MILK.

MILK: a hidden online game for immersive theatre company DARKFIELD, played through CCTV feeds, a live chat and phone calls from the game itself.

Client: DARKFIELD
Deliverable: Online game, design + build
Year: 2024
Live site: iammilk.org ↗

MILK game interface: CCTV feed, camera switcher and a live chat full of other players

Cue 01

The brief

DARKFIELD makes immersive theatre, and its show MILK needed an online game to run alongside the live production. The idea was a viral, hidden website: players arrive with almost no instructions and have to work out what to do. It had to feel creepy and found, like footage you weren't meant to see. DARKFIELD came to us through our own outreach to immersive theatre companies.

Cue 02

The approach

We designed the game under DARKFIELD's direction and built all of it. The interface borrows from old Windows chat programs: a live stream, a scrolling chat where a 'system' user drops hints, and a token counter. Players switch between CCTV angles of one room to piece the puzzle together, and the game rings their phone with clues. The chat looks busy with other players, but every message is scripted to build tension and slip in hints. We built it as a Next.js app.

Cue 03

The result

MILK the game ran alongside MILK the show, adding a second layer for audiences to find online.

Gameplay, with sound

Four cameras, one video file

Cue 01

The problem

Players move between four CCTV angles of the same room, and the puzzle depends on seeing what happens in each at the same moment. Four separate videos buffer and load at different speeds, so the angles drift out of sync.

Cue 02

One file, four feeds

We spliced all four CCTV streams into a single video file, so every angle shares one timeline and one buffer.

Cue 03

Move the frame, not the video

Choosing a camera changes the coordinates that project the video onto the screen, bringing that feed into view. The footage itself never stops, so every angle stays in step.