Category: Update (Page 9 of 41)

66 Letters: A Mystery from the Not-So-Distant Past

May 9, 2010 / Jane Doh

Several German ARG players, along with two Americans, myself included,Â were sent vintage cassette tapes made in “Western-Germany.” On the cassette, a man plays a Mozart sonata on the piano but is interrupted by the phone. Irritated, in English the man tells “Sally” to answer the phone then continues to play. We find that he has an audience â€” a small child. Â Switching to German, the man tells the child that he is going away. Â Click here to listen to the recorded message in its entirety.

As reported previously, 66 Letters is a literary puzzle where participants collaborate to investigate a cold case â€” the latest from viral marketing experts vm-people to promote a just-released book from German publisher Bastei LÃ¼bbe.

In the past few weeks, German players have received nearly a dozen handwritten letters, clues of an ongoing correspondence between “C” and “Ella” in 1980. Their relationship, their shared history, and their personal lives are slowly being revealed through these letters, but it seems that C’s daughter has gone missing, and C writes to Ella from a mental institution. The letters between C and Ella go through intermediaries, including Sally, the person possibly mentioned in the cassette tape. Players were also sent a short guide to handwriting analysis so they can speculate on the emotional states and personalities of the letter writers.

Return of the ARG Practicum: A Three For One Deal

April 5, 2010 / Michael Andersen

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Last year, the University of Texas at Dallas’ Emerging Media and Communications program offered a practicum in ARG design taught by Deus City developer and UT-Dallas professor Adam Brackin. Over the course of the semester, the class developed and produced the Electron Innovations alternate reality game. This year, Brackin’s ARG practicum, affectionately referred to as “ARGlab 2.0,” is back with three new alternate reality games. According to Brackin, these three projects will reflect his Circular Model of ARG Development embracing parallel games, sequels and spin-offs within a shared “game world.”

While Electron Innovations was the product of a six-person team, ARGlab 2.0 is comprised of 20 students divided into four teams. Three of these teams are developing alternate reality games. The fourth team is documenting the creative process of the other groups, and will publish a “making of” documentary upon completion of the ARGs.

The three ARGlab 2.0 ARGs can be found at priestlyindustries.com, iknowwhathappened.wordpress.com, and sunshinebooks4less.com. Priestly Industries explores a contest to win $10 billion in venture capital from the wealthy and eccentric industrialist Gerard Priestly, while I Know What Happened follows novice geocacher Becka Belle as she tries to figure out the meaning of a mysterious box she discovered. Sunshine Books 4 Less, on the other hand, revolves around a series of strange, defaced posters scattered around downtown Dallas.

Encom to Hold Press Conference, Flynn Lives to Infiltrate

March 30, 2010 / Celina Beach

EncomLogo This Friday at 8PM in San Francisco, Encom’s Executive Consultant Alan Bradley will address invited press and employees regarding a brand new Encom product. Little does he (and hopefully the Encom security) know that his audience will also include many intrepid members of the Flynn Lives organization posing as Encom employees.

Several weeks ago, the enigmatic Zack challenged the group to a little game called ArcadeAid – a site filled with pictures of clever (and sometimes groan-worthy) puns representing several generations of video games, from Pong to Asteroids, Space Ace to… well even Discs of Tron. As players named video games, they were awarded badges at certain levels. Naming all 56 earned them the opportunity to acquire their very own Encom security badge,Â and as we were to find out later, the ability to attend an exclusive press conference hosted by Alan Bradley himselfÂ (played by Bruce Boxleitner).

So if you’re one of the intrepid numbers who completed the ArcadeAid challenge and received an Encom badge, the place to be is the Justin Herman Plaza in the Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA at 8PM, April 2 2010. No word yet on whether non-badge holders will be able to find other ways to attend, or if the event will be aired online either live or after the fact. However, Wondercon will be occuring this weekend, and Disney does have a panel there: so if you are going to Wondercon, take it from an old San Diego Comic-Con pro and keep an eye out for opportunities to attend, either at the Disney booth (if present) or at the panel. You can also follow along on the Unfiction forums thread .

Good luck to all FlynnLives Infiltrators!

UPDATE: Zack from FlynnLives is asking all participants to meet at the Hyatt Regency (across the street from the press conference venue) from 6:15-7:45PM. t-shirts and posters will be handed out to participants, and the group will march to the press conference site en masse in order to get a good location in front of the stage.

It has also announced been announced that while there is going to be a VIP area for Encom employees (hence the infiltrators having Encom badges), the press conference itself is open to the public. So if you’re in the area, get down there and check it out!

An Inside Look at the EVOKE Network

March 15, 2010 / Michael Andersen

evoke During her talk at TED 2010, Jane McGonigal argued that game developers have a responsibility to change the world for the better by harnessing the efforts of gamers to improve the real world. Her dream is to see a game developer win the Nobel Prize by 2032. EVOKE, McGonigal’s most recent foray into the serious games arena, launched on March 3rd and may be a step towards achieving that goal. To date, there are over 9,000 agents registered on the site, with more joining every day.

The primary outlet for gameplay in EVOKE is the EVOKE Network itself. After creating a profile on the game’s ning social networking platform, agents can post blogs, images, or video files responding to a number of Quests and Missions. Alternatively, content can be added or accessed via SMS, mobile web, or mobile Facebook to make the game more accessible to players without access to computers. By successfully completing Quests and Missions, students can earn “mission runes” and achievement badges to track their progress. They can also award EVOKE Powers to contributions that excel in a number of different categories. Structurally, the EVOKE Network is similar to McGonigal’s previous project, Top Secret Dance Off, which relied on the community to identify and reward positive contributions while offering loosely structured challenges.

In addition to the EVOKE Network, the game provides an opportunity to learn more aboutÂ the EVOKE organization and itsÂ leader, Alchemy,Â through a series of weekly graphic novels taking place in the year 2020. Through EVOKE, Alchemy provides anonymous services to countries in desperate need of assistance in exchange for a percentage of the profits from their contributions. Meanwhile, a second, equally secretive organization is seeking information about EVOKE for unknown reasons. So far, interactivity has been limited to the EVOKE Network, with the graphic novel serving as a passive accompaniment to the larger discussion. For example, in the first two installments of the graphic novel, EVOKE solved a food shortage in Tokyo without requiring or asking for the assistance of the game’s players.

BREAKING NEWS: Artiforg Defaulters Ciji and Usman Caught

March 10, 2010 / Michael Andersen

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On Monday night, Lone Shark Games, Evan Ratliff, and Repo Men runner Usman Akeju joined the ARGNetcast to talk about their cross-country hunt for four runners carrying artiforgs from the Union. Yesterday, Repo Men hunter Geneva Conventional caught both Usman Akeju and Ciji Thorton at Seabrook Roller Skating Rink in Lanham, Maryland. Â Prior to his capture, Usman visited his mother’s house, prompting Lone Shark GamesÂ President Mike Selinker to quip, “It proves what I’ve been saying for years: Nothing good can come from bringing a girl over to your mom’s house.”

MovieViral’s most recent RepoCast features an interview with Geneva Conventional along with Lone Shark Games’ Creative DirectorÂ Teeuwynn Woodruff and hunters Shinma22, fubarcrew, BiggKat77, semisweetCJ, and eviltikimonkey describing Ciji and Usman’s capture, as well as their efforts to catch the other two runners. Â Additionally, the Repo Men website has released an official statement announcing the capture, raising a number of questions:

How could two runners be so blind (especially as Thornton had a top-of-the-line Ocurity eye) as to miss someone sneaking up on both of them? Didnâ€™t they have a feeling deep inside (perhaps in Usmanâ€™s Nephrolux kidney) that they could both be caught doing one of their individual Groundswell tasks? Will Groundswell loosen its restrictions on the other two runners, Alex Gamble and Will LaFerriereâ€”or will the noose tighten even more?

Flynn Lives Welcomes You To The Pit Cell

February 25, 2010 / Celina Beach

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As we reported earlier, ZeroHour reached the end of its countdown at 11AM EST (4PM GMT) and had players all over the globe sitting by their computers, compulsively pounding their F5 keys to see when their city’s listing would go live and a drop location would be revealed.Â Chicago, Orlando, and Paris were the first to update, and it was quickly discovered the drop points were located, fittingly, at arcades. Â Upon arriving, players looked for their contacts in Flynn Lives t-shirts.Â The first one to reach the contact gave a pass phrase (such as “Downloadable Content” or “Power Slide”) and was rewarded with a phone, but no further instructions. Â Once players figured out there was a number in the phone’s contact listÂ labeled “Call Me”, they called and talked to a live person who gave them instructions to find the rest of their package – an 80’s style vinyl velcro “TRON” wallet containing 3 Tron trading cards with codes to be input into the ZeroHour website, aÂ few Flynn’s Arcade tokens, and newspaper clippings about ENCOM.Â A PM helper shadowed the players and, once the package was found, the ZeroHour website was updated with a check mark to note the drop had been successfully picked up.Â The players then logged into the ZeroHour site to enter the codes, which unlocked the cards on the site.

As the day went on, more cities went live and more drops were collected.Â Except for a glitch or two (the Toronto package wasÂ taken before the player could reach it, and the Madrid drop was never recovered) the drop collections were rapidly collected and the codes were entered.Â Finally, whenÂ Las Vegas and SydneyÂ were the only locations left, the “No” Bit under the card icons changed to a “Yes” Bit.Â Â ClickingÂ on the BitÂ led to a new site, The Pit Cell.

The Pit Cell contains information on an “exclusive limited event” to be heldÂ this SaturdayÂ in 4 different IMAX theater locations – New York, Los Angeles, London, Toronto; and a fifth on Sunday in Sydney.Â Ticket distributionÂ starts todayÂ at 4PM EST (9PM GMT), on a first-come, first-served basis.