#dragonbovine

'Huh?' I expect you're thinking. What is #dragonbovine? It's a team in the latest installment of #TvsZ. In 6.0, the original teams were #teamnature and #teamtechnology, a new twist on the game. And #dragonbovine is a further hack of this change. Players took the 'game' into their own hands, creating new teams such as Fish or Alpha Wolf. And Dragons.And that's the beauty of #TvsZ. It can be hacked, players can move in different directions than expected by the designers of the game, but because the rules are simple, there is an official keeping the mayhem to a minimum, the game is only limited by the imagination of the players. I have yet to see an unsuccessful game of #TvsZ because of its ability to mutate into the game the players want to play. Add the ability to make the game a platform for learning new skills and connecting with others only enhances its allure in my eyes. Gaming and learning new skills? Yes please!

Where did the Bovines come from? Out of the brilliant mind of Rochelle Lockridge. She suggested we form our own group. We were going to be the Burgerons, named after a story family created by various collaborators for DS106. It quickly morphed into the Bovines (how I don't know) but I can be a cow for a few days. Within a few hours though, talks began between #teamdragon and #teambovine and the #dragonbovines were born. As always, Kevin Hodgson's comic genius and suggestions for different tools for collaboration helped solidify our team.

Who can resist a flying, flame spewing cow? I can't! And as a team, we worked collaboratively building a mythology, communicating our #dragonbovine ethos (if dragons and cows can work together, surely humans should be able to! Thanks Janine DeBaise!) and #recruiting others to our side. We produced some fabulous work together and had a blast.

I admit, I now have a fondness for drawing flying Holsteins.

A different type of #TVSZ but as always an immensely valuable playing and learning experience.

P.S. On a side note, #TvsZ had its usual positive influence on my work ethos. I have an iPhone (my first Apple product!) and I am still trying to figure everything out. Playing #TvsZ helped me learn a little bit more about using this piece of technology.