On a Friday afternoon, I was listening to a radio station at Boudin College, dotted with ambient car honking noise. I’m not in Maine. I’m not in the car. I’m at my desk. This is an internet road trip.
Internet Road Trip is known as MMORTG (Great Multiplayer Online Road Trip Game). The creator of the game, Neil Agarwal, calls it a “road trip simulator.” Every 10 seconds, viewers vote for the direction of the “car” they drive on Google Street View. Alternatively, you can also ring the horn or change the radio station. The direction with the most votes is clicked and the car continues on a scenic road.
Internet RoadTrip is reminiscent of Twitch Plays Pokémon. This was an iconic stream from over a decade ago, with viewers voting for the button to push as part of the collective Pokemon Red game. However, internet road trips are not confusing. Because we only play about 1,000 people at a time, and because we have better organizational tools on Twitch than in the Pokémon era (thank you, Discord).
Virtual road trips are slow. The car moves at a slower pace than walking. Discord Moderators explained that the expectations of newcomers must be eased and suggesting driving from Maine to Las Vegas would be pointless. The same can be said for Alaska, but it’s not just the problem.
“Google Street View works by taking multiple photos and putting them together. In some areas of the road leading to Alaska, there are photo gaps and you get stuck there. I should have gone to these roads,” the Discord FAQ reads. “There are these gaps on all the potential roads to Alaska. We checked.”
In contrast to other streetview-based games like Geoguessr, Internet road trips have no purpose. Some discrepancies discussed driving to Canada. This is a somewhat realistic goal given his current position in Maine. But destinations are not targets. It’s a joy to spontaneously listen to university radio from a liberal arts school with 1,000 strangers on the internet while filming the scenic backroads of Blue Hill, Maine.
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