Alternate Reality continues to spill over into the real world, as was evident during the Presidential Debate last night. Players of ilovebees (the Halo2 related Alternate Reality Game) at Arizona State University took advantage of the occasion to promote themselves and their game in the form of a huge bee-infested banner.
On numerous occassions during CNN’s coverage, a large ASU Beekeepers banner appeared behind the commentators. The banner could clearly be seen during Wolf Blitzer Reports, as well as Larry King Live. In addition, viewers reported seeing the banner on MSNBC as well. This marks the first time an Alternate Reality Game has invaded political history, as far as we know (unless of course certain important people have been lurking on the boards). Unfortunately, the ASU Beekeepers’ shouts of “I love bees!” couldn’t be heard above the other chants from the crowd.
The ASU Beekeepers team faced a few challenges during the days leading up to the debate, as it was a little scary running around campus answering phones while the Secret Service was doing security sweeps of the area. Nevertheless, Team ASU came through and completed most of their phone answering for the day. For those not familiar with the Ilovebees game, a big part of the interaction right now involves being at certain payphones at specific times in order to give a correct answer for a challenge/response. Doing so successfully helps to unlock pieces of audio files on the ilovebees website, revealing more of the story.
Mad props go out to the ASU Beekeepers for making the news! We know Melissa would be proud of you! For more information about the Ilovebees ARG, follow the links above.
Photo Credits: GBrian and G3k
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