Greetings from sunny Los Angeles! This year’s E3 is proving to be a landmark occasion in the world of Alternate Reality Gaming. Not only is there a veritable ARG Development Team (Puppetmaster) Summit going on, with representatives from five different teams in attendance, but this whole ARG thing is creating quite a stir, especially on the exhibition floor.
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These days, you can take nothing for granted.
What seems to be a very well-researched feature article in the East Bay Express discussing 4orty 2wo Entertainment, I Love Bees, and what goes on behind the scenes in an ARG also seems to have its own secrets buried within it. The article, entitled The Buzzmakers, seems to indicate that Alex Handy (the article’s author) is missing. Clues to his disappearance have been hidden within the article, the paper edition of the weekly Oakland area East Bay Express, as well other real world mediums.
Well, it’s that time of year! The 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles opened its doors this morning. This is where game developers, console manufacturers and anyone related to the electronic entertainment industry have a chance to showcase their newest and coolest products for all the world to see for the very first time. Next-gen consoles are definitely what everyone’s buzzing about this year, with new offerings by Xbox, Nintendo and Playstation at the forefront of virtually every conversation.
A recent post on the Unfiction forums indicates the start of a new ARG called Rookery Tower.
In 1851, conjoined twins, Eric and Richard, were born to a couple who lived on Rookery Hill. Tragedy after tragedy followed, leading to an apparent climax sometime in the late 1800s, details of which are yet to be discovered. Now in 2005, Layla Hardesty has moved into Rookery Tower and is encountering paranormal experiences ranging from a wandering dishpan to eerie knocks to strange messages appearing in her blog. The paranormal investigation firm called to work on the case is also encountering corruption on their web page. Players are attempting to help Layla and Morgan Paranormal find out the story behind Rookery Tower and the apparent haunting by the twins.
The recent trailer for the upcoming thriller “Cry Wolf” seems to be promoting an accompanying text-messaging game of some sort. The film, scheduled for an August 2005 release, revolves around a series of murders that are foretold by someone using AIM®, giving warning about where the victims will be found.
At the end of the trailer, the following text appears:
“Use your cell phone to text your AIM® screen name to CWOLF (29653) and use AIM® on your phone to get in on the hunt!”
It looks like an interesting film, but we have no idea whether this will lead to anything beyond some spammy text messages, but time will tell. Watch for updates if this turns into something ARGish.
Just in case you’ve been asleep for the last 24 hours, it was officially revealed yesterday that the OurColony quasi-Alternate Reality Game was a promotional lead up to the new Xbox 360, scheduled to hit the stores for the 2005 holiday season.
As the countdown timer on the OurColony site expired yesterday, the page changed to reveal a link to a video file, which began with a CG OurColony ant scurrying across the floor to stand at the foot of J. Allard, Corporate VP of Xbox, who proclaims, “You are The Colony. You’ve found your way to the center, and you’re in control. This experience revolves around you. Welcome….to Xbox 360.”
scp afterworld
welcome home
generation loss
simulacra
curators request
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