Set for release in the next few months, Watch Dogs publisher Ubisoft has gone all out and launched WeareData, an experiential website designed to gather and graph publicly unprotected social data. So far, only three cities are initially available; London, Paris, and Berlin.
The website, an impressive promotional tool for the forthcoming open-world action game, nods towards the belief that much of the hyper-connected world in Watch Dogs is already a reality, and that everyone and everything is truly connected. In game, players assume the role of Aiden Pearce, who, with the help of his smartphone, will use his ability to hack into Chicago’s central operating system, and control almost every element of the city. WeareData wants to provide people with an insight into just how much of our information is freely available online and it is designed to give others a glimpse into this reality and to give visitors a new perspective on the cities where they are living.
Via use of a 3D mapping system, Watch Dogs’ WeareData allows users to access real-time data that help organize and run the cities of London, Paris and Berlin, as well as giving current information on the inhabitants. Openly available information includes information on public transport schedules, telecommunication networks (such as that of WiFi spots and mobile network antennas), energy consumption, traffic and safety infrastructure, and regionalized socioeconomic data (such as average net income, unemployment rate and crime rate). The scariest part is that it is possible to check out geo-localized social media activities for the cities’ residents, which includes their public posts on Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and Twitter. Clicking on ‘London’, for example, brings you to a top-down 2D map of Central London. Upon zooming onto a certain area, it is possible to spy on the locations of traffic lights, CCTV cameras, trains that are moving through the Underground, surrounding ATMs, and more interestingly, social media updates from sites such as Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram, and Twitter.
Watch Dogs is due to be released on November 22nd on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC, and will be available around launch for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.