Game Tip Round-Up

We have been a bit preoccupied here at the ARGNet Ranch, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not paying attention to the inbox. While we haven’t had much opportunity to follow up on some of the tips we’ve received, we thought it’d be best to release them into the wild to see what happened. Here, in no particular order, are the tips.

From someone calling themselves Fiddlefaddle comes a link to Worse Than a Fairy Tale, which is “ARGesque” in nature and is tied into the new CD of the same name by Drop Dead Gorgeous, a “hardcore/screamo band” that Fiddlefaddle digs. The plot involves murders and the game/experience looks pretty slick and well-produced upon initial viewing.

Guillaume Hugo led us to Nowheremen, but we’re not sure exactly what it is yet. Something to keep an eye on, perhaps?

Michele wanted us to know about SilverLadder, which already as a lot of discussion at the Unfiction forums. We mentioned it on Episode 37 of the ARG Netcast series (to be released in the next few days) and will be watching it closely. There are references to Alice in Wonderland and involves a mysterious “Korporation”, so there are definitely mysteries afoot.

There have been three emails — a tip, and two reminders (okay, we got the message!) — for a new game at What is this Game?. It has a spooky theme, registrations open on Halloween, and the game apparently starts January 1, 2008. No idea what the need is for a two month registration period, but hopefully it amounts to something worthwhile. And, hey, look at that, a MySpace profile that ties in!

Ty Kieth sent us this gem: “I’m sitting in a Safe Room right now surrounded by a random-signal quantum field so the damn Monks can’t see me. I’ve managed to compromise the site. Hopefully I can warn a few converts away while I’m at it. Avery, if you’re there, I’ve left some breadcrumbs for you,” with a link to The Electric Church. This is a tie-in with the book of the same name, authored by Jeff Somers, but we haven’t looked deeper than the front page. Besides, if this game tip isn’t supposed to be written by an in-game character, we’re not so much curious as we are bewildered and a bit scared. Seriously — random-signal quantum fields are our greatest fear.

(Actually, we’re not that scared, as Alex tipped us off to what’s really happening at the site: “It’s not technically an ARG, but Jeff Somers, author of the forthcoming novel The Electric Church, has included a deviously complicated series of codes and puzzles… which should appeal to ARG fans.” Thanks for making us feel safer, Alex.)

Finally, things seem to be progressing quickly at Dunder Mifflin Infinity, so much so that many regional managers have been chosen for new Dunder Mifflin Paper Company branches across North America. If you’re completely lost at this point, we’re talking about the fictional company at the center of NBC’s hit comedy The Office. if you’re a fan of the show, this one is shaping up to be something very, very cool.

And that does it for another few weeks worth of game tips. Keep them coming folks — we anticipate having a bit more time in the coming months for more frequent updates about new games. And, as always, you can check in with the Unfiction forums News & Rumors section for more news and game tips.