Category: Info (Page 15 of 16)

Menace Media

November 27, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

About a month ago, a mysterious Instant Message appeared on the screens of at least five UnFiction forum members, asking for help. Well versed in the way of the ARG, the membership found the trail to Menace Media, which has kept a dedicated force of ARGonauts busy with IM conversations, puzzles, and emails, all wrapped around an interesting story involving the misplaced Matzai people. Looks like it’s not too late to jump on board, so get in on this one before it’s too late.

Discussion at UnForums

Wiki hosted at Patmo

IRC Chat in #menacemedia hosted by Chat Solutions

d1g1t4l t0m Pwnz you, n00b!!!

August 24, 2005 / Larry Eisner

Greg Mentis’ life has been turned upside down. The private school he attends in England has been rocked by the revelation that the headmaster has gone missing. The new headmaster is strange and mysterious, and there are suspicions that there is a sinister plot afoot amongst some of the teachers to cause trouble to ends unknown.

This is the basic premise of “Greg’s Life” a new g-roots ARG that popped up on the ARG radar on August 22nd. So far, there hasn’t been too much to stump a veteran ARGonaut, but the trailhead has led to at least an interesting couple of days in terms of sites, characters, and plot developments.

Greg has alerted us that “Celsus School” (warning: benign pop-up-heavy site!) has had some strange happenings lately, and that he and his friend Tom (4 l33t H4X0R!!1!one!) are some of the few students who think there is a vast conspiracy behind the situation. As usual, it’s up to us to dig in and see what we can find. Greg and Tom both have blogs to keep us updated, not to mention periodical IRC chat sessions taking place helping things along as well.

While the premise is fairly “traditional” for the genre, there is some potential to this game. Rest assured that ARGN will be following up with this game, and keep you updated if it appears to be making waves.

Discussion at UnFiction.

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.

The EVA Project

August 3, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

Got this in the ARGN inbox a couple of days ago:

On July 31, 2005, an unknown assailant executed a highly orchestrated disruption of the EVA Project Orientation seminar.

In what could be considered a hostile attack, this individual employed guerilla tactics and advanced technology to sabotage the event and seize the critical EVA Core.

EVA Project technologist Shakuhachi Muromachi is also missing and wanted for questioning.

Please visit http://eva.unvirtual.com/ for more details.

If you have any information regarding the identity of the perpetrator, the location of the EVA Core, or the whereabouts of Dr. Muromachi, we ask for your immediate assistance.

Please contact URI or visit the EVA Project site for more information.

EVA Project
http://eva.unvirtual.com/

Unvirtual Realities, Inc.
415-820-1590

Your tips will be completely confidential.

We found information about Project EVA on UnFiction and we assume that this must be related.

“Art of the Heist” Team Announces Roundtable

June 8, 2005 / Steve Peters

Immersive Gaming has announced it will be sponsoring a special discussion event at the upcoming ARGFest in New York City. “The Art of the Game” will feature the team behind Audi’s “The Art of the Heist” in an open roundtable about the behind-the-scenes aspects of writing, developing and implementing an alternate reality game on a major scale. The discussion will take place at the Hotel Penn in New York City on Saturday, July 23, 2005 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

In addition, there will be a live webchat during the event, during which virtual participants worldwide can ask questions of the team. For updates and further information, visit immersivegaming.com.

2005 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship

May 26, 2005 / Dee Cook

For those of you who can’t seem to get enough of challenging puzzles, check out the Google Puzzle Championship. Questions run the gamut from math problems (like the Japanese Sudoku puzzle which has taken much of the world by storm) to word problems to testing your eye for detail. A practice test is available here, or you may view the 2004 test here. Full rules may be found here.

If you are lucky (or skilled) enough to be one of the top two United States contestants, you will be invited to represent the U.S. Team this October at the World Puzzle Championship in Hungary. Good luck! Last year devjoe from the ARG community placed third in the Google challenge and went to the championship in Croatia, where the U.S. team took first prize.