Author: Dee Cook (Page 4 of 5)

A Giant ARG?

October 25, 2005 / Dee Cook

Unfiction member MaxSteele writes in with the following:

On October 13, community member Addlepated discovered
href=”http://giantology.typepad.com” target=_blank”>Giantology
from a video showing a colossal discovery on the coast of Southern
India posted on
href=”http://www.snopes.com/photos/tsunami/colossus.asp”
target=”_blank”>Snopes. Over the next several days, different
entries appeared on this site ranging from an underwater
statue/fossil of a fish in the Philippines to giant
footprints found in Northeastern Iran.

On October 21, an entry titled “Giant Creature Discovered in Siberia”
appeared on the site. The entry linked to
href=”http://arkadysimkin.pl” target=”_blank”>Arkady Simkin’s personal
website. On here, there was a
href=”http://arkadysimkin.pl/Siberian_Ice_Giant.wmv”
target=”_blank”>video and a
href=”http://arkadysimkin.pl/radio_interview.mp3″ target=”_blank”>
radio interview detailing the discovery of a “mammoth type
creature” found in the Arctic by irregular radar readings.

After sending an email asking if Mr. Simkin wanted assistance, I
received a very lengthy email reply from a friend of his who told me
the site had been compromised, and Mr. Simkin’s email link changed to
a different one. His apartment has also been ransacked, and he is
currently ‘out of sight from those who would like to find him’.

Is this real? Is it the start of a big production ARG? Either way,
there is definitely activity surrounding this discovery. I believe
our community should begin to take a look. If nothing else, our
abilities to find out information and problem solving could help with
this new find in the Arctic.

Discussion and information can be found here. Thanks, Max!

ABC’s hit TV series Lost has captured the imagination of its viewing audience since its phenomenal pilot episode. There are at least 8 different official and fan-created websites (one of which we reported on before the summer) to explore for more clues and fan-fiction about the Lost universe.

Warning: this article may contain spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of ABC’s Lost.

THAT’s coming from Mark Z. Danielewski

August 17, 2005 / Dee Cook

A favorite book of many ARGers is Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves. Originally published several years ago on in bits and pieces on the internet, it was released in 2000 as a bound edition. The book sports a story-within-a-story framework and some experimental techniques, such as word coloring, text placement, and the like. There are also hidden messages scattered throughout, guiding readers to participate in the story as much as read it.

Years of speculation on his next work seem to be coming to a head now, as a message from the House of Leaves forum administrator directs members to visit the “THAT” forum. It appears Mark Z. Danielewski has finally broken his several-year silence on the board and has posted a message asking for input from readers, promising “something new”.

Resources:
House of Leaves discussion board.
Message from Mark Z. Danielewski.
Unfiction discussion on House of Leaves.
In-game book review of House of Leaves from Lockjaw.

Blitz: The League Launches Possible ARG

August 9, 2005 / Dee Cook

Another company jumps into the ARG marketing fray: Gamespot reports that Midway Games has launched an Alternate Reality Game to promote its upcoming game, Blitz: The League. In addition to the main site, there are also BlitzNewz and Red Dog Down. While some hardcore ARGers have expressed disappointment with the simplicity of the puzzles, it’s possible that things could heat up down the road.

Discussion at Unfiction.

Spontaneous Theater

August 4, 2005 / Dee Cook

Via Metafilter comes an interesting link about spontaneous theater, a concept being developed by UCF professor Jeff Wirth, among others.

In interactive theater, the audience is just as much a part of the action as the actors, and could actually be considered an extension of the cast itself. Honolulu’s Pure Theatre group (formerly Cruel Theatre) provided different scenarios to the 5 audience members, giving them an identifiable costume and a part to play.

Gorgonbox.com

June 6, 2005 / Dee Cook

At E3 a couple of weeks ago, some attendees were given promo cards bearing the URL www.gorgonbox.com. At first glance, it appears to be an online encoder/decoder to send secret messages to your friends, but delving deeper it appears there is a puzzle trail of sorts, waiting to be explored.