Month: June 2008

UPDATE: Prototype 161 Launches July 12

June 29, 2008 / Jonathan Waite

For those that remember the postcard we received a few days ago with the enigmatic “Wish You Were Here” message, we can now point you towards something more than just a vague location in New York City. A comment was left for that article by prototype161, stating, “Infringement will not be tolerated. Your sticker has been removed.” This led us to look at prototype161.com, which is the home of prototype161 investigations. There’s a client section which offers solutions when “problems cannot be solved by ordinary methods,” and a recruitment section that reveals details about a live event in New York on July 12th.

Two days ago, a letter was received, addressed to me, telling me that I have been selected as a prospective agent of prototype161. According to the letter, I will play a vital role in the development of a new “perscrutative method” — yes, I had to look up perscrutative, and it means thorough search — in the evening of July 12th. I hope that my vital role can be played as I sit at home, because I won’t be in New York City on the 12th. The letter encourages me to assemble a team of not more than eight people, and notes that if I am unable to locate a sufficient number of friends, some will be provided for me. What are you saying, mysterious recruiter, I can’t find my own friends?! Just kidding.

The only potential puzzle I’ve found so far is on the letter itself — the footer contains the text prototype161 form LMTH.”EUR”, with the E in EUR red in color. Our friend Sean C. Stacey at Despoiler received a postcard and a letter as well, and there is an ongoing thread at the Unfiction forums for developments thus far.

If you are in the New York area and wish to represent ARGNet at the recruitment event, drop us a comment or a voicemail and we’ll get in touch. Anyone attending the event that is able to take pictures or video, please send them our way, with our thanks and appreciation!

Cannes Lions Award for 42 Entertainment

June 20, 2008 / Jonathan Waite

42 Entertainment has won yet another distinguished honor, and this time, it’s a grand prize. On Thursday, June 19, the company won the Grand Prix Cyber Lions award at the Cannes Lions 2008 festival in the Viral Advertising/Viral Marketing category for their alternate reality game. The Cannes Lions awards are widely considered the most prestigious of all advertising awards, so this is definitely a feather in the cap for the company responsible for this enthralling collaboration with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame. Congratulations to the crew, which includes Steve Peters, the previous owner of this very web site.

In picture: Susan Bonds, Producer/CEO, and Alex Lieu, Creative Director/CCO, 42 Entertainment

Mailbox: From zombies to a mystery pole

June 17, 2008 / Jonathan Waite

It’s turning out to be quite the summer for alternate reality games, or so the relentless parade of packages, letters and postcards to come through the ARGNet snail mail box seems to indicate. First up, from last week, is a lovely package from Lost Zombies, a new post-apocalyptic venture billing itself as “a community generated zombie documentary.” Inside the package was a letter, a paperback copy of The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, and a retail DVD copy of 28 Days Later, the superb film by Danny Boyle. According to the letter (full text available after the jump), these materials “provide valuable insight into zombie behavior and its many forms,” and should help increase our chances of survival. Sweet!

Also in the mail — just today, in fact — was a postcard. Apparently, we’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, because the sender wishes we were there, ‘there’ being New York City. And, beyond that, we have no idea why this postcard was sent to us. We do know that our friends at Despoiler received a similar postcard, and surmise that the image on the front is of a location in Times Square, NYC. They’ve urged their legion of readers to go outdoors and find the pole marked with the arrow, and we urge the same of our loyal viewers, if only to satisfy our curiosity as to the mystery of the blue pole.

ARGFest-O-Con 2008 – Ready or Not, Here Comes Awesome

June 15, 2008 / Jackie Kerr

Once again, ARGNet is proud to join Unfiction in hosting ARGFest-O-Con. This year’s weekend ARG odyssey sails into Boston, Massachusetts on July 18-20 at the Boston Radisson Hotel and Conference Center. Scheduled events include a Friday night Welcome cocktail party, a full day of conference talks on Saturday, as well as the return of FestQuest – the puzzley adventure that takes you around the highlights of the host city. Registration for the event recently opened on the ARGFest website for the low cost of $25 (the Friday night reception is an additional $15). Booking now guarantees you a seat to the hottest ARG show of the year and a weekend of adventure with fellow ARG enthusiasts. Where else would you be able to rub elbows and fight over the last bits of buffet bacon with some of the biggest names in the genre? Book now!

Rooms at the Radisson are filling up fast, but a few slots remain for those procrastinators among you. Information about booking for the ARGFest rate of $189 a night (plus tax) can be found at the conference website.

ARGFest-O-Con is also actively seeking private and corporate sponsors for the event. Sponsorship opportunities have been outlined and can be viewed on the ARGfest website. This year also tills new soil with the addition of the Order of the Trout, an individual sponsorship tier that promises secret handshakes, troutly designation, and the joy of being referred to as “Fish Face” at the conference. Rarely have I wanted anything oh so badly. Now if only the Order came with a Wii…

Come to the White Island, stay for the all night dancing!

June 12, 2008 / Jonathan Waite

Something is happening in Ibiza… or so says the press release for The White Island, which filtered into the ARGNet tipline last week. The new alternate reality game began on June 1st, and involves dance music and late night parties across Europe. There are some interesting names connected to the project as well — Pete Tong, known best for his work on BBC Radio 1 and for being the subject of the mockumentary “It’s all gone Pete Tong“, and Charles Kriel, a DJ who previously worked on the Fallen ARG and now heads up Black Swan Media. If these names aren’t enough to get you clubbers interested, what about the cool swag we received earlier today? There’s video and more pictures after the break, so put down the glow sticks and click on through!

If Looks Could Kill… ZAP!

June 12, 2008 / Jackie Kerr

Vroom vroom! The sleek champagne Toyota Camry zips around the corner, coming to a screeching halt. Out steps a leggy, ultra-fashionable African-American woman, arriving to hook up with her ultra-fashionable, successful boyfriend. She flips her keys to the valet – a little “blip blip!” sounds from the Camry’s push-button car alarm, like Kit saying “see ya later!” to Knight Rider. Who is this woman? Where did she get such an awesome car with such swanky accoutrements? Where did she find that hunky boyfriend of hers? What does her rolling stone of a father have to do with the dudes who stole her purse? What kind of pie did Nana bake? And where on earth did she find those fantastic shoes?!

The latest in cross-media marketing mayhem produced by Burrell Communications Group and 42 Entertainment for Toyota’s 2009 Camry, entitled “If Looks Could Kill,” takes you inside the world of high fashion and high espionage with Bianca, the fashionista lead character poised to pique the interest of young, hip, African-American women – women, who indeed, need a swanky Toyota Camry. In each weekly episode of this interactive drama, Bianca is pressed to unravel a mystery of intrigue and espionage, all while juggling the stressful duties of her job as a fashion designer, keeping her boyfriend happy and interested, and making sure not to miss coffee and dessert with her Nana. For seven weeks, participants are treated to six movie-styled webisodes of Bianca’s crazy life as she tools around through New York City (without ever running into traffic) in her champagne-colored Camry (with touch navigation and integrated Bluetooth). Within each episode are opportunities for players to help Bianca escape from trouble, as she turns to the camera and asks you to do something for her, such as download photos and find flyers, and email her the information she needs to stay in the game.