Basic HTML Version
DIVE SLATE
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SPRING 2012
I
f you dream of exploring the oceans every day, but
you’ve been dealt a hand that includes land-based work
or an inland existence, help is here. You can discover an
undersea world and learn about fish every day with a
new social, web-based game known as “theBlu.”
I am not a gamer; I am a middle-aged diver with average
computer skills. I have a passing familiarity with some of the
popular online games, and my initial impression was that
theBlu was similar to others. However, as I dug a bit deeper,
my impression changed. It has a lot more to offer, plus, of
course, its focus is under the sea.
The home page, theBlu.com, provides good information
and direction. You can click “Learn More” to read the FAQs
or “Dive In!” to dive right in and get started. After your initial
sign-up, you can “Dive In!” anytime you want to explore.
TheBlu divides the world’s oceans into “Spheres” through
which you proceed. Your first Sphere will be the one that
surrounds your actual location. I live in the United States, and
the first sphere I entered was “America, cliff.”
The primary objective of theBlu’s game component is to
“identify, collect and name fish and sets of fish that live within
each Sphere.” After you have collected all the fish in one
Sphere, you can move to another until you have collected all
of its fish, and so on.
Dive Your Desktop
S T E P H E N F R I N K
TheBlu is a new social,
web-based program that
immerses users in a
collaborative and interactive
marine art experience.