If the catchy rhythm of ragtime music, soft-shoeing in your ear, sets your brain humming, the challenge of EDOC Laundry may tune your fork. Since the opening of the company’s online retail store, EDOC Laundry has introduced players to two websites related to the mystery of the band Poor Richard’s demise, and in its wake, a cresting tide of dead bodies. Having worn and faded the few remaining unsolved shirts – two elusive hats still evading purchase by their wallets – players had been intently twiddling their thumbs, pondering a great many things. (Really great things, such as “How much can we really HATE Sally?” and “How many bad PhotoShops of Jeff can be tolerated without inducing projectile vomit?”) Hence, once Sally and Lyn began posting on their respective websites, the players rejoiced quietly, thrilled to finally be getting a little action from the ladies.
Month: July 2006 (Page 1 of 2)
Kyle XY gives us another in a series of ABC Television’s efforts to bring the TV show’s audience on-line with a vaguely ARG-like game. Unlike The Lost Experience or Ocular Effect, however, this seems to be the ARG that can’t get off the ground. So far we have one site, MadaCorp, which is some kind of scientific research company. The site itself is slapped together with some not-too-interesting Flash bits, and has whole pages with no content of any kind. Clicking on “Our Jobs” takes you to a secret blog, where a mysterious insider talks about his efforts to bring the truth about Kyle to light, but the entries are obtuse and repetitive, leading this reporter to wonder if he’s the dumbest whistle-blower ever, or the “clues” are so convoluted that no one has been able to figure them out yet.
The show itself, running Monday nights on ABC Family, is a charming bit of science fiction in the guise of a family drama. Matt Dallas brings a kind of goofy innocence to the role of Kyle, and his interactions with the world make for some very funny and touching moments. The family Trager is bland California, however. The acting is competent, at least.
Overall, I can’t say that this has much to recommend it, and yet I can’t stop watching, either. I have this hope that something more will develop and make all those blog entries mean more than the insipid ramblings they appear to be currently. Also, I really want to find out why Kyle doesn’t have a belly button.
Stranger Adventures, produced by the two-time Emmy nominee, Riddle Productions, launches new adventures every Saturday. Each puzzle-filled adventure lasts for one week and is delivered through emails and video diaries on the Stranger Adventures website. The adventures are designed in a way that you can work through them by yourself and, if you happen to get stuck, the website contains clues to help you along. At the end of the week, those who solve the adventure’s pass code may find a bit more cash in their pocket. That’s right, each adventure comes with a prize of up to $25,000. There’s still time to sign up for the latest adventure: Daily Rage. So, what are you waiting for, head on over to StrangerAdventures.com and flex those puzzle muscles with a little story action.
Editors’ Note: We mistook the name of the production company, Riddle Productions. This error has been corrected in the article.
On July 20th, UnFiction member tallerbird logged into her Kingdom Of Loathing account, and found a message from someone called The Messenger:
http://www.freewebs.com/themessagecenter/
Please go there as soon as you can! I need your help!
At first she thought it was spam, but after a little exploring, it became clear that the mysterious message was actually a clever grassroots launch. (During popular ARG Last Call Poker, players started games of Tombstone Hold ‘Em in cemeteries in the online realms of World of Warcraft, but to the best of our knowledge, this marks the first time an ARG has launched using virtual spaces; it will be interesting to see if the Message Center sparks a trend.)
The Message Center turned out to be a portal into a twisted plot resembling the unholy offspring of Saw and Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians. The Messenger started his site because of an email he received describing some horrifying circumstances. Trapped in the “Room Of Doom” are eight people, each of whom corresponds to a label: the whore, the robot, the doctor, the father, the shy person, the liar, someone who is already dead, and the sender of the email. Through a series of site updates and instant messenger conversations with the characters, players were drawn into the room of doom, in which they and the characters must decide who lives and who dies to appease a sadistic killer who is lurking among them.
Catch up with the discussion on UnFiction here, or visit The Message Center to check for the latest dispatches from the Room Of Doom.
Editor’s Notes: And as quickly as it came, it went — the game wrapped up earlier this evening. For words from the Puppetmaster, check the chat log hosted at UnFiction. Also, we originally unintentionally reported that Tallerbird was a male, when in fact, she is a female — those errors have been fixed in the article.
As many of you ARGN readers know, and for those that don’t… surprise!, there’s an Alternate Reality Game running alongside the hit television show Lost. With the show airing in three different countries on three different schedules, players wondered if they’d be given any juicy story bits. Well, word has it that the juiciest of bits is about to be revealed – the secret of 4 8 15 16 23 42. That’s right, the numbers that have both haunted and puzzled fans throughout the shows run are about to be explained.
If you haven’t been following along with the game, this is the time to get involved. There are thousands of players playing all over the internet, but, of course, you can catch up with all of the happenings at unFiction and feel free to join us in chat at #lostexp and be sure to check out The Lost Experience blog which will give you the scoop on everything that’s happened so far.
Coming in September, 2006, that ever-progressive Manhattan of the North, Toronto, Ontario, will be hosting a new alternate reality game “of urban exploration and intrigue,” according to TorGame, a non-profit organization based in the city. TorGame bills itself as “dedicated to the exploration of public space, and a unified identity for Torontonians” on its website. It is an all-volunteer operation that, with Waking City, is attempting its first alernate reality game production. Some ARGonauts may recognize the name Tony Walsh in the list of contributors, however, as he collaborated on both seasons of the ARG production “Regenesis” with Xenophile Media.
The game will be played in public spaces out and around the Toronto area, and will include in-game interactions with characters by telephone, email or instant messaging, and in person. In an interesting twist for veteran players, Waking City requires that players form into teams and register their teams before playing. Teams may have from four to seven members and must pay a fee to register which ranges from $100 to $125 (CA) per team. The registration fee is said to only cover expenses of producing the ARG.
TorGames should be commended by local ARGonauts who work during the week for scheduling their planned live events for the weekends. This reporter has been frustrated on many occasions by live events that were held on weeknights or during common working days, making wide participation difficult save for students, those with flexible schedules, or the unemployed.
More information about Waking City and registration sign-up can be found at the official TorGame site.
Related links:
TorGame
Official Blog
Xenophile Media
Tony Walsh’s Secret Lair
undertone
giggleland
pendog creative
meow wolf
welcome home
postcurious