Month: March 2011 (Page 2 of 2)

PC Studio “3:15 Stories” T-Shirt Giveaway

March 14, 2011 / Michael Andersen

The Ides of March have almost arrived, and with them, the release of Patrick Carman’s 3:15 Stories app. In honor of the release, Carman and PC Studio have graciously offered to give away fifteen 3:15 Stories t-shirts to ARGNet readers.

And what better way to give away fifteen 3:15 Stories t-shirts than to have three methods of entry? That’s right, up to three chances to win fifteenÂ 3:15 Stories shirts for three days, starting on 3/15.

You can use all three methods to triple your odds of winning, but entrants are limited to one entry per method, and each person can only win one shirt. No purchase is necessary, but this contest is limited to U.S. residents in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia (excluding U.S. territories) who are 13 years or older as of the beginning of the contest period on March 15th.

–Entry Method #1
Download the free 3:15 Stories app from 315stories.com for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone. Take a picture of your phone running the app and email the photo it to [email protected] with the subject line “3:15 Stories in the Wild.”
–Entry Method #2
Email [email protected] with the subject line “Paul Chandler Scares Me,” and tell us about your favorite Patrick Carman book or what you thought of the 3:15 Stories trailer on 315stories.com.
–Entry Method #3
Follow @argn on twitter and tweet/retweet the following message:
“RT @argn Retweet for a chance to win a “3:15 Stories” t-shirt from PC Studio http://bit.ly/h2OiIy #315contest”

All entries must be sent between 3:15AM EST on March 15th and 3:15AM EST on March 18th. After collecting all entries, ARGNet will randomly select the 15 potential winners and notify them on or before March 21st, 2011 (by email for Entry Methods #1 and #2, by a twitter Direct Message for Entry Method #3). Potential winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address before they forfeit their prize and an alternate is notified. Read below the cut for additional rules.

SCVNGR Wants You to LevelUp with Your Local Merchants

March 13, 2011 / Jane Doh

As previously reported on ARGNet, in the last year, location-based gaming start-up SCVNGR has been taking the smartphone app world by storm, partnering with giant entertainment companies as well as local businesses, nonprofits, and cultural institutions to build “a game layer on top of the world.” Very much a driving force in the overall gamification movement, SCVNGR has just launched a new venture, LevelUp, and is moving into the realm of “local deals” ventures like Groupon and Living Social.

At a press conference in Philadelphia, SCVNGR Chief Rockstar Michael Hagan kicked off the first LevelUp deals at the “inspired” Boloco burrito chain in Boston and PYT, home of the “craziest burgers” in Philadelphia. (They probably earned that moniker because of their Krispy Kreme burger.) LevelUp brings together the check-in, the challenge, and the reward all “in one bite,” according to Hagan, and benefits local merchants in the long term by “scripting a reason to return.”

Fourth Wall Studios Experience Infusion of Cash, Talent

March 8, 2011 / Michael Andersen

Earlier today, Fourth Wall Studios announced it received an initial $15 million round of financing from Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, along with access to a fund of up to $200 million through the Soon-Shiong’s California Capital Equity. VentureBeat reports that the “studio will be incorporated as a new company under the same name.” A number of prominent alternate reality game developers including Steve Peters, Maureen McHugh, Jay Bushman, and Jackie Turnure have announced they have joined this new company, which stakes the claim as the first Alternate Reality Entertainment (ARE) studio.

Fourth Wall Studios was founded by alternate reality gaming powerhouses Elan Lee, Sean Stewart, and Jim Stewartson after the three stepped down from 42 Entertainment. After departing 42 Entertainment, the three worked on projects including Watchmen‘s 6 Minutes to Midnight, Eagle Eye: Free Fall Halo 3: ODST‘s in-game experience Sadie’s Story. In an interview with Jawbone TV, Modernista revealed Fourth Wall’sÂ involvement in the Dexter alternate reality game as well. Now, with additional funding from Soon-Shiong, Fourth Wall aims to extend these immersive storytelling techniques to mainstream audiences by enabling the interaction with fictional worlds using mobile devices, browsers, and social networks. The studio plans on developing original content and content made in partnership with top-tier creators from film, television, video games and publishing. These experiences,Â according to the Los Angeles Times, would be financed through sponsorships and micro-transactions.

So You Want to Be a Villain?

March 8, 2011 / Jane Doh

Finally, a chance to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a masked villain! At least,Â that’s what I thought when I received a personal invitation from the mysterious T.S. to join the Villain Training Program. Some clever sleuthing from the online community discovered the game’s website. The siteÂ features a villain’s silhouette artfully framing a YouTube video teaser for the project, indicating the experience will launch March 12th.

As villainy knows no borders, this grassroots alternate reality game promises an immersive global adventure involving both online and offline game elements. The story will also unfold through a digital graphic novel that will unlock over the course of the campaign. Players will have the opportunity to join T.S. in masked villainy or oppose him . . . which side will you be on?

Alternate reality gamers are used to helping out the hero-protagonist, but why not support the villain? According to the game’s creator, “[m]ost of us grew up reading super hero comics. But, in my opinion, the villains are the most interesting characters . . . [t]his experience will introduce participants to a villain they will actually be able to interact with.” How will players respond to this grassroots game’s villain? Will participants be “pawns in a worldwide game of chess” between the forces of good and the army of evil-doers? What is this mysterious Thanatos Project, and how will it play into the story?

The lines are already being drawn at the Unfiction forums. Join them, and stake your claim in the perennial battle between super-heroes and super-villains.

PC Studio Takes the Reading Experience Mobile

March 3, 2011 / Michael Andersen

Books as a form of entertainment are facing stiff competition from an increasing array of options. Patrick Carman, author and head of PC Studio, views this as particularly true with the younger generation, where mobile devices provide constant access to alternative content. As he explains, “if you’re twelve . . . and you don’t have an iPod Touch [or mobile device], somebody standing two people to your left does.” Responding to this shift in the consumption experience, Carman has two apps in development that aim to create a reading experience with the mobile environment in mind.

Books have been migrating to mobile devices for some time now, but traditionally, the pulp edition is imagined (and released) first. Carman’s thinking, however, is that “books have so much to compete with, that trying to stand out as a book, it’s almost better to blend in. [Young readers] are already doing all of these things anyway, so let’s see if we can get a way to have them also reading as part of everything they’re doing, as opposed to just putting it all away and pulling out a book.” What follows is a preview of two projects Carman is using to explore this blended approach to reading: 3:15 Stories and Dark Eden.

Month: March 2011 (Page 2 of 2)

PC Studio “3:15 Stories” T-Shirt Giveaway

SCVNGR Wants You to LevelUp with Your Local Merchants

Fourth Wall Studios Experience Infusion of Cash, Talent

So You Want to Be a Villain?

PC Studio Takes the Reading Experience Mobile

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