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Orbital Colony Launches

November 23, 2005 / Carie Ward

After twenty-one months of planning, fifteen months of pure speculation and a four months of dissecting the only (found) in-game site, Orbital Colony has finally launched.

Very neatly timed with the finale of Last Call Poker, Orbital Colony launched November 16th. Players who had provided their phone numbers in the Name That Rock competition were called by the TEP Foundation (not to be misheard as PEP, PEG, PET, TET or any other variation) and asked a series of survey questions. After the calls were over, players rushed to find two brand new sites to peruse: The TEP Foundation and SAI Pets

A few days later, after a hacking incident at Orbicon, three more websites appeared on the horizon. Coalition Against the Road To the Stars, Path Back to Eden and The Inept are all working to bring Orbicon down, as if Orbicon didn’t have enough problems with suing both NASA and Google.

What started as a mere training ARG for potential PMs has grown into a fully polished game that just happens to be run by several members of the unFiction community (and if you keep your eyes peeled, you might just run across a name or two carefully hidden in plain view). With phones to answer, emails to send, videos to watch, audio to listen to, and quite possibly the long lost brother of Wongmo, Orbital Colony has something for everyone to enjoy. So sit back, strap yourselves in, and get ready for your ride into space.

Discussion at UnForums

Wiki hosted by Deaddrop

IRC Chat in #orbital hosted by Chat Solutions

Soak, Wash, Spin. Solve?

November 21, 2005 / Larry Eisner

Playing ARGs using online clues and interpersonal meetups is cool. But wearing an ARG is even cooler. At least that’s the premise behind EDOC, a new clothing company that promises the shirt will not only say something about your style, but also tells you a story.

“How do they do it?” You say? Then you realize you’re talking to your computer again. But, for the ease of understanding, I’ll explain:

You go to the store and buy an EDOC article of clothing (or “Laundry” as the hip kids call it), and embedded into the shirt’s skater designs are clues and puzzles that when solved and entered into a secret area of the EDOC website, will reveal further information related to the game’s story.

While not much is known about the project, Wired Magazine has mentioned in it’s article (in the upcoming December issue) that Elan Lee was behind the design. So is this a 4orty-2wo Entertainment gig? Is this an Elan Lee solo project? Will people buy clothes with a secret? Will we see a “Help Find Tommy Hilfiger and win $50,000” contest in the future? (We hope not.) Only time will tell. The project looks interesting, though, and what better gear to save AIs from the future in, than a shirt that is, in itself, an ARG?

Rookery Two-er?

November 20, 2005 / Larry Eisner

Sometimes Alternate Reality Games will fall into a rut in terms of plot line… “Someone or something has been taken, and you’re my only hope“… “You need to find evidence to clear my name”… “Hi, HKDL!” and so on.

One game that seemed to step out from the rest earlier in the year was Rookery Tower. It involved conjoined twins, a demonic Tall Man, and a spooked out heroine named Layla, all involved in a haunting tale with ancient occult reverberations… Anyone who played the game will tell you that it was original, creative, and entertaining.

Early last week, a player got an email from Layla stating that she was now working with Morgan Paranormal (the group of “ghostbusters” that assisted her with that pesky evil arcane craziness the first time around). Her blog has also been updated as well, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s apparently a little strangeness happening there as well. Entries written by someone other than herself, UFO sightings (and please don’t make me mention the “chalice” posting… Eww…)

Which brings up the question going on for over 7 pages of postings at UNFiction.com: Is it starting up again?

No one but Layla knows for sure, but if there is a sequel and it is anywhere near the quality of the first, you can expect some solid puzzling, as well as a great ghost story filled with creepiness and twists. ARGN will be following this one closely and let you know if anything substantial arises.

Many thanks to Obes for giving ARGN the details of what’s new at the Tower…

PXC Live Event: A Mole Amongst Thee

October 30, 2005 / Jonathan Waite

PXC Live 01 Last Saturday, Perplex City took to the streets in a real-world event that involved both a ground team and an online team. Starting with a trail on an in-game site, players had to coordinate efforts to track the Third Power and obtain a highly valuable keyword. However, after collecting all of the puzzles and meeting back at a central location, players discovered that there was a mole within their group. To top it all off, the mole made a daring escape via helicopter (yes, HELICOPTER) and players were left with what must have been one of the most exciting ARG experiences in their lives. Matthew Turnbull, an active participant on the ground team, gave us permission to reprint his account of the day’s events:

Interview with Jane McGonigal

October 28, 2005 / Dee Cook

I caught up with Jane McGonigal of 42 Entertainment after her talk at the Austin Game Conference on Thursday. She was kind enough to give me an interview.

Me: Do you have a favorite ever, of any game?

Jane: Yeah, well like I said [during the talk] I think the explosion of creative interpretation with the GPS coordinates [in I Love Bees], because I’m a big believer of player suggestions. Like in The Go Game, we have people constantly sort of misinterpreting what they’ve been told to do, and doing things that are more exciting or more interesting or braver than we have suggested, and then we’ll be like, “Oh that’s great, let’s actually make that a mission.”

Austin Game Conference Part 2

October 27, 2005 / Dee Cook

Thursday was the official kick-off of the Austin Game Conference, a trade show primarily directed at companies who produce Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs. This morning, Jane McGonigal from 42 Entertainment gave a talk in which she outlined what ARGs are, how they are a type of MMO, and why they are so interesting.

And the best part, other than the Massively Multiplayer Thumb Wrestling? The unofficial nickname for the talk: “Too Weird for GDC”.

Jane began the session with some explanations of what ARGs are. They are interactive narrative, or immersive drama. They are played out online and in the real world, taking place over several weeks or months. Tens, hundreds, sometimes tens of thousands of people play, forming collaborative social networks and working together to solve a mystery or problem which is impossible to solve alone. Platforms utilized include e-mail, websites, SMS, phone calls, radio, IRC, instant messages, newspapers, real world artifacts and events, and Elan’s dream: toasters that print messages on your bread. Since this is the second time in two days that a 42 staffer has mentioned toaster messages, extra vigilance is recommended when cooking your breakfast. Be prepared.