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November 26, 2007
All Things Must Come to a Close: The End of a Few ARGs
They say that news often comes in threes, and recent events in the world of alternate reality gaming proves that the old adage still has teeth. Over the past few days, both Deus City and Red Monday came to a close, and it appears as though Chain Factor may be wrapping up soon as well.
After more than a year of gameplay, Deus City concluded last Tuesday with the release of a thirteen-part story detailing the end of the Time Communications project. Adam Brackin (the real person, not the in-game character) intends to release his dissertation based on the game, and anticipates its publication in late-spring, promising "pretty charts and graphs" from behind the curtain. ARGNet has reported extensively on Deus City in the past. The PM Chat has not been scheduled yet.
The alternate reality game Red Monday came to a close this morning with the release of the first "podiobook" in a five-part mini-series produced by StarKnight Productions. Although only the first chapter is free, the podiobook's creator J. Marcus Xavier has promised that the faithful followers of the Red Monday ARG will be able to listen to the mini-series for free.
The game generated mild controversy through its launch at the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California where the podiobook's creator J. Marcus Xavier passed out red envelopes marked "CLASSIFIED" that referred to the website Red-Monday.com. Following several complaints that the promotion was disturbing convention-goers, the head of the expo Tim Bourguin ejected Xavier from the premises. Bourguin later went on to refer to the launch as the "perfect example of marketing gone bad."
The Numb3rs alternate reality game Chain Factor also appears to be nearing its conclusion, with all but three KeyCodes and four ShutdownKeys discovered. Participants in the ARG element of the game are working to shut down the system, hopefully saving me from untold hours of casual gameplay. Consider yourself warned: the Chain Factor flash game remains unspeakably addictive.
In the wake of this cavalcade of completion, you may find yourself searching for a new game, such as the newest chapter in the Dark Knight ARG. Something that may interest you is Mur Lafferty's podiobook Playing For Keeps,which has grabbed my attention lately, and not just because I can't get enough of Mur's revisionist look at super powered society. Mur encourages listeners to expand on her superhero-strewn universe by contributing to "Stories of the Third Wave", utilizing story expansion mechanisms the aspiring PM might want to consider.
Once again...
Click Here to check out Deus City
Click Here to check out Red Monday
Click Here to check out Chain Factor
Click Here to check out the Dark Knight ARG
Click Here to check out Playing for Keeps
Posted by Michael Andersen at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2007
Does Tom Tooman hail from Jericho, KS?
It started with a handwritten message on notebook paper and some barcode stickers found in the mailboxes of Sean Stacey and other alternate reality gaming players. These clues led to a website which showed nothing but an entry box and blank submit button. It was described by one player of the game, xnbomb, as "wonderfully devoid of anything encouraging, which in itself is encouraging". Eventually, after picking through the clues provided for them, the players entered the correct password and were rewarded with a black and white map of the midwest.
What kind of ARG could possibly come out of a sheet of notebook paper, some barcodes and a map of the midwest? Well, an ARG for a major network television show, of course! A source close to the game has confirmed that the Tom Tooman ARG is an official product for the CBS television show, Jericho.
Over the past three months, things have been slowly ramping up in the Tom Tooman ARG. The midwestern map went through several changes, finally giving an elusive message which included the words, "Are you bored yet?". While some of the more impatient players may have responded with a "yes" to that question and moved on, those who knew the adage about what comes to those who wait were rewarded with several new meaty updates. New websites were found including one for the Sakanas, Kansas community newspaper where players discovered that the midwest had been hit by several atomic bombs. Another website, for Black Hills Radio Control, has allowed players to scan the radio waves looking for communications from survivors of the attack.
Fans of Jericho might have noticed early on the similarities between the Tom Tooman ARG and the CBS show. Jericho revolves around how the residents of the small town cope after being isolated from most of the world following a nuclear attack. The speculation of a connection has proved true with a newly discovered website for Jennings and Rall, a company that will help rebuild the town of Jericho during season two of the show. The website details some of the many ways the company intends to rebuild America including: satellite monitoring, food services support, "city scrubbing" and the isolation of individuals contaminated by radioactive fallout.
ARGNet's inside source revealed that the best part of the ARG is yet to come, including an expanded narrative which will include some familiar names to fans of the Jericho show. According to the source, "CBS wanted to provide current and future fans with a richer experience in preparation for Season 2 and to keep the momentum for the show going during its hiatus." Jericho fans will surely be delighted to find out that the show they fought so hard for now has an alternate reality game connected to it. The show was cancelled last season and fans reacted by sending CBS over 40,000 pounds of nuts to pledge their loyalty to the show. The unprecedented grassroots campaign worked, CBS listened, and Jericho will return this season for seven episodes.
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Jericho Sites
Jericho on CBS
Jericho Wiki on CBS
In Game Sites
www.ajkin.com
www.areyouaborder.com
www.blackhillsradiocontrol.org
www.sacredhatcasino.com
www.jenningsandrall.com
Player Resources
Tom Tooman Wiki
Tom Tooman Discussion at Unfiction
Posted by Michelle Senderhauf at 9:01 AM | Comments (3)
November 12, 2007
Numb3rs Chain Factor: We Probably Should Have Seen This Coming
Last Friday's episode of Numb3rs (as reported here at ARGNet) sparked discussion at UnFiction. And while the show received generally positive reactions for a positive depiction of the community and a thorough look at the puzzle solving aspects, many were disappointed that the episode downplayed the narrative elements of alternate reality gaming.
Apparently, people spoke too soon, as ARGNet's own Brooke Thompson received an email from Spectre, one of the characters from last week's Numb3rs, leading to Chain Factor. Spectre mentioned in the show his plans of developing Chain Factor to rival "Primacy"--if you haven't yet seen the episode, I won't spoil you more. At first glance, the website appears to be a casual puzzle game created by a slightly megalomaniacal game developer. The puzzle game has hidden 36 keys "hidden in plain sight among the visual trash of today's marketing-mad culture". These keys unlock special powers that can be used in the Chain Factor gameplay. Some of these keys have been discovered as banner ads on Viacom websites such as CBS Sportsline and StarTrek.com.
The admittedly addictive puzzle game has a few bugs in the system. Players have noted that error codes strongly resembling internal memos crop up from time to time indicating the future placement of media. The memos suggest keys will be transmitted via text messaging, television promotions, and out-of-home advertising in California and Minnesota. These production notes indicate that a story may be forthcoming.
The Numb3rs episode defined alternate reality as "a treasure hunt played out in the real world using actual media". Following that logic, Chain Factor may be a quest to unlock a series of clues hidden throughout the world around us. However, it appears as though the creators of this game are gradually and subtly revealing a narrative to support the treasure hunt. We may get to see Spectre's plans for an alternate reality game that is all-encompassing...or at least all-encompassing within the Viacom umbrella.
Television shows are releasing supplemental extended realities and alternate reality games more and more frequently. This may prove invaluable to shows looking to keep their audiences engaged during the WGA strike. Who knows which program will be next? Stay tuned to ARGNet for more updates.
Click Here to play Chain Factor.
Click Here for the discussion at UnFiction.
Click Here for the Chain Factor Wiki.
Posted by Michael Andersen at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2007
Game Launch: Silver Ladder
Did you have your alarms set for today at 11:11 a.m? After all, this date has been circled on the calendars of many alternate reality game players as the day the rabbit hole at SilverLadder.com opens. While the site is currently down (temporarily, we assume and hope), this gives us a good opportunity to catch up on what's happened so far.
On September 21st, a playing card with a MySpace page contacted unFictologist Satims. Satims alerted the unFiction community to the message from "2 of Clubs" that directed their attention to SilverLadder.com and a video on YouTube. Later that week, after entering their phone numbers into a form found on the SilverLadder website, several unFiction members began receiving phone calls from "The Deuces", who described themselves as drones sent out to alert people of SilverLadder's existence and its soon-to-be-opened rabbit hole. Other characters, identified by their place in the 52-card deck, revealed themselves to players through phone calls, IMs, postings on MySpace, and videos.
The SilverLadder website has deep roots in internet history. It has existed in one form or another since around 1999 as an interactive art project and has been referred as "The Bad, Scary Place." A mirror of the "Bad, Scary Place" can be found on the SL Team website. A visit to the SilverLadder website currently reveals an clickable web of images, quotes, pages from a travel journal, videos and soundclips. Scattered through this hyperlinked maze are references to Alice and Wonderland, the Beatles, the Bible, nuclear war, and global warming.
Because of its long history, references to SilverLadder are scattered around the internet. Eager to know more, players discovered an entry on Aboutus.org that referred to SilverLadder.com as a tribute to Shane Watson, the former owner of the website who is believed to have died in Tucson, Arizona, on June 11, at 11:11 p.m. (Note: The PMs have requested players not to attempt to contact Shane Watson's family. Since the (re)discovery of SilverLadder.com, its Aboutus.org entry has been changed to a recipe for tasty cake.)
The Aboutus.org entry also revealed that after Shane Watson's death ownership of the site was transferred to the mysterious Athena Snows. (unFictologist scaremongerR noted that Athena Snows is an anagram for Shane Watson.) Athena, the "Queen of Hearts", initially interacted with players, even visiting them in the #SilverLadder chat room. She is now held under a vow of silence until after today's event.
As the players attempted to uncover the story behind the website, SilverLadder and Athena Snows's MySpace profile were hacked by an entity calling itself "The Korporation." The Korporation's distributed message references the "Paul is Dead" hoax by the name "William Shears Campbell" on the image it posted to the website. Later, one of the Jokers from "The Deck" confronted players in the SilverLadder chat room using the name "explodingonion" and revealed himself to be the original hacker of the SilverLadder site. He is also known as "Slaveriddler", an anagram of "SilverLadder".
So what happens when the rabbit hole finally opens? According to a message on SilverLadder the current state of SilverLadder is "not relevant to the journey" and will change drastically once that journey begins. One card from the 52-card deck will appear on SilverLadder over the course of a year, beginning with the "2 of Clubs", and information about the "journey" will be doled out slowly over time. At the urging of "The Deck", players - sometimes referred to as "passengers" - have begun creating their own content to recruit more passengers before the rabbit hole opens.
Whatever its nature and purpose - "art, a movement, a gathering, a statement, a journey, a story, nonsense and confusion, noise" - SilverLadder seems to fervently embrace the "chaotic" in Chaotic Fiction. Players have responded to the anticipation of the rabbit hole opening by creating banners, a team website and in-game forums, a blog, videos, and more. Some of this content has been incorporated into the SilverLadder website, and the PMs responded to the players' enthusiasm with a tribute to their dedication.
What does the Korporation have in mind for SilverLadder.com? What does it have against The Deck? Will they try to prevent the rabbit hole from opening? Are the Jokers in league with the Korporation? What will the passengers be required to do? Is Athena Snows in danger, or will she, as the "Queen of Hearts", be looking for someone's head?
unFiction Forum for SilverLadder
SilverLadder DeSpoiler wiki
Posted by Brandie Minchew at 11:11 AM | Comments (6)
November 9, 2007
Numb3rs on Alternate Reality Games: Amita ARGs, and Extreme Deaddrops
The Writer's Guild of America may be on strike, but you'll need to wait a few more weeks for hordes of drama-starved television addicts to flock to alternate reality games for succor. While you wait, tune in to CBS tonight at 10pm EST for Numb3rs. Tonight's episode of the hit series, entitled Primacy, will feature alternate reality gaming. According to SpoilerFix.com:
When a man that worked for the Department of Justice dies from falling off a roof, the team follows a trail to an online game called Primacy, which has an "Alternate Reality" (or real life) side as well. They question a 67-year-old female game player about being up on the same roof. They also question a leather-wearing biker and an Asian business woman. Amita and Larry help with the investigation and Amita is threatened because of her involvement with the game.
The drama revolving around mathematician Charles Epps (David Krumholtz) and his FBI agent brother Don (Rob Morrow) often features techniques familiar to followers of alternate reality games such as cipher decryption and steganography. Be sure to check out Wolfram on Numb3rs after the show for a closer look at the math used in the episode.
If you checked ARGNet too late to catch Primacy (or just want to see it again) and you have a US IP address, go to the Numb3rs homepage for the full episode.
DISCLAIMER: Televised impressions of "alternate reality game" might not mesh with your own.
Posted by Michael Andersen at 6:26 PM | Comments (0)
November 7, 2007
Book Two of Eldritch Errors comes and goes, PM chat tonight!
Now that Book Two of Eldritch Errors has wrapped up, the people behind the curtain are eager to get together with ARG players to talk about things, and so tonight at 9 pm ET, you can join Brian Clark, Brooke Thompson and a few other distinguished guests in the #stfeline room on the Chat-Solutions IRC network (irc.chat-solutions.org). If you've never accessed IRC chat before, you can use our handy-dandy chat applet here at the web site -- simply pick the room from the drop-down list and give yourself a nickname, and join in the fun!
In case you're not up to speed on all things EE, the puppetmasters have their own behind-the-scenes blog at Schmeldritch.com, where they have commented on a very interesting (and somewhat creeptastic) three-day live event that occurred late in October. While we missed the boat on live coverage (sorry!) you can read all about it at Sentry Outpost, the in-game forums for EE, through Biff's summary post, as well as Mapmaker's four-part detailed recap (part 1, 2, 3 and 4). From all accounts, it was a nerve-wracking, intense, unforgettable experience.
Posted by Jonathan Waite at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)
November 6, 2007
The Mailman Cometh
Today was a great day for getting mail. The newest Rolling Stone magazine arrived, as did the December copy of Macworld. Also, nestled between a CAA membership renewal notice and a flyer for a grocery store, was an inconspicuous package addressed to ARGN... from ARGN. 'Weird,' I thought, 'I don't remember sending myself a package.' And then it hit me -- we were being RABBIT HOLED!
Quickly, I flipped the package over and pulled the easy-open red tab. Inside, I found a DVD, a newspaper headline clipping, and a ripped picture of a fairly attractive woman. After scanning the contents (and the postmark) I went for the DVD and stuck it into my trusty laptop. The name of the disc, My DVD, revealed nothing of use, so I played it, and what I saw shocked and amazed me:
Yes, that was a scary looking guy, hitting a fence. And yes, that was a puzzle piece that flashed on the screen near the end of the video. Okay, so maybe it's not as shocking and amazing as I might have previously stated, but it's still a mysterious, ominous video that's worth watching. Is this the lovechild of The Human pet and the Golden Jigsaw? Probably not, but it's still something that has us curious about what's to come.
So, how do we go forward from here? My guess is that we will have to wait until more people receive similar packages -- Sean C. Stacey of Despoiler got one, and is going to be posting a message shortly about what he got. If anyone else out there has more information, be sure to send us a quick note (via the contact form, perhaps?) so that we can provide an update later in the week.
Posted by Jonathan Waite at 9:27 PM | Comments (5)