Category: News (Page 181 of 183)

She’s a Flight Risk

May 15, 2003 / Steve Peters

An interesting article in Wired on May 7th tells of an interesting blog (aflightrisk) by Isabella V, a supposed heiress on the run from her family. “On March 2, 2003, at 4:12 p.m., I disappeared,” the journal starts. “My name is Isabella V. I’m twenty-something, and I am an international fugitive.”

Discussion as to whether this is all a hoax is approaching a fever pitch. There are many blogs and boards discussing this whole thing, and even Isabella herself has posted in various places outside of her blog to plead her case.Â Most of the current speculation and discussion can be found in the comments at the flightrisk blog, and at The Agonist.

So, is flightrisk an ARG? A Hoax? A viral marketing campaign for a novel? It is interesting that the Wired article mentions The Beast, so it really makes one wonder. ARG or not, Isabella seems to be screaming “This is not a game!”

Blog 1: aflightrisk.blogspot.com
Blog 2: aflightrisk.com
Discussion: Unfiction’s News and Rumors, The Agonist Bulletin Board

Teleport, Anyone?

May 3, 2003 / Steve Peters

The other day, we received a couple very odd emails, along with a subsequent package in the mail. The contents of the package and the corresponding website have become a somewhat serious obsession around here, as we just don’t know what to make of what we’ve found.

The email simply said “TELEPORT is a multidimensional transport system powered by a network of consciousness exploration units, or trips,” and gave a web-address: www.redkore.com. We then received a subsequent email offering to send us one of these ‘trips’ to explore. A few days later, a ‘trip package‘ arrived which consisted of several cards, a plastic holder, something that can best be described as a refrigerator magnet, and a lanyard, but no instructions. Odd, indeed. We have absolutely no clue what this is about or where it’s heading, but it certainly is intriguing. We’ve been playing around with these cards, scrutinizing the patterns to no avail. The only clues we can find are in the meta tags of the Redcore website, which include keywords such as astral projection, teleportation, and (most notably) Alternate Reality Gaming.

Redkore’s site includes forums, some info, and a store where trip packages can be purchased for $19.95. A press release states in part: “…TELEPORT is powered by a network of 18 consciousness exploration units, or trips. Trips work by attuning the intellectual, imaginative and intuitive centers of the user’s consciousness. While each person comes to understand a trip in a unique manner, one of TELEPORT’s most intriguing qualities is that each trip generates an objective portal which is the same for everyone. This means that people can use a particular trip to engage group transports, exploring wild landscapes together even when they might be separated by significant time or distance in the physical world. Of course, TELEPORT works just as well for individuals who like to fly alone.”

Definitely a big WTF? factor here. Who knows where Teleport will lead, but we’ll keep you posted.

Website: www.redkore.com
Discussion: unfiction’s Teleport forum

ARGFest-o-Con Provides Fun, Mystery, and a Name for a Game

April 27, 2003 / Steve Peters

About a dozen denizens of the ARG world converged on Las Vegas this weekend for a semi-casual get together. This was the first time that we know of where players and even producers of various games have done anything like this, and it was great to get to meet people who were only previously known by their online personas.

Attenders expected surprises, and they weren’t disappointed, as they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a new game launch! Upon checking in to their hotels, a few folks were given packages from Stephen Lake, who is a fictional character in the ARG that had been dubbed L³. Players were sent on a scavenger hunt around Las Vegas that included a round of drinks courtesy of Mr. Lake, a search of the Las Vegas Convention Center, and a trip to the Hard Rock Hotel.

Ultimately, they ended up with a package containing a note and about twenty mini-CDs. The clues on the disks led to the discovery of Acheron. Acheron, to which L³ was a apparently teaser, will be launched this summer. Full Story…

The main event of ARGFest-o-Con was a party at a secret location somewhere in Las Vegas. In order to find the place, partyers first needed to meet a “man in a white hat” who would then give them instructions on how to complete a mini-quest, which ended up at the location of the party. One puzzle solve would lead to the next clue, and so on, and the first to reach the destination won a small prize.

The winner of this mini-scavenger hunt, called “Martha’s Mystery Tour” was Unfiction member DanmanD (pictured at right) who received an official ARGN T-Shirt and free dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was,Â incidentally, the secret destination. Not only was DanmanD the youngest person in attendance, but in my book he also gets the Most Dedicated ARG’er Award, and his father Peter gets the Most Dedicated Dad Award, for accompanying his son on the 12-hour bus ride to get to Las Vegas!

Unfiction member Diandra was also presented with an ARGN T-shirt for being the first to complete the online portion of the journey. CabalAgent23, the man behind Chasing the Wish then surprised us all withÂ commemorative CTW shirts, mugs and even frisbees! The evening culminated with a limo ride (courtesy of

Diandra) to the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. Congratulations to DanmanD, and thanks to everyone who attended and made ARGFest-o-Con an unqualified success!

A complete walkthrough of Martha’s Mystery tour is posted here.

Cloudmakers Turns Two

April 11, 2003 / Steve Peters

Landmark day! Two years ago this very day, the premiere Alternate Reality community, the Cloudmakers, was founded. Little did they know what they were in for! Three months, over 7000 members and a ride we’ll never forget, thanks to all of the tireless moderators and mysterious puppetmasters.

You can still stop by the Cloudmakers Yahoo Group to see where it all happened. Read The Guide, browse The Trail, visit Jeanine Salla, Evan Chan, and re-live a little ARG history. Nothing since has approached the amazing mystery and awe felt as players stumbled upon an extensive alternate reality world set in the future.

To the Cloudmakers Moderators and to the folks behind the game, especially Elan Lee and Sean Stewart, we say thanks again! We lift our glasses to you all

ARGFest-o-Con April 25-27 in Las Vegas

April 7, 2003 / Steve Peters

Well, you’ve heard of Fark Parties and Cloudmakers Parties (well okay, maybe you haven’t), so we’re pleased to announce our very own ARG Party: ARGFest-o-Con 2003.

In reality, the party itself will be on the evening of April 26th, but most folks are making a weekend out of it. The festivities will begin at 5:00 pm in front of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. In order to find outÂ where to go from there, attendees must solve an online puzzle to obtain specific instructions (or just cheat and read the discussion/solve here).

ARGN’s and Unfiction’s sitemasters will be in attendance, as well as one or more Puppetmasters, plus perhaps a few surprises. If you’ve been looking for a chance to get away, come join us in Las Vegas and meet some fellow Alternate Reality Gaming afficianados.

If you think you can make it, drop us a line and prepare yourself for some fun, some sun, and just maybe something unexpected.

Search4e Calls Off Search?

March 22, 2003 / Steve Peters

Search4e has seeminly joined the list of failed Alternate Reality Games, as an email was sent out this morning to players seemingly cancelling the game. The email states, in part, “It is with deep regret that True Crime Books announces that it is ending all formal ties with the Ed Sobian case….This decision was not taken lightly.” Continuing with their attempts at making player communications look to be a part of the search4e world, it seems the producers are announcing the cancellation of the search for Ed Sobian.

The troubled game was suspended for a while at the end of 2002, while new sponsorship/financing was sought. Once it restarted, the producers seemed unable to regain momentum, and compounded their problems by making decisions that further limited their player base. We are still awaiting final confirmation of the death of search4e, at which time it will be added to the list of ARG meltdowns.