Working in Widener

A one- or two-player game set in Harvard’s Widener Library.

The Working in Widener logo — a bookcart.

The Game

You’re a shelver in Harvard’s Widener Library. You’re assigned five books to shelve and asked to find their places in the stacks using their call numbers. The faster the better.

One of the best things about Working in Widener is that it can be a two-player game — you can compete, in real time, against a friend.

The landing page of the game.

The Physical Console

For a few weeks, Working in Widener existed as a head-to-head, two-player physical console. Two monitors set into a single cabinet, two players racing side-by-side.

The cutouts contained monitors.

How It’s Built

Mostly JavaScript, on top of Node.js and Socket.io for the real-time competition. Annie Cain and I built it together at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. Source is on GitHub under a dual MIT/GPL license.

Role. Designer. Developer.