Category: News (Page 90 of 183)

ACME Launches Aporia Agathon Project, Hits Coyote

July 17, 2008 / Michael Andersen

Aporia logo Mere days before this year’s ARGFest-o-Con, Aporia CME has launched the alternate reality game code-named “The Aporia Agathon Project” with the introduction of Mikey Surry, Private Eye. Over the past few months, the project team provided tidbits of clues regarding the game’s plot in dribs and drabs. With the addition of Surry’s website at SurryInvestigations.com, however, the slow trickle of information has increased to a steady stream of updates, and the hint of more to come.

In January 2008, Aporia CME released the game’s trailer. A month later, a promotional puzzle trail created to promote the LagTV Network revealed some tantalizing clues about the game. They even mailed a mask to players who posted YouTube videos making predictions about the game’s plot.

Diego, his sister Isobella, and his friend Jan are three youths with a secret. The secret wouldn’t be a very good one if it was already known, but a password used by Isobella referencing chaneques, creatures of Mexican folklore, implies the secret is slightly supernatural.

Which brings us to the present. Last week, Isobella posted a video describing an encounter with Mikey Surry of Surry Investigations that left him rather incapacitated and walletless. He’s still recovering, but just learned that someone in Boston this weekend knows a thing or two about his experiences. Completely coincidentally, I’m sure, a large contingent of ARG fans will be in town.

The game’s pace is picking up fairly quickly, with daily updates, two additional characters, a slew of blog entries, and some great acting. It’s safe to say that the game has finally launched, although the development team has rather gleefully refused to confirm or deny the launch when reached for comment.

Click Here for the thread at Unfiction
Click Here for the game’s wiki

Superstruct: (Re)Building Our Future

July 13, 2008 / Brandie Minchew

Our world is in deep trouble, and as the danger mounts, the Institute for the Future‘s Ten-Year Forecast team and Dr. Jane McGonigal have a new mission for you! IFTF recently announced Superstruct, “the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game.” Scheduled to begin on September 22, 2008, Superstruct is expected to run for six weeks. The human race has only 23 years left, and it’s up to you to save us! The countdown begins in 2019.

Dr. McGonigal is no stranger to games that use future forecasting as a design element. She helped develop World Without Oil, a game that asked players to imagine and document their lives during an oil shock. Like World Without Oil, Superstruct will ask players to project themselves into the year 2019, at a time when a supercomputer simulation dubbed “GEAS” has predicted that the human race has a survival horizon of 23 years. GEAS, or the “Global Extinction Awareness System,” has pinpointed five “super-threats” that may bring about the collapse of human civilization as we know it. (Perhaps incidentally, a “geas” is also a vow or binding, often magical or supernatural, that is difficult or impossible to ignore or cast off.)

What does the name “Superstruct” mean, and what does it tell us about the goals of the game? According to the game’s FAQ, “superstructing” refers to the building of new structures on top of old structures. The problems uncovered in 2019 indicate that the existing structures – social, commercial, environmental, etc. – are not enough to support the survival of the human race. Superstruct asks players to work towards building new structures and finding new solutions to overcome the “super-threats” identified by the GEAS.

“This is a game of survival, and we need you to survive” states IFTF’s mission briefing. Rather than simply projecting or predicting the future, Superstruct aims to “invent the future” through player contributions, survival stories, strategies, and more. “Bring what you know and who you know,” IFTF’s Superstruct FAQ invites, “and we’ll all figure out how to make 2019 a world we want to live in.”

While we wait for September, IFTF has invited players to get a head start on the game by sending a description of their future selves and their lives in 2019 to [email protected]. Players’ responses will be posted on the Superstruct blog throughout the summer.

Holomove Post-Game Chat Announced

July 9, 2008 / Celina Beach

Holomove logo Spring is over, but the “little birds” are still whispering – this time regarding the long-awaited Holomove Post-Game PM Chat! Members of the team behind the game will be gathering in Boston on Friday, July 18th at 4PM ET to chat with players, mere hours before ARGFest officially kicks off. Fear not, for non-ARGFesters will still be able to participate via live audio chat (details to follow).

Stay tuned to the Unforum thread or ARGNet for more details as they are made available.

Editor’s note: We had originally announced the wrong date, but we have it correct now. Sorry for the confusion!

Get off your Computer and Get a (War) Job

July 3, 2008 / Michael Andersen

Resistance 2 / 42 Entertainment GamePro Magazine’s August 2008 issue is offering a 10-page preview of Resistance 2. The GamePro website offered a sneak peek at the preview, leading to the trailhead for the rumored Resistance 2 ARG. Phew. Following so far?

One of the WWII-era advertisements directed me to visit GetaWarJob.com, a recruiting website for the American military. A business card on the website told me to dial 866-931-9417 to hear a rousing speech urging me to enlist. And without even realizing what I was doing, I found myself enlisting for military service on the registration page. Fine upstanding citizen that I am, I expressed an interest in “Law Enforcement”, one of the many military fields available. The recruiter got back to me fairly quickly verifying my interest in an honorable career of government service.

Underlying this military fervor is a trifling concern. It seems a deadly strain of influenza is ravaging Europe. “La Grippe” made the Great War fairly uncomfortable for its soldiers…somehow, I can’t imagine it being any easier the second time around. Although as long as I eat my vegetables, avoid immoral behavior, and floss daily, I’m sure I’ll be fine. And the discovery of oddly familiar alien skulls deepens my sense of foreboding. Indeed, an encrypted message within the advertisement asks “How far will they go Project Abraham”, leading to ProjectAbraham.com. The morse code at the end of the video at the “Project Abraham” site leads to a page showing a group of soldiers.

When ARGNet last asked 42 Entertainment to confirm rumors that they were developing an alternate reality game for Resistance 2, they offered no comment. The privacy policy reveals that this campaign is sponsored by Sony Computer Entertainment America, Resistance 2’s publisher. Whether or not 42 Entertainment are behind this project, the interface looks slick, the audio and recordings have a nice vintage feel, and the propaganda posters will take you back a few decades. It remains to be seen whether this game will be as “viral” as the flu, but initial indicators look promising.

Click Here for the thread at UnFiction
Click Here for the sneak peek of the preview of GamePro Magazine

Update: Some of you might be wondering why the woman in the ProjectAbraham video (let’s call her “Cassie”) looks so familiar. Although this has not been confirmed by official sources, “Cassie” bears a striking resemblance to Katee Sackhoff, an actress you may know better as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace from Battlestar Galactica (or as the voice of Female Marine #3 from Halo 3 for you diehard Halo fans). The resemblance is uncanny, really.

UPDATE: Prototype 161 Launches July 12

June 29, 2008 / Jonathan Waite

For those that remember the postcard we received a few days ago with the enigmatic “Wish You Were Here” message, we can now point you towards something more than just a vague location in New York City. A comment was left for that article by prototype161, stating, “Infringement will not be tolerated. Your sticker has been removed.” This led us to look at prototype161.com, which is the home of prototype161 investigations. There’s a client section which offers solutions when “problems cannot be solved by ordinary methods,” and a recruitment section that reveals details about a live event in New York on July 12th.

Two days ago, a letter was received, addressed to me, telling me that I have been selected as a prospective agent of prototype161. According to the letter, I will play a vital role in the development of a new “perscrutative method” — yes, I had to look up perscrutative, and it means thorough search — in the evening of July 12th. I hope that my vital role can be played as I sit at home, because I won’t be in New York City on the 12th. The letter encourages me to assemble a team of not more than eight people, and notes that if I am unable to locate a sufficient number of friends, some will be provided for me. What are you saying, mysterious recruiter, I can’t find my own friends?! Just kidding.

The only potential puzzle I’ve found so far is on the letter itself — the footer contains the text prototype161 form LMTH.”EUR”, with the E in EUR red in color. Our friend Sean C. Stacey at Despoiler received a postcard and a letter as well, and there is an ongoing thread at the Unfiction forums for developments thus far.

If you are in the New York area and wish to represent ARGNet at the recruitment event, drop us a comment or a voicemail and we’ll get in touch. Anyone attending the event that is able to take pictures or video, please send them our way, with our thanks and appreciation!