Category: News (Page 68 of 183)

Zombie Truth: Preparing for the Z1 Pandemic

July 14, 2009 / Brandie Minchew

Since news of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus broke this past March, the world has been watching and waiting for signs of the next devastating pandemic. But what if H1N1 is only one mutation of a human-engineered virus more deadly and infectious than any that has yet emerged? One group of researchers has turned to the internet to alert the world to the terrible possibility of a new biological threat – Z1, the Zombie Virus.

According to ZombieTruth.com, in 2001 a medical research team died at the hands of their patients, who had succumbed to a “viral-induced psychosis”. Researchers in the rescue teams tasked with retrieving the victims managed to salvage some of the data gathered by their dead colleagues. After several years of subsequent study, the troubling characteristics of the virus have worried researchers enough to go public with some of their findings and their continuing progress in order to help the world prepare for a possible outbreak.

Power to the Pixel Pitch

July 10, 2009 / Michael Andersen

Cross-Media will be king at this year’s London Film Festival on October 14-16. For the third year in a row, Power to the Pixel will be holding a forum that will allow digital innovators to rub shoulders with fellow practitioners and get in touch with potential finance partners through workshops, the conference, and a think tank. Capping off the experience, up to ten cross-media projects worldwide will pitch their stories to an open forum of financiers, commissioners, tech companies, online portals, media companies, and conference attendees. This year is the first year that the best pitch will be awarded the Babelgum Pixel Pitch Prize of Â£6,000, to help turn your dream into a reality.

Last year, four cross-media producers participated in the Pixel Pitch in order to gauge interest in the program. Lance Weiler presented his upcoming transmedia project HIM, while Yomi Ayeni presented his multi-media murder mystery Breathe. Jamie King presented his fictional documentary DARK FIBRE, and Arin Crumley presented As the Dust Settles, a multi-perspective documentary filmed at Burning Man 2008.

Since “360Â° Commissioning” is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, the projects were well received. Jamie King noted that “Power to the Pixel was directly responsible for putting DARK FIBRE in front of investors to help make our project possible.” Lance Weiler explained that the panel also provided a great opportunity to discuss ideas with other panelists. “That’s what’s great about Power to the Pixel. Not only does it help to make those connections, but you end up staying in touch with these people.”

Applications for the Pixel Pitch are due by August 14th at 6pm BST. Power to the Pixel will provide 3 night’s accommodation for successful applicants, and arrange for one-to-one meetings with potential financiers and partners. Submission guidelines and application forms are available at the Pixel Pitch website, and are open to cross-media stories spanning film, TV, online, mobile, and gaming platforms.

In addition to sponsoring the Â£6,000 prize for the best cross-media project, Babelgum will be making the sessions available on their website.

42 Entertainment Wins Prestigious Grand Prix Award at Cannes

June 27, 2009 / Michael Andersen

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Congratulations are in order to 42 Entertainment and all of the staff involved in the alternate reality game ‘Why So Serious?’ for taking home the coveted Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Cyber Lions ceremony on Wednesday, June 24.

According to an article by Ed White, Lars Bastholm, the Chief Digital Creative Officer at Ogilvy and president of the Cyber Lions jury, noted that the ‘Why So Serious?’ campaign “aggregated the elements of the Batman cultural phenomenon with an ARG, and added that the 18-months build-up prior to the film’s launch heralded a welcome trend in brands taking more time to create deeper relationships with consumers.” The article notes that fellow juror Bram De Rooij noted the underlying metrics supported the campaign’s success.

This is the second consecutive year that 42 Entertainment has taken home the Grand Prix Cyber Lions award. Last year, the company took home the prize for their work with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor for their work on the alternate reality game, ‘Year Zero.’

Congratulations again to the crew, which included Steve Peters, the previous owner of this website, ARGNet staff writer and frequent ARG Netcast panelist Brooke Thompson, and former ARGNet contributor Krystyn Wells.

Coral Cross: Awareness Is Spreading

June 25, 2009 / Michael Andersen

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Coral Cross has finally launched, with the goal of “gaming a pandemic for greater public vigilance.” At the community level, the game aims to outpace infections with awareness. Pursuant to that goal, the main page features a map of “the progress of pandemic awareness in real time.”

Upon registration, players take a simple 12-question quiz assessing their pandemic awareness. The more you know, the higher your vigilance score. Further vigilance points can be gained by methods including exploring alternative prioritization values, participating in the forums, and tracking down elusive links to “FluFacts” hidden throughout the website.

The game has just launched, so more methods of interaction may arise. So head on over to CoralCross.org, follow the Coral Cross twitter account, and start exploring.

Click Here for our prior coverage of Coral Cross.

Getting Played

June 17, 2009 / Jonathan Waite

Recently, I’ve learned that the author of a article here on ARGNet isn’t who he said he was. According to this post at the Unfiction forum, the person we thought was Martin Aggett isn’t really a person at all; it turns out that Martin Aggett is a persona, a character to be featured in an upcoming alternate reality game. Martin Aggett is, as the person responsible for creating him claims, “a complete work of fiction.” This caused me to take a step back last night, to take time to examine the situation and think about what it means here. This is what I’ve come up with:

Although Martin Aggett isn’t real, the article will stay put. I’m going to trust that the person that wrote the article didn’t have a hidden agenda when he wrote the content, although submitting it in the guise of a future ARG character was… how do I say this… not the best option. The content is still a great read, and I have enjoyed the comments added after publishing it.
Needless to say, I won’t be accepting any more articles from Martin Aggett. Our web site shouldn’t be regarded as “in-game,” and I’m disheartened to find out that we were deceived about the fictional nature of the author before publishing the article. I hope that our readers understand that our goal here at ARGNet is to deliver news and report on games, not to be used as a promotional device for any past, present or future campaign.
We are going to change the byline on the article submitted by Martin Aggett. One of the troubling aspects of this situation is that I asked the person I thought to be Martin what name he wanted for the byline, he said, “Martin Aggett will be fine.” This was only two weeks ago. I had no idea that Martin was a fictional creation, and would have never published the article under that byline had I known.

Chasing Down a Healthier Heart: Cryptozoology is Hard Work

June 9, 2009 / Michael Andersen

I saw a ninja rabbit this weekend.

Even for San Francisco, that’s a little out of the ordinary. But if Jane McGonigal and the American Heart Association have their way, you’ll be seeing a lot more of the elusive ninja rabbit and its cryptid compatriots over the coming months as part of Cryptozoo.

Cryptozoo (pronounced crypto ZO-oh) asks players to put themselves in the role of cryptozoologists, searching the city streets for cryptid tracks in the hope of a rare encounter with an elusive cryptid. Each cryptid has a particular method of running, and will be scared away unless the cryptid chasers match its movements. For example, cryptozoologists searching for a Slamina run backwards, making sure they don’t step on any cracks. More competitive cryptozoologists can challenge teams to a race mimicking one of the thirteen different species of cryptids. Players keep track of their steps with pedometers, and after completing 5,000 steps are inducted as official Cryptozoologists.

The first two official Cryptozoo chases occurred in San Francisco on June 5th and June 7th. Next week, the game is moving to New York City, where cryptic cryptid clues will be broadcast on the MTV screen in Times Square on June 12th from 11PM to 1AM. A second chase will occur in New York City on June 13th.

The game was spawned due to a prediction from the Institute for the Future that by 2019, the dividing line between exercise and play would erode. The American Heart Association challenged IFTF to make it happen sooner, and Jane McGonigal and her team picked up the gauntlet. Drawing heavily upon parkour for inspiration, Cryptozoo lowered the barrier for entry of the activity by focusing on simple tasks that transform urban environments into playgrounds such as running along curbs, sliding under railings, using parking meters as vaults, and spinning around trees. Natalie Cartwright created character designs and costumes for the various cryptids to add an additional layer of adventure to the experience. San Francisco cryptid chasers encountered a Slamina, Triptree, and Ninja Rabbit. Large gatherings of players organized on the Cryptozoo homepage may lead to additional appearances of wild cryptids.

Chasing cryptids is tiring work, but the experience is fun. Really fun. A number of random passerby joined the group for Friday’s late night run through the SoMA streets and gardens. And although this past weekend was the official launch of Cryptozoo, multiple groups met up in the United States, England, and New Zealand to give the game a try. Jane McGonigal explains that as people interact with their environment more in their day to day lives, there’s less of a need to go to the gym to get a workout. Her hope is that players will start to look around their communities and wonder:

Wouldn’t it be fun if I…