenger numbers for that time and place, and a live count is made on arrival to the next stop using data from the ticketing system and CCTV footage.
