The beauty of Chatroulette is that you just never know what you're going to get. Realm Pictures took a some players by surprise by making them play a first-person shooting game in real life, complete with weapons and zombies.
A video posted on YouTube starts with the game's main character asking Chatroulette players for help getting out of a locked room. To help the character and basically control the game, players have to talk to the character and tell him what to do. Much like any other FPS game, the character can pick up items, including keys and a crowbar at the beginning. Weapons can also be upgraded by picking up something better along the way.
"Many years ago we experimented with the concept of ‘random stranger' control," explained David Reynolds, who led the effort.
At that time, he simply strapped a webcam to his head and had someone follow him around while carrying a laptop. The idea had stuck with Reynolds but only resurfaced when his team was trying to come up with fun projects to do for the summer. The result was this Chatroulette FPS, which also utilized a number of indie film tricks that Reynolds and his team have picked up through the years.
Reynolds' team officially only has about five people, but the Chatroulette FPS was a collaborative effort involving around 30 people, including friends and family of the team and basically anyone who was interested in helping out. Some were playing zombies, some were at the control room and others were given the all-important task of collecting nerf darts.
This was just Level 1, though. After succeeding in the boss battle at the end, players were transported in a flash of white light to meet the people behind the Chatroulette FPS. So, will there be a Level 2?
Reynolds said that they're busy at the moment as they are getting their first feature film project off the ground, but the team is already talking about what Level 2 could possibly be, so it may not be too long before a follow-up becomes a reality.
The video has already logged more than 1.4 million views within a day of being posted, a testament to the success of and interest in the Chatroulette FPS.
