Video games aren’t limited to shooting things and puzzles anymore there’re social networking, virtual worlds and language lessons. But gerrymandering?
Chris Swain, a professor of interactive media at USC, and his team have married the unlikely couple a Web-based videogame and the practice of dividing voting districts that often become political borders.
The free, online videogame called the Redistricting Game was launched last week on Capitol Hill at an event sponsored by Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn.
Tanner is championing the “Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act,” proposed legislation that limits the number of times states can redraw Congressional districts and requires the changes to be conducted through independent commissions.
“You quickly learn on the game that redistricting isn’t just about drawing lines,” Swain said. “It goes into the politics of it, with party bosses, congress people, citizen groups and the courts.”
The game begins with a quote by political consultant David Winston, who helped redraw district lines after the 1990 census: “When I, as a mapmaker, have more of an impact on an election than the voters, the system is out of whack.”
It includes a playable version of the Tanner bill, and other features that allow players to create a bipartisan gerrymander and ensure minority representation in the imaginary states of Hamilton and Jefferson. The site also features a social networking forum, a search function for the U.S. House of Representatives and information about state redistricting laws.
The project was funded by an initiative by the USC Annenberg Center for Communication that seeks to bring technology and politics together. The game can be played at http://redistrictinggame.org/
FastSoft Financing
FastSoft Inc., which develops technology for accelerating online data transfers, recently received $4 million in funding from Miramar Venture Partners.
The Monrovia-based company, which spun out of Caltech last year, speeds up online data delivery. The company’s “secret sauce,” as Dan Henderson, vice president of product and market development calls it, is that hardware and software aren’t required on the receiving end of the file.
“The Internet is broken and this technology fixes it,” he said.
Honda is a customer that transfers huge files between its L.A. and Tokyo offices. A 60-megabyte file, for example, took 30 seconds to transfer online, while previously, without FastSoft technology, it took 16 minutes, Henderson said. And the heavier the file, the greater the time savings, he said.
The origins of the company date back to a $7 million Caltech project funded by the National Science Foundation, Sysco Corp. and the U.S. Department of Defense.
The 20-employee firm plans to use its fresh injection of funds to ramp up sales and production and build out its executive team.
Wazap Hits L.A.
A popular videogame search engine, successfully launched in China, Japan and Germany with 16 million unique visitors a month, has come to the U.S.
Berlin-based Wazap recently set up shop in Beverly Hills because of the “strength of gaming in the L.A. market,” said Thom Kozik, president of Wazap! US.
Wazap.com serves as a search engine for videogames and a user-generated portal. A social networking component will be added in the future.
“Gamers worldwide can connect here,” said Andreas Ruhrig, founder and chief executive of Wazap, who was visiting L.A. last week from Berlin. “If you play World of Warcraft, you’re not playing against Americans. Most players are from China, Japan and Europe. No other platforms allow gamers across the world to connect on a social networking site.”
The 3-year-old company is backed by Germany’s Wellington Partners Venture Capital and Partech International, a venture capital firm in San Francisco.
Revver Inc.
Kevin Wells is the new chief executive at video-sharing Web site Revver Inc. The former chief financial officer replaces founder Steven Starr.
It’s the second executive shakeup in the past six months for the firm, which along with most similar companies, has been overwhelmed by sector heavyweight YouTube.com.
Starr will serve as a full-time chairman of the board and focus on developing creative content for Revver.com. Starr pioneered the L.A. company’s revenue sharing model, which rewards both video creators and distributors.
Wells will focus on driving the company’s overall strategy and widening its network of partnerships with distributors.
Wells joined the company last September as chief operating officer and previously helped found Naverus, an aviation technology startup in Kent, Wash.
In December, Revver saw co-founder Oliver Luckett leave, as well as David Tenzer, a veteran Hollywood agent hired to help find licensing deals.
Staff reporter Booyeon Lee can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.
