About
URspy is an interactive location-based radio drama that casts you as its protagonist. Created by members of the Speech team at University Radio York (URY), the purpose built android app uses GPS tracking to lead players around the University of York campus as they listen, their individual choices driving the drama's narrative.
Drawing inspiration from a number of genres, URspy is a comical pastiche of the typical spy agent storyline. It combines established clichés found within narratives of alien invasions, zombie apocalypses, and spy thrillers to create a tongue-in-cheek drama that reimagines them within the university grounds. The listener, cast as the 'agent' is offered a series of choices as they make their way around the campus, each decision effecting the storyline and ultimately deciding whether they succeed in saving the University from an alien invasion or whether they fail. With seven possible outcomes, only three of which are successful, the listener must choose carefully, guided by their interactions with a cast of characters to avoid aliens, and save the University.
The concept was developed in late 2015 after producers Michael Brennan and Sienna Holmes explored the possibility of using audio-tour technology to facilitate a promenade-style radio drama that would aid new students in familiarising themselves with the university campus. Unfortunately, the platforms available to them were insufficient in hosting the interactive aspect of the drama and, unwilling to compromise, the team decided to build their own app, giving them full autonomy over the platform. Rebecca Saw, the app creator for URspy, built the app in Android Studio, an Android app creation platform. The app reads the user’s location and plays the correct piece of audio. This means the interactive story does not need the user to stop and select a button, but simply walk to the next location. The result: A radio drama that is personally tailored to each individual listener.
Since its launch in 2018 URspy has gained significant interest including winning three Student Radio Awards: Gold in the categories of Best Technical Achievement and Best Multi-Platform Initiative, as well as Silver for the Kevin Greening Award for Creativity. The app has also been featured at Radio TechCon, the UK radio and audio industry's technical and engineering conference. While the app is currently tailored to this individual drama, the producers hope that in the future they will be able to use the platform they have created to facilitate other location-based dramas, championing interactivity in their vision to rewrite the boundaries of radio drama.
