<s>
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
was	O
a	O
three-month	O
interactive	O
media	O
experience	O
that	O
appeared	O
(	O
along	O
with	O
weekly	O
companion	O
show	O
Rival	O
Speak	O
,	O
hosted	O
by	O
Wil	O
Wheaton	O
)	O
on	O
Facebook	B-Application
from	O
December	O
,	O
2020	O
to	O
March	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
and	O
Rival	O
Speak	O
were	O
co-created	O
by	O
game	O
developer	O
Pipeworks	O
Studios	O
,	O
interactive	O
broadcasting	O
company	O
Genvid	O
Technologies	O
,	O
and	O
Hollywood	O
production	O
firm	O
DJ2	O
Entertainment	O
in	O
approximately	O
six	O
months	O
,	O
building	O
on	O
previous	O
AI-driven	O
,	O
Unity-based	O
simulation	O
engines	O
Pipeworks	O
had	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
involved	O
13	O
persistent	O
,	O
interactive	O
livestreams	O
broadcasting	O
the	O
activities	O
of	O
a	O
dozen	O
AI-driven	O
“	O
contestants	O
”	O
on	O
a	O
simulated	O
reality	O
television	O
show	O
featuring	O
viewer	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
simulation	O
at	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
was	O
evolved	O
from	O
earlier	O
AI-driven	O
simulations	O
from	O
Pipeworks	O
studios	O
code	O
named	O
Project	O
Galapagos	O
and	O
Project	O
Eleusis	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
“	O
game	O
engine	O
”	O
enabled	O
the	O
twelve	O
AI	O
characters	O
to	O
interact	O
and	O
exist	O
in	O
their	O
simulated	O
world	O
autonomously	O
,	O
like	O
an	O
elaborate	O
ant	O
farm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
handling	O
all	O
rendering	O
,	O
animation	O
,	O
and	O
data	O
input	O
in	O
the	O
cloud	O
and	O
limiting	O
user	O
interaction	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
streams	O
,	O
any	O
number	O
of	O
simultaneous	O
participants	O
could	O
collectively	O
and	O
individually	O
affect	O
the	O
gameplay	O
natively	O
through	O
the	B-Application
Facebook	I-Application
app	O
,	O
on	O
phones	O
,	O
tablets	O
,	O
and	O
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
original	O
IP	O
,	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
gained	O
viewership	O
gradually	O
over	O
its	O
first	O
month	O
,	O
geometrically	O
over	O
the	O
second	O
month	O
and	O
exponentially	O
in	O
its	O
third/final	O
month	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
garnered	O
more	O
than	O
100	O
million	O
minutes	O
viewed	O
over	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
its	O
twelve-week	O
season	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
attracted	O
viewers	O
from	O
more	O
than	O
70	O
countries	O
with	O
the	O
biggest	O
audiences	O
coming	O
from	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
India	O
,	O
Brazil	O
,	O
Mexico	O
and	O
the	O
Philippines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
acclaim	O
for	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
was	O
broad	O
,	O
with	O
both	O
consumer	O
and	O
trade	O
outlets	O
touting	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
as	O
a	O
potential	O
technology	O
and	O
entertainment	O
breakthrough	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EGMNow	O
’s	O
Josh	O
Harmon	O
stated	O
“	O
But	O
more	O
than	O
the	O
experience	O
of	O
watching	O
(	O
or	O
play-watching	O
,	O
perhaps	O
)	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
,	O
it	O
's	O
the	O
technology	O
and	O
artistic	O
approach	O
underpinning	O
the	O
project	O
that	O
's	O
of	O
greatest	O
interest	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
us	O
who	O
play	O
traditional	O
video	O
games.	O
”	O
Harmon	O
also	O
noted	O
that	O
“	O
it	O
’s	O
clear	O
the	O
gaming	O
industry	O
is	O
looking	O
for	O
ways	O
to	O
tell	O
different	O
and	O
more	O
dynamic	O
stories	O
,	O
and	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
’s	O
technology	O
points	O
to	O
another	O
potential	O
way	O
forward	O
,	O
”	O
and	O
“	O
In	O
the	O
coming	O
years	O
,	O
we	O
may	O
once	O
again	O
return	O
to	O
the	O
days	O
when	O
new	O
gaming	O
experiences	O
constantly	O
redefine	O
our	O
expectations	O
of	O
what	O
the	O
medium	O
can	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Screen	O
Rant	O
’s	O
John	O
Orquiola	O
described	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
as	O
“	O
incredibly	O
successful	O
,	O
”	O
and	O
“	O
a	O
phenomenon	O
on	O
Facebook	B-Application
Watch	O
,	O
”	O
while	O
the	O
European	O
gaming	O
industry	O
trade	O
outlet	O
MCV/Develop	O
’	O
s	O
editor	O
Seth	O
Barton	O
stated	O
“	O
So	O
this	O
is	O
cloud	O
gaming	O
in	O
a	O
form	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
's	O
a	O
very	O
,	O
very	O
different	O
approach	O
from	O
those	O
who	O
are	O
trying	O
to	O
shift	O
the	O
games	O
console	O
into	O
server	O
farms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameBusiness.jp,	O
a	O
Japanese	O
trade	O
outlet	O
,	O
described	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
as	O
“	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
first	O
viewer-led	O
reality	O
show	O
,	O
”	O
and	O
praised	O
the	O
unpredictability	O
of	O
the	O
show	O
caused	O
by	O
“	O
viewer	O
interventions.	O
”	O
And	O
Los	O
Angeles	O
Times	O
game	O
critic	O
Todd	O
Martens	O
drew	O
positive	O
comparisons	O
between	O
Rival	B-Application
Peak	I-Application
and	O
The	B-Application
Sims	I-Application
and	O
Tamagotchi	O
virtual	O
pets	O
.	O
</s>
