On April 11, 2001, Cloudmakers was founded as a discussion group for the interative web game centered around the film A.I. We officially solved the game on July 24, 2001. I first joined the game in late May and found the experience to be an entirely new one to me. When the game ended I looked around for more. First through Lockjaw and then Majestic and on and on since then. Personally, I have never been able to fully recapture the sense of community and comradery that Cloudmakers had achieved but I keep looking. Had I the financial backing, time and a suitable set of co-conspirators I would rectify the situation by creating my own game but in the meantime I have made a few general observations about what the ‘perfect ARG’ would be for me.
1. The beginning of the game should be hidden in plain sight.
Basically the first part of the game must be the discovery. This would probably be the most uncertain and aggravating part of the game for the puppetmasters. However, from a players point of view this aspect starts the game off with a feeling of mystery and achievement. A good example of this is The Beast concealing a phone number via the inclusion of dots in actual posters and trailers for the movie A.I.