Month: December 2005 (Page 1 of 2)

Welcome to Push… North Carolina?

December 30, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

Take a trip down memory lane, back to a simpler time — a time when Alternate Reality Gaming was still in its infancy. In 2002, ABC television featured a little show called Push, Nevada that caught the attention of the ARG community because the series was designed to include a puzzle that, when solved, would earn one person a million dollars. Unfortunately, the show came to a premature end after only a handful of episodes.

Come back to the present and head over to Push, NC, a new game from CM: Gaming Complex. The site looks simple enough to navigate, but there are already some secrets to be discovered. Mysterious puzzles on secretive websites always earn a blip on the ARGN radar, and even if the game ends up being something other than an ARG, it looks like it could be a lot of fun to play anyway.

Sean Stewart, “Gaming Innovator”

December 28, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

When you hear the name Sean Stewart, what comes to your mind first — author or puppetmaster? While most of the ARG community knows Stewart as one of the creative forces behind The Beast, ilovebees and Last Call Poker, a few were initially introduced to his work as a writer within his many novels, such as Nobody’s Son and Galveston. John Borland at c|net has picked up on the buzz surrounding Stewart and his impressive body of work, both in the literary world as well as the world of ARG, in a poignant article titled “A novelist turned gaming innovator“. It’s a great read, and has an interesting perspective from the ‘other side of the curtain’.

ARGFest NYC 2005 Resurrected!

December 23, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

Just in time for the holiday season comes the online release of the ARGFest NYC 2005 DVD “How Do You Like Your Reality?”. Consisting of two torrent files (hosted by GreyLodge), the release was made possible by Dave Szulborski and Abacus Video Productions.

The files (available for download with your favorite .torrent program) include all of the presentations that took place at the Pennsylvania Hotel during the three day event, including:

* Perplex City by Mind Candy Ltd (with Michael Smith and Adrian Hon)
* The Art of the Heist by the PM team (with Mike Monello, Brian Cain, Brian Clark, Matt Fischvogt, Jim Gunshanan, Gabriel Georgeian, and Dave Szulborski)
* MetaCortechs by the PM team (with Steve Peters, Krystyn Wells, Brooke Thompson, and Sean Stacey)
* There is No Such Thing as an ARG (by special guest speaker Jane McGonigal)

There is a section which includes various pictures from ARG Fest NYC 2005, most of which were submitted by the attendees, as well as a “few special surprises!” So, if you missed the event, or simply want to reminisce, now is your chance to get your hands on these recordings.

By the way, in this writer’s humble opinion, what better way to introduce your friends and family to the wonderful world of ARG than by stuffing their stocking with a DVD copy of these presentations?

Another Contest Worth Entering?

December 18, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

A new anonymous tip leads us (and, maybe, you too) to Another Contest Worth Entering where you (and, hopefully, us too) has a chance to win one of three fantabulous prizes! The difference between this and the garden variety annoying-pop-up-pyramid-scheme-scam-type web site? This one has a puzzle… which could mean nothing, or it could mean everything. In any case, while you try your hand at solving the puzzle, we’ll have to wait until at least February 6th, 2006 to see where this is going.

ARGN Moves To New Home

December 17, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

The Alternate Reality Gaming Network has a new home on the World Wide Web. We do not anticipate any disruptions in service, but if you happen to come across any problems with the site, please use our Contact page to let us know about the oversight.

One of the features of our new host is a locally-controlled ARGN Announcement List. If you were already on the list, you should be receiving an email in the next few hours with a verification link. If you were not already on the list, you can subscribe here.

Mind Candy for the Game Summit

December 13, 2005 / Yulia Mostovoy

Travel back with me to the early days of November, when the air was crisp, the leaves were turning, and Adrian Hon (of Mind Candy and Perplex City fame) was giving a talk about ARGs at the Montreal International Game Summit. Bursting with optimistic joy, I set out early that morning, got hopelessly lost, wandered around in befuddlement for an hour, concluded that the address I was looking for didn’t actually exist, and eventually was directed to the right location, at which point the ARG gods decided that they’d mocked me enough for one day, because I arrived just in time to catch the beginning of Adrian’s presentation.