Category: News (Page 103 of 183)

Book Two of Eldritch Errors comes and goes, PM chat tonight!

November 7, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

Now that Book Two of Eldritch Errors has wrapped up, the people behind the curtain are eager to get together with ARG players to talk about things, and so tonight at 9 pm ET, you can join Brian Clark, Brooke Thompson and a few other distinguished guests in the #stfeline room on the Chat-Solutions IRC network (irc.chat-solutions.org). If you’ve never accessed IRC chat before, you can use our handy-dandy chat applet here at the web site — simply pick the room from the drop-down list and give yourself a nickname, and join in the fun!

In case you’re not up to speed on all things EE, the puppetmasters have their own behind-the-scenes blog at Schmeldritch.com, where they have commented on a very interesting (and somewhat creeptastic) three-day live event that occurred late in October. While we missed the boat on live coverage (sorry!) you can read all about it at Sentry Outpost, the in-game forums for EE, through Biff’s summary post, as well as Mapmaker’s four-part detailed recap (part 1, 2, 3 and 4). From all accounts, it was a nerve-wracking, intense, unforgettable experience.

The Mailman Cometh

November 6, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

Today was a great day for getting mail. The newest Rolling Stone magazine arrived, as did the December copy of Macworld. Also, nestled between a CAA membership renewal notice and a flyer for a grocery store, was an inconspicuous package addressed to ARGN… from ARGN. ‘Weird,’ I thought, ‘I don’t remember sending myself a package.’ And then it hit me — we were being RABBIT HOLED!

Quickly, I flipped the package over and pulled the easy-open red tab. Inside, I found a DVD, a newspaper headline clipping, and a ripped picture of a fairly attractive woman. After scanning the contents (and the postmark) I went for the DVD and stuck it into my trusty laptop. The name of the disc, My DVD, revealed nothing of use, so I played it, and what I saw shocked and amazed me:

Yes, that was a scary looking guy, hitting a fence. And yes, that was a puzzle piece that flashed on the screen near the end of the video. Okay, so maybe it’s not as shocking and amazing as I might have previously stated, but it’s still a mysterious, ominous video that’s worth watching. Is this the lovechild of The Human pet and the Golden Jigsaw? Probably not, but it’s still something that has us curious about what’s to come.

So, how do we go forward from here? My guess is that we will have to wait until more people receive similar packages — Sean C. Stacey of Despoiler got one, and is going to be posting a message shortly about what he got. If anyone else out there has more information, be sure to send us a quick note (via the contact form, perhaps?) so that we can provide an update later in the week.

Why So Serious, Halloween Edition

October 30, 2007 / Michael Andersen

At the stroke of midnight (Eastern time, GMT -4) on Halloween, the newest chapter in 42 Entertainment‘s alternate reality game promoting the release of the movie “The Dark Knight” launched. Over the past few weeks, the website WhySoSerious.com depicted a slowly rotting Halloween pumpkin with a diminishing candle.

Just minutes ago, as the candle burnt out, the page changed to show 49 small pieces of paper on a worktable. Each piece links to a puzzle involving a US city. A note from the Joker says,

“Hey, clowns! Ready to do what you’re told? First, don’t start before daylight. With a police force this corrupt, it’s not safe to be out at night, and anyway, you won’t be able to see the things you want to find.

Follow all of my directions to the letter and send photos of what you find.

I’ll make it worth your while, I promise – for what that’s worth…

The campaign to promote the new Batman movie started in May with a handful of Joker playing cards discovered in a California comic book store, and led to a massive email campaign to reveal the new face of the Joker. Later in July, strange dollar bills were distributed at Comic-Con that led 140 lucky participants on a scavenger hunt throughout the city of San Diego. Now, it appears the scavenger hunt has expanded on a national scale as participants are encouraged to solve a series of puzzles and send in photographs.

Check back at ARGNet for updates as the story develops.

Click Here for the discussion at UnFiction.
Click Here for ARGNet columnist Geoff May’s wiki for the Dark Knight ARG.

How Was Your Weekend?

October 29, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

While the weekend represents quiet and solitude for many of you, alternate reality gaming does not stop for days of the week that begin with an S. We received a plethora of ARG tips, tidbits and updates through the past few days, and here are the highlights:

Lance Weiler, a recent guest on the ARG Netcast series, has written about Hope is Missing, the ARG that was created to promote the DVD release of his film Head Trauma. His article at The Workbook Project is chock full of details and statistics about the campaign, and is an excellent read for people finding themselves on either side of the Puppetmaster curtain.
This year marks the second time that the Trinity University’s Coates Library in San Antonio has run Blood on the Stacks, an alternate reality game that helps new students to get familiar with the school’s library. According to this entry at the SHU – Blogcause07 blog, “anecdotally the library and support staff reported feedback from students of feeling more familiar, less alien in the environment, the library was associated with fun and the staff were more approachable.” This appears to be yet another neat way that people are using ARGs to assist in a social environment.
Thanks to a press release we received, we know how survivors of a zombie-apocalypse will find each other — Last Day’s Journal. This is a project that began in 2005 at the hands of Superfreako Productions, a two-brother team that had the idea for a television show dedicated to the concept of a post-apocalyptic zombie-infested world.

Guinness Tipping Point ARG Update: I May Be Getting Wasted, But I Won’t Be Getting Rich

October 28, 2007 / Michael Andersen

A post on Spinning Around, a subsidiary of AMV BBDO, indicates that the game requires players to go to the Guinness website to enter codes to gradually unlock the video. The first of eleven unlock codes is already available, revealing a three second snippet from the commercial.

Checking the Game’s Terms of Service reveals that there will be weekly prizes offered starting on November 2nd and running until December 7th. Prizes include Guinness branded glass packs, mugs, pint aprons, pint oven gloves, luxury chocolate truffles, Pint bottle opener key rings, Toucan key rings, Toucan luggage tags, playing cards and egg cup sets for 175 lucky people each week. It also indicates the official name of the campaign is the “Guinness Tipping Point”.

The grand prize for completing all the puzzles is a solid gold domino, awarded randomly to a participant who registers and successfully completes all 11 clues. However, don’t get too excited — the contest portion of this alternate reality game is only open to mainland UK residents over the age of 18.

Click Here to enter your Tipping Point codes and register to win.
Click Here for previous coverage on the Guinness Tipping Point at ARGNet.
Click Here for the UnFiction discussion thread.

Guinness Campaign Might Not Get You Drunk, but That’s Not Stopping Me

October 25, 2007 / Michael Andersen

According to Adfreak, GUINNESSÂ®, with the help of the advertising agency AMV BBDO, will be launching a new alternate reality game. Described as a “kind of treasure hunt”, players will be scouring the net to be the first to find Guinness’ newest commercial by following a series of clues, codes, and puzzles. The agency warns, “don’t expect it to be easy. As you know, it just wouldn’t be Guinness if the reward didn’t involve a little waiting.”

The first video has already been posted on YouTube by MeestaRamon, the mayor of a village that will be throwing a little celebration. In the video, Mr. Juan Ramon promises an unforgettable adventure, noting “a grand treasure awaits the person who finds the path” while playing with a handful of dominos. It remains to be seen whether the “winner” of this alternate reality game will receive something more than the first look at Guinness’ new ad before it goes on television.

ExperienceCurve shares a letter from Mr. Ramon that suggests a closer look at the video might be in order.

Click Here to view the video.
Click Here for the Unfiction discussion thread.