Category: News (Page 111 of 183)

ARGNet Staff: A New Member, a New Role, and New Opportunities

July 12, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

We here at ARGNet would like to recognize the addition of a new team member, and the promotion of another. First, we’re happy to announce that long-time ARG community member Celina Beach (aka celina63) has joined our staff, and has already published a great article about Project Osprey. Celina was an invaluable resource at the latest ARGFest, recording video of all the panel discussions, which were later encoded and uploaded to Youtube. She is also a frequent panelist on the ARG Netcast series. Welcome, Celina!

Second, we’re ecstatic to tell you that Marie Lamb has moved up in the ARGNet ranks to become an associate editor. For those unaware of the responsibilities involved, Marie now has the dubious distinction of reading through, proofreading and publishing staff and reader-submitted articles, as well as answering emails and messages sent through our contact form. This is a big responsibility, especially for a volunteer (which we all still are), so we’re very grateful to the very lovely and wonderful Marie. She will work with Jessica Price and me to make sure that all the news that’s fit to print will get out to our readers in a timely fashion.

Speaking of articles, are you up for the task of writing short, blurbtastic news items about currently active games? Do you have a rumor that you want your fellow readers to know about? Is there a feature article or editorial burning in the back of your mind that you simply must publish before it gives you a stroke? Well, we’ve got a deal for you — ARGNet is looking for writers, and we think you might be someone we’re looking for. We have openings for staff writers who are interested in working in a professional(ish), fun, interesting environment, so if you want to help us crank the news out as a volunteer writer, drop us a line.

“I’ll have some nachos–oh, and one creepy guy to follow me home, please.”

July 11, 2007 / Marie Lamb

The next time you’re at the theater, why don’t you bring home more than a bellyful of popcorn? The horror movie HEAD TRAUMA is promising to follow you out of the theater. Filmmaker Lance Weiler is calling this special, multimedia presentation of his film a “cinema ARG” and admits that he wants to “disturb” people.

The chills will unfold July 14th at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, NY as part of their week-long retrospective on horror films. Bring your cellphone–â€œThis is one of the only films where youâ€™ll be asked to keep your cell phone on during the screening,â€ says Weiler.

The Labratory of Advanced Media Production: It Must Be Bloody Awesome to be Australian

July 11, 2007 / Michael Andersen

“Where the Bloody Hell are You?” It’s a simple question, and yet it becomes a pivotal one in the world of Alternate Reality Gaming, where live events, deaddrops, and local advertisements feature heavily in the experience. And thanks to the dedicated work of the Laboratory of Advanced Media Production, things are looking bright for Australian ARGers.

LAMP is faciliated by the Australian Film TV and Radio School and provides numerous seminars, workshops, and residentials to aid in the development of cross-media entertainment under the direction of Gary Hayes (Personalize Media). Fellow staffer Jackie Turnure refers to the organization as “a hothouse or idea incubator, an intense brainstorming residential” that takes eight development teams away for a six day program to refine their concepts and develop pitches under the guidance of guardian mentors. Past mentors have included Christy Dena author of Cross-MediaEntertainment.com and co-author of the ARG white paper, as well as Evan Jones (Stitch Media) and Tony Walsh (Clickable Culture).

On the first day of the LAMP residential, the eight teams experience a condensed, customized ARG designed by Gary and Jackie as both a team-building exercise and an introduction to the possibilities of the genre. You can find past games documented on the LAMP Wiki, most recently featuring an Italian mystery quest functioning concurrently in the real world and in Second Life. The remaining time is spent working with numerous experts dealing with issues such as cross-media production, financial modeling, and new media models. The residential culminates in a 15 minute visual presentation to a group of VIPs.

It’s alive! It’s huge! It’s 1-18-08…?

July 10, 2007 / Geoff May

4 8 15 16 23 42 — J.J. Abrams really has a thing for numbers. Beginning last week with the opening of the Michael Bay summer blockbuster movie Transformers, theater-goers were treated to a mysterious, home-movie-style teaser trailer for… well, no one knows exactly. All that’s known is what’s believed to be the release date, shown briefly at the end of the trailer: “1-18-08”. Until recently, the trailer was only viewable in theaters, prompting people to bootleg it on Youtube and various locations (to which Paramount responded by forcing removal of the videos). However, it’s now been made available at Apple.com/trailers for public viewing.

The teaser starts off with a guy walking into a surprise party – lots of people, lots of happy, smiling faces, and one surprised Rob, their “main dude”. Rob is apparently going away to Japan, and his friends are giving him a farewell party. Some of his friends are interviewed, recording their goodbyes. Then, without warning, the lights flicker, car alarms sound, and the apartment is shaken. People flock to the television for breaking news about what’s believed to be an earthquake. Soon people head to the roof to see how the neighborhood’s doing. A dull rumble is heard, and everyone turns to the horizon in shock as a large ball of fire erupts and expands in the distance, hurling large flaming debris into the air. What follows is broken audio and video of the panic stricken crowd scrambling to the street, which is teeming with people running away from whatever’s happening. What can only be described as a deep, loud groan is followed by a swirling object, which impact a skyrise and falls to the ground at breakneck speed, destroying vehicles and anyone in its way. It comes to a stop meters from the camera and we see it appears to be the head of the Statue of Liberty. And cut. A final quick line is shown from one of Rob’s friends – “It’s gonna be the best night ever”

From producer J.J. Abrams. In theatres, 1-18-08.

A Multitude of Game Alerts

July 4, 2007 / Jonathan Waite

As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. While browsing my inbox from the last week or so, I’ve come across no less than four game tips, and in no particular order, here’s what we know:

Frank Sturgis, who has previously worked at Allied Resource Management Consolidation Inc. let us know about some shady business going on at the company, and requests help with “get[ting]into their servers” via the ARGNet voicemail. The first problem we see? Frank Sturgis apparently died in 1993. Players are already discussing things at the Unfiction forums.

Joshua at Triad Genomics dropped two separate emails into our laps — one stating “This is the beginning of the Ancient Word,” and the other giving us a string of numbers (18882015221, or 1-888-201-5221). The one-liner comes from the Popul Vuh, an with Mesoamerican/Mayan connections. Discussion has also started on the Unforums with the first post made only yesterday. The game is a promotion for Christopher Forrest’s novel The Genesis Code, according to the official web site.

A new “augmented reality game” (their description, not ours) has appeared which is connected to the popular MeiGeist ARG which concluded earlier this year. The game, called “Timehole” (according to creator Jon Williams) is a proof-of-concept stereotype that utilizes GPS technology, has a 30 minute gameplay duration, and will start within the next six weeks. You can join in on the discussion at this Unforums thread.

Finally, there is an ARG developing in The Netherlands called They Are Here. The game kicked off with an elaborate staged event in which white tents were set up in broad daylight, leaking steam, while people in biohazard suits moved about the scene (thanks to Lieke Voermans for an excellent recounting at her blog). A short discussion has begun at the Unfiction forums.

Let the summer ARGs begin!

Live from Ludium II

June 26, 2007 / Michelle Senderhauf

Editor’s Note: ARGNet’s Michelle Senderhauf is attending and reporting from the Ludium II conference, put on by Indiana University’s Synthetic Worlds Initiative.

This is Michelle Senderhauf reporting live from the Ludium II conference at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The conference is being run in game format which is interesting since the conference itself is about developing principles for sensible video game policy.

The Ludium game has two goals –

1. to develop a set of policies regarding synthetic worlds that will be sent to real world governments and
2. vote a single person as our de facto spokesperson for the ideas in the platform.

We’re in the second day of the Ludium conference and the group has reached a point where we 33 nominated policy statements and 3 nominees for the Speaker.

Of interest to ARG players, the conference has had its share of intrigue. Several “spies” are playing the game and are trying to derail the process. Also “reporters” are roaming the hall trying to get a scoop. Also, several of the conference attendees or players have thrown a wrench into the puppetmasters’ plans. Overnight, several players tried to merge members from their opposing groups into one large group. A response for this was not written in the game rules that were originally laid out so the puppetmasters were sent scrambling.

These events have brought up many interesting questions. If you’re using a serious game to solve a real world problem at some point or at what point do you abandon the game framework? Is there a point where the game becomes unimportant? Or even a hindrance? Many of the conference attendees agree that the game has definitely had a positive effect. It has successfully facilitated discussions in an organized fashion and allowed for a democratic decision-making process.

What will be the result? We won’t know until the end of the conference. Stay tuned!