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September 24, 2005

Last Call Poker

We found Last Call Poker through an email sent into the ARGN tip-line this morning. We're not sure exactly what to think yet, but the site is definitely... interesting. It has all of the standard signs pointing towards ARG -- registration, automated email replies, suspicious video, voice mail, and an attractive brunette character that needs our help. However, if you actually sit down and play on the poker tables, you'll find that they are all functional and that many people (or, if you want to go in a different direction, poker bots) are already sitting down, calling and raising, as if the site had existed for months already. (For what it's worth, the site has been registered since May, although we can't find any hits on Google about it).

Is this an Alternate Reality Game? Or is it simply a gambling site? Perhaps a haven for dancing robots? Only time will tell, friends, but after only a handful of minutes on the site, we're pretty stoked about what may be 'in the cards' for Last Call Poker.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 2:34 PM

September 22, 2005

Just In Time for "Falling In Time"

ARGN recently recently broke a story regarding the emergence of the trailhead for Falling In Time. Apparently, this was not only a new game, but the second coming of one of the first group of widely played g-roots games, entitled Project Gateway. While allusions to the past game and its characters have already been made through various sites hidden within the trailhead, it remains to be seen whether or not the game will pick up where the first game left off, or whether the game will only use the first game as a remnant spark to an entirely new fire. While the trail is just heating up, there is an expected real-life encounter to take place at Providence College, in Rhode Island, this Saturday (September 24). Regardless of what turns up, this game looks promising, and you can count on ARGN to keep you up to date as the game unfolds.

Posted by Larry Eisner at 10:57 PM

September 19, 2005

Vaporlofts

When it rains, it pours. Another new ARG has come to light recently, despite the fact it has had a web presence since May. VaporLofts started as a LiveJournal blog by one Anne Schreber (aka point_system), who started befriending other LiveJournal bloggers who shared similar interests. Not a lot of attention was paid to the blog until Anne started talking about an airplane exploding over the Pacific Ocean, with one person miraculously surviving. A lot of people's interests were piqued after that. Since then, we have been introduced to Anne's mysterious employer, VaporLofts, who seem to be interested in a lot more than just selling and renovating real estate.

While it is still too early to tell where the VaporLofts story is heading, the game itself seems to show some real promise. The pace of the game shows that the creators have a great deal of patience. The recent trend to rush game developments due to overzealousness has doomed many an ARG in the past. It is refreshing to see that this game has not yet fallen into that trap.

VaporLofts should be a good ARG for those who have been waiting to get in on the ground floor. ARGN will keep you apprised of any major developments as they occur.

Trailhead
Discussion at Unfiction
IRC Chat in #vaporlofts

Posted by Carie Ward at 1:56 PM

September 18, 2005

New Games On The Horizon?

Two recently discovered blips on the ARG radar have sent ripples of interest throughout the community. The newest discovery, Falling In Time (AKA the Icarus ARG) came to us via a sponsored Google ad, and has already entertained the masses with some hidden web pages on the trailhead site. The site is aesthetically pleasing, and it looks like there was some serious thought put into the design.

The second attention-getter of the week has been The 13 Books | Triskabiblios. While the discussion at the UnFiction forums has been fast and furious (348 posts since being introduced to the community on September 12), it's unclear as to the purpose of the "game". Some say that it is a recruitment campaign, as the original post by vibration13 on UF once made mention of such a PM recruitment angle, while others say that it is simply something that has gotten out of hand. For what it's worth, there are links vibration13.com on the trailhead site, which is currently looking like more of a web directory than an ARG. Is it a puzzle? Is it an ARG? Is it a new marketing campaign for Amazon? Hopefully the situation becomes clearer sooner.

Falling In Time:
Discussion at UnForums
Trailhead
IRC Chat in #icarus

The 13 Books | Triskabiblios:
Discussion at UnForums
Trailhead
IRC Chat in #13books

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 9:11 PM

September 12, 2005

ReGenesis: Relaunch and Award Nomination!

Two bits of exciting information coming out of the ReGenesis camp this week, one concerning the relaunch of the series on public television, and the other regarding the nomination of the ReGenesis website for a major Canadian award.

We last reported on ReGenesis back in October of 2004 when the series was first aired on Movie Central and The Movie Network, both subscription-based cable networks in Canada. The series included an ARG element, or "extended reality" to it. Now, almost a year later, ReGenesis is enjoying a resurgence in popularity with the broadcast of Season One on Canadian public television channel Global. (Unfortunately, there is no current syndication deal for any networks outside of Canada.) With the re-airing of the series on Global comes the relaunch of the web-based ARG. This is the first instance of an "replayed" ARG -- that is, the reset and replay of an ARG that had previously run its course.

The extended reality element that will parallel the broadcast of the series through its duration is centered on fictional agency NorBAC (the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission) and Science Sucks, a bold protest site. Players of this version of the extended reality will be treated to many of the same twists and turns that made the original game so interesting, but with some subtle changes this time around. There is no historical ARG precedent for any type of game relaunch, so it will be extremely interesting to see how things play out.

The ReGenesis ARG has not only captured the attention of fans across the globe, but the ReGenesis website has earned the creation team a nomination for a Gemini Award (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy award). The award for Most Popular Website is a web-based voting competition open to all Canadian residents (or anyone who understands the Canadian postal code system, as that is what will 'verify' voters as Canadian). Just as the Webby award win by 4orty2wo Entertainment for I Love Bees earlier this year, this would be a huge win for Xenophile Media, and a well-deserved recognition of their efforts to put together this ARG.

(By the way, we're hearing faint, unsubstantiated rumors of a possible Season Two of ReGenesis. Once we get any further information about this, we'll be sure to bring it to you.)

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 5:13 PM

September 7, 2005

Blitz League Expands, Adds Depth

Blitzleague.com has recently updated, with the first new content since July 26th. While still not showing signs of being an actual "game", sites have been added to give more of a backdrop to the setting of Midway's upcoming console game entitled "Blitz: The League". Sites like "Tear it Rare", "Most Valuable Playa", and "PedisNV" have given a little more depth to the previously under-developed web presence, and expanded the world of the video game. Of course, should anything develop in terms of a true Alternate Reality Game, ARGN will keep you informed!

ARGN would like to thank Sam C. for the tip on the updates.

Posted by Larry Eisner at 8:42 PM

September 5, 2005

Virtucube Winner Announced

According to the Virtuquest website, a winner has been announced in the Virtucube Multi-Layered Puzzle contest. Richard Patterson, who lives in the United Kingdom, is the winner of $500 cash prize. The contest ran for well over ten months, a formidable challenge for all those who took part. Congratulations, Richard, and we hope you lend your talents to helping us solve future ARG puzzles in years to come.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 9:13 PM

September 3, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund

The images are awful. The reality is worse. Hundreds of thousands of individuals and families have been displaced or otherwise impacted by the devastation that Hurrican Katrina wrought early this week. Thousands are still stranded in downtown New Orleans. Families have lost everything they owned, and far too many have even lost loved ones.

ARGN has set up a relief fund for these victims of Hurrican Katrina. All net proceeds will go directly to the American Red Cross. Our goal is to raise $100,000 as a community for this effort. The victims of this tragedy will need help for months to come, and we've been told by relief agencies that the best thing we can do is to donate funds.

Please consider scraping together whatever you can, and together we can reach and exceed this goal. To donate, follow this link. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected.

[EDIT: Due to recent complications involving PayPal and online fundraising efforts for Katrina victims, the links above will now take you directly to the Red Cross donation page. We will no longer be able to track progress of our monetary goal, but this will bypass the problems many sites have been having with PayPal. All previous donations made through our PayPal link will be immediately forwarded to the Red Cross.]

Posted by Steve Peters at 1:36 PM