In net neutrality video game, players dodge Web companies

A new video game based around the concept of net neutrality will require players to dodge “looming” Internet service providers trying to slow down their speeds.

The game, called “404sight,” is due out on PC for free on April 16 and was developed by a group of graduate students at the University of Utah.

“Our game is a statement about protecting Net Neutrality and preventing [Internet service providers] from slowing and restricting access to the Internet,” the creators explain on their website. 

“The threats to net neutrality aren’t gone now that it’s been classified as a utility, and we want to make sure everyone knows it.”

Net neutrality is the notion that federal regulators should ensure that all Web surfers have equal, unfettered access to the Internet. In February, the Federal Communications Commission took the controversial step of treating Internet service like a public utility in order to exert greater oversight.

The relatively simple game will allow players to run around a world of blocks and “reveal areas that will accelerate or slow down their progress to the end,” the creators said.

As enemies, the user has to avoid Web service companies trying to “throttle” their progress.

Last week, developers won a $13,000 grant from Epic Games — the creator of the popular “Unreal” and “Gears of War” games — for building around its Unreal 4 game-creation engine.