Burnett has teamed up with AOL to bring the treasure-hunt game show “Gold Rush” to the Internet. Details about the game are sketchy at best, but it will require cryptic puzzles to be solved in real-time. Contestants will be able to have “constant interaction with the show’s central treasure hunt,” according to Burnett, and the prize is nothing to scoff at – $1.6 million in gold will be available in 13 locations across the United States.
While Jon Miller of AOL has stated that, “This is a totally original concept that comes to us from the guy who created reality television,” the concept of an Internet-based treasure hunt game show isn’t completely ‘original’ after all. In July of 2004, the Urban Hunt Alternate Reality Game was launched with a casting call listing at a popular reality TV website. While the Urban Hunt game show was fictional, the premise was basically the same — players would search across the U.S. for a chance of finding a cash prize. (Thanks to konamouse at UnFiction for the information about UH)
It’s exciting to see major players in the entertainment business taking a good, hard look at developing projects with Alternate Reality Gaming elements. In the coming weeks, look for more information about some similar projects that are in the works, including The Runner, a Mark Burnett/LivePlanet (Push, NV) collaboration, The Courier, a CBS ‘micro-series’ and Treasure Hunt, a Steven Spielberg/Yahoo! project.
Articles to read for more information:
ABC News
Los Angeles Times Calendar Live website
Forbes Magazine Online
MediaWeek