Folding at Home Trophy idea.

[jamclaur]

So I’ve been mulling something over for a few days now. Thinking of all the bases that would need to be covered and I think I’ve finally come to the final result.

So we all know that Folding@home is a good program for science. But it’s a little boring to mess with, basically you just set it up when you remember and you’re done with it. I was thinking “how can this be made more interesting?”

Then it came to me. If F@H and Sony would release a small DLC patch that would allow the user to choose 1 of 2 choices they could make the program really fun… The choices could be:

1) A Pet
2) A Plant

They could create 2 separate DLCs and the user could choose the one they wanted. But basically what I was thinking is this. Say I choose DLC 1. I download and install then go to F@H, which now has a new interface. It’s basically the same statistics but now there’s a room in a house, the same information is located in a box on the upper left.

Then a menu comes up saying “Would you like to adopt a pet?” I click yes and it gives me some basic choices (dog, cat, fish, bird)(small, medium, large)(Color). After I choose it says “commit?”

I click “Yes” and a work-unit starts. Once the work unit completes there’s a refresh and I have my Small, Brown, Dog waiting for me in my room. Then a trophy pop-up comes up in the top right. “You have earned a silver trophy.” In the trophy menu, I read that I have a trophy for “Adopting an Animal.”

But that’s not the end of it. I now have to feed the dog, and water the dog, and teach the dog tricks, and play with the dog.

Each one of those corresponds with work-units. Once you “feed the dog 1 time” you receive a bronze trophy “Fed Your Animal.” Same for the other choices I could make. Since I get to choose which to do. Play, feed, etc.

After I feed the dog 10 times I get another bronze Trophy, “Fed Your Animal 10 Times.” Then 20, 50, 100, whatever their numerical choices were.

All the same logic could apply to the second DLC choice. You choose (tree, flower, etc)(Size)(Color) to plant in your back yard.

You have the same basic choices to water, feed, grow another flower on, de-bug, etc. And you win the same basic trophies. “Feed Your Plant 10 Times.”

The PS3 is such a smart system that this could work, could be made cheaply for them, given away free, it would provide some fun, and trophies for F@H and would get people to do it. Plus, since we’re not going to sit there and mess with it constantly we can set it to AI mode which takes care of the pet (does the tasks/work-units) while you’re away (Since that’s how F@H is done most of the time anyway). They can also make the trophies hard to get so they don’t become pointless. Such as “Fed Animal 1,000 Times.” Of course everyone can get the first few, but only those committed to helping, or trophies will go the extra mile to do all that’s required. I know this will probably fall on deaf ears… But it was fun to think about.

[silversnake]

You definitely thought this true and sounds like a much better way to implement trophies than a simple . Complete 20 work units, 50 , etc etc. Sounds good to me.

[jamclaur]

Originally Posted by silversnake

You definitely thought this true and sounds like a much better way to implement trophies than a simple . Complete 20 work units, 50 , etc etc. Sounds good to me.

thanks... haha. It took me like 4 days to make sure I had all the details covered. I was also thinking...

in your "home" you could have your dog or plant instead of trophy case. And when users went to it and talked to it, then it would give your stats. Like team number, trophies, etc...

[Morphine]

Trophies for F@H are already requested in their forums, ppl are just waiting for them to give a response

[CYMBOL]

Sounds good to me Jamclaur. . . . make it so.

[Terjyn]

You are seriously asking to be awarded trophies for a passive activity?

What's next?

Uncharted 2 Trophy - Bronze -
Breaking the addiction: Don't play for 24 hours straight
No really, I'm fine: Don't play for 48 hours
Step 12: Don't play for 7 days

[DezNutz]

it is not a passive activity in that you have to sign up and leave your PS3 on to complete it.

Look this is not the first trohpy for not playing.. warhawk has a gold if you host a game for four hours..

If implementing trophies for folding@home gets more people to fold, which I think it will, than I am all for it and cannot understand why anyone would be against.. it all goes towards a good cause anyways.

[jamclaur]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

You are seriously asking to be awarded trophies for a passive activity?

What's next?

Uncharted 2 Trophy - Bronze -
Breaking the addiction: Don't play for 24 hours straight
No really, I'm fine: Don't play for 48 hours
Step 12: Don't play for 7 days

What about Muccho Ismo or whatever. People get like 8 trophies for pressing X 358237405928375 times in a row.

This is both fun, creative, helpful to science, AND could liven up our "home."

--Also I realize that trophies have been requested before. But I'd hoped that some of the other thoughts I had were read as well. It's not just about trophies. It's about fun. Like a giga pet... haha.

[jamclaur]

one can wish!

[ADRiiAN`]

Sounds like a very good idea.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by DezNutz

it is not a passive activity in that you have to sign up and leave your PS3 on to complete it.

Learn what Passive is.

Look this is not the first trohpy for not playing.. warhawk has a gold if you host a game for four hours..

This isn't the same thing at all and you know it.

If implementing trophies for folding@home gets more people to fold, which I think it will, than I am all for it and cannot understand why anyone would be against.. it all goes towards a good cause anyways.

This is a cheap-shot argument, and unrelated to the point. I'm not railing against Folding at Home in any way.

[binarymelon]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

This isn't the same thing at all and you know it.

In my opinion it's actually the exact same thing. You're giving CPU cycles to remote users.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by binarymelon

In my opinion it's actually the exact same thing. You're giving CPU cycles to remote users.

The intent of hosting a Warhawk game for four hours is to, you know, actually play the game.

The fact that you can passively get a lot of trophies in no way forces passivity.

Trophies for Folding @ Home there would be no active way to get them.

[binarymelon]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

The intent of hosting a Warhawk game for four hours is to, you know, actually play the game.

The fact that you can passively get a lot of trophies in no way forces passivity.

Trophies for Folding @ Home there would be no active way to get them.

Fine, if it makes you feel better than read the news while you're doing it. I had my PS3 running 24/7 for over a year and felt I was doing some good while I was donating my cputime and rising electric bill to a good cause.

[caliminius]

I guess I'm missing something. Can you interact with your virtual pet/plant, or is Folding how you interact with it?

I guess my take on it would be to not put the virtual pet in F@H, but allow you to unlock a virtual pet in Home that would follow your avatar around. But you'd have to do more to earn it then just agree to Fold.

Maybe in a twist, the first Trophy you'd get would be a platinum for maybe completing 100 units. That would allow you access to the virtual pet in Home, but you'd only get to pick one breed and one trick. Further Folding would allow you to follow a tree to get to more tricks and dog breeds (sort of like a tech tree in a RTS game). For example, another 10 units might unlock another basic dog breed (like collie) or allow you another basic trick (like sit). And 50 units might get you a special breed (sorry not up on dog breeds to list one) or an advanced trick (like frisbee catching).

Or they could just ditch Trophies for Folding and just let it unlock Home stuff. Hopefully future games are linked to unlocking cool items in Home (Like maybe beating Uncharted 2 on easy would unlock a t-shirt that says, "I beat Uncharted 2 and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." and maybe beating it on hard would unlock Drake's outfit.