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February 28, 2007

ARG Netcast, Episode 14: Cow Farts

It's a whole new world for the ARG Netcast series. We have our spiffy new website, and a whole new attitude. It's like Extreme Makeover, ARG style! Episode 14's panel, hosted by ARGnet's Jonathan Waite, includes Jessica Price, Marie Lamb, Jackie Kerr, and Sean C. Stacey. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through this link or via iTunes.

Head over to the new site for all of the details. Please note: because of the move to the new site, the iTunes podcast number has changed, so many of you regular subscribers will need to update your bookmarks in iTunes.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 12:16 AM | Comments (1)

February 18, 2007

ARG Netcast, Episode 13: You Can't Handle The Truth

In our last episode before migrating the netcasts to a shiny new web site, we reflect on the many, many emails we received in response to Episode 12. Episode 13 assembles the same panel as last week, which (in case you missed it) includes Jessica Price, Nicko Demeter, Jackie Kerr, Sean C. Stacey, Brooke Thompson and Jonathan Waite. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.

A Disclaimer, A Discussion
The views expressed in the ARG Netcast do not necessarily represent the views of ARGNet. The opinions offered in the ARG Netcast are those of the panelists, and should not be assumed to be factual reporting for the ARGNet web site. We discuss this for a bit, just to make sure we leave no stone unturned.

Game News

• A new Nine Inch Nails game is out in the wild (starting at www.iamtryingtobelieve.com). It may or may not be a 42 Entertainment game. Nicko has been playing and talks about what's in the water. Head over to the Unfiction forums for discussion.
  
• The Monster Hunter Club summary from molecularr has been published! Also, The Host movie screening was last Monday and included in-game character yumminess!
  
• The Gumshoe interactive radio play has been postponed until Wednesday the 21st of February, due to inclement weather.
  
• There's a new game called The Wyoming Incident making waves at the UF forums. With 32 pages of threads so far, we'll need some help from helpful listeners in sorting out the details for the next netcast.
  
• The Vanishing Point post-game chat finally happened yesterday (Saturday), and Jessica was a moderator. She talks about the chat, and Rob from Neowin sends in a special message for the ARG community.
  
• Lost Envelope is a new marketing campaign that Nicko has started... and finished playing, with less-than-awesome results.
  
• MeiGeist had a live event in Bristol. At airtime there wasn't much to report, but Russell_k at Unfiction sent us a link to his summary post. Thanks Russell_k!
  

ARGFest Update

Rose sent us a lot of information. We'll reproduce here what we read in the netcast, but you don't get the witty banter that comes with the spoken words.

1. Thanks to Brian Clark of GMD Studios for sponsoring the cost of the conference room at ARGFest. If not for him, I'm not sure how we would be doing the conference.

2. Thanks to ARGNet along with Gupfee for sponsoring the cost of lanyards and registration materials.

3. Register - please, please register. Rose needs to order breakfast and we need a reliable number of people. A continental breakfast will be served on Saturday before the conference starting around 8:00 am ( but knowing how hotels operate it may be a bit later.)

4. Cruel 2 B Kind - register and read the rules. We want to get at least 25 ARGers out there in the crowd. We are so fortunate that Jane McGonigal is going to be present to run this game for us. Afterwards, we can get some dinner at a place to be announced. Note: Jane is considering changing the location so check in with the website before you go.

5. Speakers - we are very lucky that 42 entertainment has offered to do a round table discussion on developing an ARG. The following list is pretty close to being final:

• 8:00 Continental Breakfast at the hotel (included with registration)
• 8:45 - 9:00 Introduction and start of Conference

• Panel I ~ Developing an ARG
  Moderator: Sean Stacey
  Adrian Hon - ~ Perplex City
  Dave Szulborski ~ Urban Hunt; Catching the Wish
  labfly ~ Sameeeeeees
  Brian Clark ~ Art of the Heist, Who Is Benjamin Stove
  Evan Jones ~ ReGenesis
  Glenn Rubenstein ~Op Aphid

• Panel II ~ Running an ARG
  Moderator: Kristen Wells
  Kristen Rutherford - one on one interactions with players
  Jackie Kerr - community relations
  Sam Lavigne - what people do and keeping them safe

• Panel III ~ The whole picture: Roundtable discussion by 42 Entertainment - Team Leaders

Lunch break (on your own) Depending on the number of people we may be able to provide coffee, etc for the afternoon sessions.

Afternoon panels

• Two-Focus Panel: Defining ARGs and the Future of ARGs
  Moderator - Jonathan Waite
  Sean Stacey, Unfiction - The Sphere of Chaotic Fiction
  Jane McGonigal
  Adrian Hon
  Brian Clark
  Evan Jones

• Keynote Address: Sean Stewart and Elan Lee

6. Sunday: Exploratorium - to get a group rate we have to collect the cash on Friday and Saturday from everyone so EGo can pick up the tickets.

Listener Email and Comments

These are all in response to Episode 12. Apparently, we said some things.

• Clairbennet06 didn't like the tone in which we discussed the Lost Experience.
• skenmy is put off by our lack of research and in how we labeled Perplexorum 'suspicious'.
• Rachel Wild thinks that we were ignorant and that our statements were rubbish.
• marc commented that we were "incredibly wrong".
• Konamouse recommends reading Dave Szulborski's "Through the Rabbit Hole"
• Ben thinks that the netcasts are fantastic and would want to hear views from various PMs, something we're working towards for a near-future netcast
• Adam Brackin of Deus City wrote in with their side of the story, letting us know how wrong we were. He indicated that DC is a role-playing game and that they have changed the TOS agreement to reflect the changes in policy that this situation has brought on.

Contact us at our special netcast email address, netcast@argn.com with your tips, suggestions, concerns and submissions. Call us on our ARGNet voicemail at 630-274-5425.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 7:45 PM | Comments (13)

February 13, 2007

ARG Netcast, Episode 12

Episode 12 of the ARG Netcast series is supersized! Why, you might ask? The answer lies within the netcast itself, with three monster discussions on ginormous topics that found their way into this week's agenda. So, if you don't want to hear about how the Receda Cube was found in Perplex City, or how the Deus City creative team has responded to one of their players, or about the true meaning of This Is Not A Game, then stay away! However, for those interested, listen in as the panel consisting of Jackie Kerr, Jessica Price Brooke Thompson, Sean C. Stacey and Jonathan Waite and first-time panelist Nicko Demeter discuss these topics, and more. Note: we're having substantial problems with audio lately, so we're sorry for the quality of this netcast, which is not the best. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.

Game News

• Oh joyous day, the Receda Cube has been found! Of course, we talk about the center of attention in the Perplex City game, which officially ended (Season One, anyway) with the discovery of the Cube by Andy Darley, an admired and loved Unfiction forums member (Rand0m). Darley writes about his adventure here, and here. Also, here and here. Finally, here is the end of his tale. He's a great storyteller. Aside from Darley's discovery, we dish on how clues might have been given to one particular group and not the overall player base, and wonder why Violet was Combed Thunderclap, and how she knew about quirkyacuity.com months in advance of the site being registered.
  
• Deus City has responded to a player who offered suggestions, help and bug reports by asking her to leave the game, citing Terms of Service violations. We've got the details! We also discuss how players might become confused by the gameplay, given that two of the characters in the game are real people.
  

• The Human Pet has a neat new video with some interesting plot twists. We're curious as to when we'll find out more about the present, as the back story stuff is nice but we're ready for more.
• Puzzle of the week: Secret Human Pet Code! Get your, um, Human Pet Decoder Rings! The code is: VMRLFFS 8:32 BWDJFVS. See this thread at the Unfiction forums for more details.
• Thanks to tips from Sylvia and molecularr, we know about the cool swag players are getting as part of the Monster Hunter Club. Also, how cool are these promos for the game by Dee Snider of Fangoria Radio (and of Twisted Sister fame)!
• There's a live event planned for the Meigeist ARG! It will take place on February 18th in Bristol! We're still very much loving Meigeist from afar, which is kind of sad, because we'd really love to be playing this one.
• The Vanishing Point game had a chat with 42 Entertainment but, alas, it was postponed. Another chat took place... yesterday, but we talked about it like it would be taking place... tomorrow. to be fair, we did record on Sunday, so technically, we're right on both counts.
• There was a game called Beast of Black River. It's over now, because the puppetmaster has met an untimely (fake, we hope) death. Well, at least it didn't implode.
• The Million Penguin Project is an ambitious multi-author novel project that is ahead of its time. Read the site and form your own opinion if you don't believe us.
• We welcome new writers at ARGNet. You might be surprised at who we managed to sign on.

Topic discussion

• TINAG. This Is Not A Game. What does it all mean? Lucky for you, we have authorities on the topic who are more than happy to talk about it.
  
• Viral marketing and the skeptics it's creating. Sean brings in news of a stealthy Canadian hair products viral marketing campaign that had people arching eyebrows right from the get-go.
  

Listener Email

• molecularr sends in a great update about Monster Hunter Club that will be part of an update article at ARGNet later this week.
  
• Sylvia updates us as Meigeist and MHC continue to impress fans and players.
  

The End

• As the netcast was running a tad long, we tried to rush this through. We did mention ARGFest (all panel members will be attending) and the Colts' win at SuperBowl XLI. There's also a super secret announcement about ARGFest and the Netcast series.
  

Contact us at our special netcast email address, netcast@argn.com with your tips, suggestions, concerns and submissions. Call us on our ARGNet voicemail at 630-274-5425.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 9:40 PM | Comments (5)

February 6, 2007

ARG Netcast, Episode 11

So, after hours of post-recording edits for Episode 11 of the ARG Netcast series, the audio quality for one side of the conversation is terrible at best. Don't let that dissuade you from listening though, as this week's roundtable is as entertaining as it is informative. Regular panelists Brooke Thompson, Jackie Kerr, Sean C. Stacey and Jonathan Waite are joined this week by Jessica Price, ARGNet writer and Unfiction forums moderator. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.

Game News

• The Heroes 360 experience moves along, albeit very slowly. There is a lovely player wiki (yarr, there be spoilers) that has been created, so hopefully the game gains a bit more momentum, soon. Also, see this Blogspot page for more (spoilers ahoy!) information.
  
• Meigeist is getting love from afar. They also have a nifty player wiki which will get you caught up in less time than you can say "Save the cat, save the world." Although, you'd sound silly saying that.
  
• Perplex City players are pretty darn close to finding that cube, we hear. Something about a rock, and a Jurassic... something. They also have some pretty cool plans for the reward money.
  
• Monster Hunter Club explains away some advertising, and characters show up at the Today show.
  
• Puzzle of the week: A grid puzzle needs reconstruction (and deconstruction) for Monster Hunter Club. See this thread at the Unfiction forums for more details.
  
• The VirtuQuest people send us a response to our questions about Township Heights. Jackie weighs in on the "mildly insulting" situation. Then the rest of the panel piles on.
  
• Check out this beautiful mock-up (totally unofficial, we understand) of the Neowin-Unfiction branded AMD chip. This will apparently be possible thanks to the winner of the meta puzzle of the Vanishing Point game. Neowin/Unfiction for the win! We also report on the now-postponed VP post-game chat with 42 Entertainment, so ignore that part when you get to it.
  
• Studio Cypher will be releasing the fourth chapter in their Multiplayer Novel soon, called High Stakes.
  
• Jessica talks about her experiences with Ravenchase, which you can also read about in her outstanding ARGNet article.
  
• Jane McGonical is going to be the first ever female keynote speaker at the Game Developer's Conference in March. We couldn't be happier for Jane and wish her the best!
  
• ARGFest is less than a month away.
  
• We let the cat out of the bag about ARGNet's partnership with SXSW for the Screenburn festival. Details will be released in the coming weeks. Brooke will be speaking at the conference, for those who can make it.

Topic discussion

• We talk about how the recent kerfuffle in Boston over the Aqua Teen Hunger Force marketing campaign might impact on alternate reality gaming. This leads into a crazy discussion about pay-to-play and registrations -- not to be missed!
  

Listener Email

• Charlie wants to know where to find old episodes of the netcasts. Here, Charlie. However, with this being the second request for a Netcasts-dedicated page, it's something we'll look at for the near future.
  
• Okay, so now the Monster Hunter Club forums have direct post links. We got the message, loud and clear. And, in one jerk's case, loud, clear and with ubercrankiness. For the record, we talked about this on the last netcast, and the problem was solved shortly thereafter.
  
• The infamous Unknown Sender wants to know if there will be another training ARG in the future. We're not sure, so if anyone out there has an answer, let us know.
  
• The blessed Thunderwolf sends in a player summary for Meigeist, which will be in tomorrow's online edition of ARGNet. Thanks, Karl!
  

The End

• Superbowl predictions -- not that they matter now, since the game is over (yay Colts!) but here were the picks: Sean took the Patriots, Jackie chose the Ravens, while Brooke, Jessica and Jonathan all picked the Colts. Then Brooke almost changed her mind. Oh, hindsight, you wicked beast.
  

Contact us at our special netcast email address, netcast@argn.com with your tips, suggestions, concerns and submissions. Call us on our ARGNet voicemail at 630-274-5425.

Posted by Jonathan Waite at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)