Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”) memory cards and readers were used to drive “Hiss Pop,” an immersive multimedia game launched last night at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California, produced by noted game developers Ken Eklund and Sara Thacher. Hiss Pop is “an interactive adventure set in the days when vinyl was king and the corner record store beckoned as a musical Shangri-La.”

During the Exploratorium After Dark event, Thinfilm Memory™ cards introduced participants to a set of intertwined stories and characters set in earlier days of the San Francisco music scene. Players discovered game activities taking place in the museum’s exhibit areas through a kiosk-style card reader, and players’ progress through the game was tracked on the cards.

“Hiss Pop is a story that unfolds through a variety of interactions with its characters, both electronically and in real-life. Using Thinfilm Memory cards, we were able to give each participant a different starting point and then personalize the game based on decisions each player made,” explained Sara Thacher.

Ken Eklund added, “We wanted to work with the Thinfilm Memory cards because they let us tailor the players’ experience without the network or database infrastructure that would usually be required to track an individual’s history. The simplicity of storing and updating data on the card makes the technology very appealing for these types of exhibits and events.”

“This was a wonderful experience that perfectly showcased the ease-of-use and power of Thinfilm’s low-cost, rewritable memory,” said Jennifer Ernst, Vice President, North America for Thinfilm.

Thinfilm produces a unique, highly affordable printed memory in the form of a sticker. The rewritable memory can be affixed to cards or to any flat or slightly curved surface. Containing no silicon, heavy metals or other toxic materials, the flexible, non-volatile stickers are inexpensive, resistant to water, impervious to magnetic exposure, and safely disposable.

Also introduced was a new card handling system designed for use with Thinfilm Memory cards. The system is built around Thinfilm’s core technology developed for toys and games, and has been extended to include an automated card transport that will be suitable for use in kiosks, loyalty card applications, and other public, high-traffic situations.

The Exploratorium is a museum of science, art and human perception, highly regarded for its hands-on, experimental approaches. The rich-media adventure was designed by Sara Thacher and Ken Eklund, illustrated by Michael Wertz and implemented by Sean Ross, Naveed Alam, and Scott Minneman of Onomy Labs.