Category: Update (Page 27 of 41)

Chat tonight with John Little, puppetmaster for Waiting for AV

October 31, 2006 / Brooke Thompson

Waiting for AV came to a frustrating end last night, leaving players wondering just what had happened and if their efforts to complete the game’s ritual were successful. This morning, players woke to learn that while they did manage to complete the final ritual, doing so resulted in the death of Shamash, a player-turned-character.

Not without criticism after starting with graphic imagery and then struggling to adapt to the players, the game generated a small, tight-knit group of players who waited patiently through moments in a game that seemed as if it might end at any moment. While the end-game didn’t bust the climactic scale, the players report that they enjoyed the time that they spent together and are pleased to see such a small independent effort come to a successful conclusion.

John Little, puppetmaster of the effort, has updated the Altus Veritas website with a thank you to his players, and will be participating in a Puppetmaster Chat this evening at 9pm EDT/8pm CDT in #av on irc.chat-solutions.org.

Find out more information at Altus Veritas and the unforums. For those that would like to participate in the chat, you can use the ARGNet chat applet or connect through your favorite IRC client.

New Venture Capital For Perplex City, and the “Earth Link Locked Down”

October 27, 2006 / Brooke Thompson

Mind Candy, the team behind Perplex City, has announced that they have secured an additional $7 million in funding from Accel Partners, Index Ventures, and NewMedia Spark. The funding shows confidence in the growing company and their ability to build and develop new forms of entertainment such as Alternate Reality Games and comes in advance of a major expansion in 2007.

The announcement brings with it great news for all of us involved in that seemingly never-ending hunt for the missing cube. No, the link between Earth and Perplex City is still locked down, Earlywine is still the Council Leader, and the Cube has not yet been found — this news is even more exciting. There is more Perplex City on the way! It is official. The second season of the popular game will be driving us mad sometime in early 2007. They also promise that there are loads of new Perplex City products in development including books, video games, and mobile content.

The UK-based company is also expanding beyond Perplex City and is currently working on a new puzzle brand that will be aimed at a younger demographic. With the creativity and level of depth shown with the universe surrounding Perplex City, we can only assume that children everywhere will have their imaginations ignited and their minds broadened â€“ much to the alarmed delight of their parents and teachers.

Congrats go out to the team! We canâ€™t wait to see what you have in store. Oh, and FYI, faithful readers — we have an inside track into why the story is where it currently is, and perhaps some preview secrets into Season Two, so we’re hoping to get some exclusive information out sooner than later. As always, stay tuned!

The Lost Experience and Catching The Wish Wrap Up, Three New Grassroots Games Launch

October 9, 2006 / Jonathan Waite

Wow, October already? Thankfully, not much has happened in the past couple of weeks that would be noteworthy for reporting here. I wonder what’s going on in the world of alternate reality gaming lately? Let me just check this… email inbox I have over here… and… oh. Wow. Really? All of that happened in the last 14 days? Huh. (Yes, I’m a little late on reporting a few recent developments, so let me jump right into it.)

The Lost Experience, the three (or five, depending on the source) stage ARG which began in early May with mysterious television advertisements, concluded on September 24th with a live radio transmission. In the weeks leading up to the end of the game, players were encouraged to visit real world locations for Apollo Bars, chocolate treats that held special codes on their wrappers which were supposed to lead players to the last section of the game, but instead, were simply, “attached to a time function, so the amount of codes entered were just a function of time until the end,” according to Ryan, a TLE player. Codes that did work, however, were found on various web sites, in magazines and through advertisements, and those codes led to video snippets when, reassembled in the correct order, gave players answers about the TV show’s mythology, including the importance of “the numbers” within the context of the show. Overall, the experience was appreciated by the majority of its participants, but some felt that the interactivity waned in the latter stages of the game, leading to a drop in interest. There are rumors about another TLE installment to begin later this year, when the TV show takes a short hiatus in the U.S. and Canada, so keep your eyes and ears open if you are Lost fan.

Greek Mythology Hits the Small Screen (and Your Manly Chest) With Punch

October 6, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

Not content with spreading its artistic, mysterious, cottony fingers across your chest to spread its message, EDOC Laundry’s coded T-shirts are taking a starring role on CBS’s CSI:NY on Wednesday, October 11.

EDOC Laundry captured the attention of co-creator and executive producer, Anthony E. Zuiker, who found the concept of clues to a murder mystery captured in the everyday clothing item of a t-shirt a compelling idea. He worked to script an episode of CSI:NY, “Hung Out to Dry,” using the EDOC Laundry theme, collaborating with the fashion line’s designers to create 4 new t-shirts to incorporate into the mythological murder mystery. Watch raptly as Gary Sinise and the other cast members stare inexplicably at the trippy t-shirts left on the victims by a rabid serial murderer who spent entirely too much time with Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and his sister’s Barbie dolls as a child. Eat popcorn and giggle as big-time New York crime scene detectives wonder “Who on God’s Green Earth would think putting bizarre dripping bloody lines on a shirt would *mean* something besides, you know, bizarre dripping bloody lines? Who are these criminal master minds of puzzling creativity?! Damn these crafty kids!” ARG fans are guaranteed to enjoy this game to TV show crossover, and, if rumors on the internets can be believed, will be treated to cameo appearances by Elan Lee and Shane Small (the rumor mill mentioned “lab coats”).

To celebrate the collaboration, EDOC Laundry will be selling limited editions of the four shirts created for the episode. Each of the four (Sadly, all men’s styles – Hydra would have looked great on a women’s shirt) shirts is a graphical representation of a character from Greek Mythology: Hydra, Hades, Hypnos, and Argus. Furthermore, a fifth shirt inspired by the episode will also be available on the website, depicting the beheaded Hydra. The shirts will be in stock on the EDOC Laundry website beginning on October 11th and should ship in 5 to 10 days.

The media blitz is, naturally, timed to hype EDOC Laundry’s upcoming Winter season, which goes live in November with an entire season of new t-shirts, puzzles, and new videos. Fans of the game can hope that the blitz doesn’t peter out into a fizzle with the game continuing to draw on its old habits of “buy, solve, watch, repeat.” The audience may have wandered off to other engagements during the off-season downtime, bored with the story delivery, difficulty of finding the clothing items, and (often) questionably edited video scripts that hammer heavy on metaphor. Luckily, the quality and look of the clothing remains satisfying, even if the storytelling burps a stinky once in a while.

Tune in next Wednesday night at 10pm ET/PT to catch EDOC Laundry make its television debut on CSI:NY, grab a limited edition shirt, snag a peek at the new clothing line and make sure to catch the next season of EDOC Laundry when it arrives in November.

Catch a quick look at the upcoming episode of CSI:NY on the CBS webpage. Note: CBS only likes Internet Explorer, or the IE Tab extension for Firefox. Video preview also requires Flash player, and either RealMedia player or Windows Media Player (Seriously. Can CBS be any more obnoxious?) But, the clip does show a girl in bra and panties, as well as painted man-nipples and a 360-degree camera swoop around Gary Sinise pondering, so you know, maybe it’s worth it.

Lonelygirl15: The End (Or the Beginning?)

September 7, 2006 / Dee Cook

Although the post itself on the Lonelygirl15.com forum is currently unreachable, a new message tonight has a lot of confused fans wondering if the puppetmasters have stepped out from behind the curtain.

To Our Incredible Fans,

Thank you so much for enjoying our show so far. We are amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response to our videos; it has exceeded our wildest expectations. With your help we believe we are witnessing the birth of a new art form. Our intention from the outset has been to tell a story– A story that could only be told using the medium of video blogs and the distribution power of the internet. A story that is interactive and constantly evolving with the audience.

The (dark) Cube Hunt

August 22, 2006 / Nicko Demeter

The San Francisco Connection for Perplex City came and went. Below is a brief summary of the events that took place.

Early in the morning several Cube Hunters gathered at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. With the doors still closed, the Hunters entertained themselves by listening to the podcasts, trading cards, and in general having conversations about the game. When the doors finally opened, Hunters were allowed into an area that contained several tables with free cards, a big screen TV with Guitar Hero, and a puzzle table for those that wanted to stretch their mental muscles before the main event.

On a wall, a projector was keeping track of the “solved” status for numerous puzzles. After several minutes of waiting, Hunters were told to gather to the amphitheater next door. There, representatives of Mind Candy explained that the connection between Earth and Perplex City had been severed and that only with the help of the Hunters would the connection be restored.