Month: October 2004 (Page 1 of 2)

New ARG: Anne Fisher is Missing

October 30, 2004 / Steve Peters

ARGN received what at first looked like a typical “Have you seen this person?” flyer in the mail the other day, but a closer look revealed the rabbithole for a new Alternate Reality Game. Smiling at us is the picture of a young woman named Anne Fisher, who went missing on October 1st.

Upon closer inspection, we find links to a few websites (click on the picture for a fullsize version of the entire postcard). Andrew Gray is a private investigator who works in Tranquil Valley. He is apparently actively looking for Anne Fisher, and you can email him with any tips you may have. In addition, the postcard has been printed by American Regional Graphics, which is a very authentic looking graphics company.

So, it looks like we have a pretty straight ahead mystery getting started here, at least so far. Where is Anne Fisher? Who was she? Did she run away, or was something more sinister involved??

Discussion
Wiki
Chat-#mystery on irc.chat-solutions.org (you must have a chat client such as mIRC installed for this link to work)

New ARG: Legend of the Sacred Urns

October 29, 2004 / Steve Peters

Well, it seems we here at ARGN have been asleep at the wheel for the past few weeks. A new Alternate Reality type game has begun and we almost missed it!

Billed as a form of interactive fiction or viral narrative puzzle, The Legend of the Sacred Urns is pretty transparently a marketing tool for Sharp’s Aquos line of LCD TV’s. But once you get past the initial site, you soon forget about that, as you’re immersed in a nice Alternate Reality world of treasure hunters and the mysterious findings of a guy named Dagobert Steinitz.

According to the developers, the game launched on September 15th, and is scheduled to run through the end of the year. The main trailheads are moretosee.com, which you may have seen on the TV commercials (you know, the one where the orange Karmann Ghia crashes into the pool), and steinitzpuzzlers.com. These sites lead to numerous more websites, and the game has included a variety of elements, including the aforementioned television commercials, print, telephone, and even an art gallery. They’ve set up their own forum as a player area, which includes a nice FAQ to get you started.

We haven’t had a chance to delve into this very far, but then again, that’s your job! We have turned up almost a dozen websites and some cool puzzles, though. So, whether you’re new to ARG or finishing one and jonesing for more, the Legend of the Sacred Urns may be just the ticket.

Here are some links to get you going:

Steinitzpuzzlers
Moretosee
Steinitz forums
Unfiction forums
Quickstart FAQ

In addition, since there doesn’t seem to be one yet, we’ve set up an IRC channel for your chat needs:
#steinitz on irc.chat-solutions.org (you must have a chat client installed for this link to work)

Ilovebees Players Get Access to Probable Halo2 Preview

October 27, 2004 / Steve Peters

Players of Ilovebees yesterday were given what looks like a chance to preview Halo2 Multiplayer 5 days before it’s officially released. In a series of dramatic events that led to the “death” of one of the beloved AI characters in the game, players 17 and older earned the right to attend a special “training exercise utilizing squad-oriented combat simulation LIVEware.”

This event is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 4, from 18:00 â€“ 21:00 Pacific time at the following coordinates:

40.743071 -073.976763 (New York City)
42.040240 -088.035197 (Chicago)
30.266632 -097.744710 (Austin)
37.784568 -122.404169 (San Francisco)

So, after three months, it looks like Halo2 fans are finally being given what they’ve been yearning for: a chance to preview Halo2. In addition to the chance to play the game, many Beekeepers are looking forward to the chance to get to meet each other in person, as many have only interacted with each other on line. Some players have announced that they will be driving as much as 8 hours to take part.

The ARG seems to be winding down, but it still remains to be seen how much fun the PMs have in store for us. Stay tuned.

ReGenesis Becomes a Reality

October 24, 2004 / Jonathan Waite

Earlier tonight, Canadian subscribers to The Movie Network (Movie Central in Eastern Canada) bore witness to the unveiling of new series ReGenesis, which has an ARG element. Some of you will remember those snail mail correspondences that were sent out to ARG community members, leading people to the Science Sucks and NORBAC websites. Well, having just viewed the show, I can tell you that it certainly did not disappoint.

The series started with a situation involving a hazardous biothreat, which spreads across parts of Ontario. The first two episodes (shown back to back, commercial-free) mainly centered around the development of some of the key characters, as well as exploring the genetic make-up and possible sources of the virus. There was a lot of technobabble, which sounded perfectly rational — a sign that the writers had some excellent consultants in the process of developing the show.

The ARG tied in really well. Despite not getting a live phone call (which I had expected), I was not disappointed in how the plot of the ARG was duplicated and expanded on the small screen. The characters of the game are the same characters on the show, for example. Halfway into the first hour, I got 3 email updates from various sources within the game. And I was definitely watching closely for in-game phone numbers & login codes (although upon first viewing, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary).

Overall, I was uberimpressed as to how this ARG complimented the TV show. It has definitely left me wanting more. Hopefully the international audience will be able to view the episodes soon, because it’s really a fairly decent series.

Metroid Prime ARGishness

October 20, 2004 / Steve Peters

We aren’t sure if it’s the door to an Alternate Reality Game or just some stealthy viral hype, but Nintendo has put up a couple of very well done websites that seem to be part of the Metroid Prime universe. What with the upcoming release of Nintendo’s Metroid Prime 2: Echoes on November 15th, this is pretty obviously a marketing hook for the game.

Channel 51 is an Art Bell wannabee site looking into all things spooky, mysterious and conspiratorial. The site comes complete with grainy pictures video footage of things like Chupacabras and Species X, along with info about The Rossler Transmission, which is a pretty obvious tie-in to MP2E.

Orbis Labs is linked to from Channel 51, and bills itself as a “Precision Defense & Weapons Technology” company. Along with schematics and test videos of their Battle Sphere weapon, you’ll find a nice juicy Government Offical Login. Other links, such as one to UFO Magazine, appear to be out-of-game (if there is a game here), but you never know.

Don’t know if this will turn out to be an ARG Rabbithole, but it will provide an entertaining read at the very least. We’ll keep you posted of any ARG developments here. For now, we’ll file it under Something To Keep an Eye On.

Project Syzygy Stirring?

October 17, 2004 / Steve Peters

There have been some recent changes at the Project Syzygy site showing signs that something may be happening. Despite announcements of 2005 being the launch of this new free Alternate Reality Game, a recent update at Project Syzygy reveals that “projectsyzygy is now complete.”

A new link reveals perplexcity.com and a mysterious memo. It seems some sort of McGuffin in the form of a Cube has been stolen and must be found. According the the memo, there will be a “substantial reward” for whomever may find it. Plus, you can enter your email to be contacted “when the time is right.”

Hmmmm. Preview? Launch? Reward?? Time will tell.