Author: Jonathan Waite (Page 20 of 37)

Jonathan Waite was an innocent lurker when The Beast hit the Internet in 2001. From his temporary residence in Jeon Ju, South Korea, he was immediately captivated by the lush environment that had been laid out before his feet. Moving back to his hometown (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) in July of the same year, Jonathan continued to be involved in the burdgeoning genre of Alternate Reality Gaming, getting into Plexata and finding a voice on the forums dedicated to the game. Once Lockjaw hit in 2002, there was no looking back. Jonathan adopted the alias 'jamesi', started a fansite called GuysGuise, and the rest is history.
Jonathan can currently be found as an administrator on Unfiction's forums, as well as co-hosting the ARG Netcast audio show. In the past, he has been involved with Smirkbox, a humor site that focuses on the realm of ARGs, as well as actively creating and maintaining JMX, a puzzle trail website that is currently working (yes, still) on a second run.

As a freelance developer and consultant, Jonathan has worked on such games as Ocular Effect (for Fallen on ABC family), Reach the Future (aka Holomove, for Microsoft), Enitech Labs (for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on FOX) and Monster Hunter Club (for The Host by Magnolia Films). He is happily married and has two wonderful daughters.

McGonigal Chat Transcript is Online, and the Second Life Future Salon

January 14, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

On December 19th, 2006, Jane McGonigal was interviewed by CNET‘s Daniel Terdiman at the CNET Bureau in Second Life, as we previewed the day before. As a follow-up, readers who were not able to get into the live audio interview may want to know that the chat transcript has been posted online for the past two weeks in the Newsmaker section at CNET. McGonigal talks about her history with alternate reality gaming, the possibilities of ARG within Second Life, Cruel 2 B Kind and the Nintendo Wii.

Speaking of Second Life, it’s been quite a while since we were supposed to have reported on the Second Life Future Salon podcast, so now’s just as good a time as any. On November 27th, 2006, the Second Life Future Salon podcast series recorded its second episode. Tony Walsh (Clickable Culture), Elan Lee (42 Entertainment), Adrian Hon and Dan Hon (Mind Candy) joined Jerry Paffendorf of The Electric Sheep Company for a discussion of alternate reality gaming and its relation to Second Life, which also gave the panel an opportunity to pontificate about the future of ARGs in the Second Life universe. While the audio quality is not the greatest, it’s an interesting discussion and is worth taking a listen to.

ARG Netcast, Episode 8

January 1, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

We were big liars when we said that Episode 7 of the ARG Netcast would be the last of 2006. Yesterday, Jonathan Waite was joined by Sean C. Stacey, Marie Lamb, Brooke Thompson and Carie Ward for a look back at 2006, and a look forward towards what might happen in 2007. Episode 8 is our year-end Review and Predictions episode, one you don’t want to miss!

The Vanishing Point

December 24, 2006 / Jonathan Waite

A mysterious message posted recently in the news section of MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) IE Blog has people buzzing about the possibility that another large-scale alternate reality game is about to go live. The image, which includes a complicated cipher code and a link to the Vanishing Point web site, was found by a number of people at the Neowin forums who have done a lot of work since the discovery to solve some of the puzzles already in place. One of the features of the web site is a countdown, which is counting down to January 8th, and further investigation of the Flash file reveals that there is an event occurring at the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas that day. Conveniently, this coincides with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which starts on that day in Las Vegas. The connection between Microsoft and the CES makes this page on the site very interesting, where “high-end laptops, gaming computers, media centers, software, gaming consoles, media players, and games” are said to be won when the countdown hits zero.

According to this Neowin post, the Flash used on the web site points back to 42 Entertainment, creators of I Love Bees and Last Call Poker. Regardless of who is making the game, the message is already getting out to a number of sources — one person has received things in the mail, while a video (used to be on YouTube, but has since disappeared) includes various clues about the mystery so far. It will be interesting to see just what happens in the days ahead with this project, so stay tuned and keep your eyes open for developments.

:: Trailhead
:: Discussion at Neowin forums
:: Discussion at unfiction forums

A&E Unveils Sopranos Cross-Media Experience

December 20, 2006 / Jonathan Waite

So, it turns out that even a mob boss from Jersey can’t resist the sweet smell of cross-media gaming. In January, when the hit HBO series The Sopranos begins a syndicated run on A&E, it will be accompanied with a “real-time online experience” touted as “fantasy sports meets scavenger hunt,” according to a press release ARGNet received yesterday. The Sopranos A&E Connection game will be played online, but will involve real-world game pieces found in different locations, such as billboards and magazine ads. While the game has already launched (it was possible for players to start collecting game pieces beginning on December 15th), new players can register at the trailhead web site before the action really gets going on January 10th, 2007 – the night the first two episodes of Season One debut on A&E. Even more exciting for the ARGNet faithful — we have a unique opportunity for a few lucky readers to win fabulous Sopranos prizes!

Jane McGonigal on CNET Tomorrow

December 18, 2006 / Jonathan Waite

Jane McGonigal, the well-known alternate reality gaming designer and academic, will be interviewed tomorrow by Daniel Terdiman of CNET in the Second Life virtual world. McGonigal, creator of Cruel 2 B Kind and former lead designer at 42 Entertainment, will be talking in the theater of the CNET bureau in Second Life, marking the second occasion in less than a month where ARG designers have spoken in the Second Life realm — the other, a Second Life Future Salon discussion, will be discussed in a future article here at ARGNet.

According to the CNET Gaming Blog, the interview will happen at 11 am PST (2 pm EST, 7 pm GMT) but you must be registered at Second Life to access the CNET SL Bureau.

ARG Netcast, Episode 7

December 3, 2006 / Jonathan Waite

We bring you a merry netcast,
We bring you a merry netcast,
We bring you a merry netcast,
The last one of the year (maybe)!

Carie Ward, Brooke Thompson, Sean C. Stacey and Jackie Kerr return to sling the ARG dirt with Jonathan Waite. Episode seven is a doozy, clocking in at 1 hour and 7 minutes, but it’s definitely something that’ll warm your heart this holiday season. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through FeedBurner or via iTunes.

Game News

A bit more on the Lost Planet ARG we talked about last week, which Carie wrote about on Wednesday.
Lawn Games For Life is sweeping the U.S. with geocaching and puzzle solving. Not only did Carie write about it for us here, but she also started a guide. You go, girl!
This is also our Puzzle of the Week, as the players need help getting to items left in the Southwestern U.S.
Steve Peters of 42 Entertainment continues on his cross-podcast tour with an exciting and informative interview with GeeksOn.
Enoch of Gatewood is new on the scene, but the story leaves us giggly.
The creator of Hell Is Not Gone asks for help in advertising their game, almost a month after players were first pointed to it. By him.
Jericho may have something ARGish brewing for their off-season, but if they don’t, it’d be a shame.
Second Life Future Salon panel discussion on ARGs took place on the 27th of November, we hope to have access to the audio from that discussion soon.
EDOC Laundry stirs back to some sort of life, partly by accident. Whatever the case, this might be your chance to get in on the ground floor, again.