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ARGN Chat Client Back On Line

December 10, 2004 / Steve Peters

As part of the ongoing server upgrades, etc. going on around here, we’ve gotten the ARGN IRC chat applet back on line. This is a browser-based IRC client that can be used in lieu of installing a dedicated IRC application on your computer, similar to the applet over at unfiction. This latest version enables connection to multiple channels at once, among other cool things.

So, if you’ve never stopped in to say hello, now’s a perfect time. Simply let the applet load, choose a channel and a nickname and hit the connect button. There’s usually something happening in #unfiction (the general ARG chat area), but there are also dedicated channels for the various games going on.

Ilovebees-Inspired Artwork to Raise Money for Charity

December 9, 2004 / Steve Peters

Artist Charles Allen Harris has announced that he will donate 50% of sales on his prints, to Child’s Play, the Penny Arcade Led Gamer Charity. Notably, one of his prints was inspired by the recent Ilovebees ARG, entitled Melissa-The Operator.

So, if you’ve got a Beekeeper on your Christmas list, pick up a Melissa print and help a great charity at the same time. 🙂

ARG: Daemon Works

December 2, 2004 / Steve Peters

Daemon Works, which bills itself as a new Alternate Reality Game, has been gaining momentum since its launch on October 31st. While it may or may not be your typical ARG, it does seem to be living up to its claim of being a “website puzzle intended to be solved collaboratively.”

As far as we can tell, there is a compelling series of challenges being revealed, along with a plot involving a missing girl named Jill and the town of Idunn, CT. Hmmm, Idunn and its links to the quest for immortality (sounds….familiar, somehow). Overall, the player seems to be being led through a series of puzzles by a mysterious figure, reminiscent of the game Missing. Who is behind all this? What happened to Jill? Stop by the forums below and help solve the mystery!

Discussion on Unfiction

Project MU Anniversary Tribute and Book Release

November 30, 2004 / Steve Peters

October 1st marked the one-year anniversary of Project MU, a grassroots ARG that was based in the Matrix universe. To commemorate the occasion, some of the more dedicated players created an anniverary puzzle trail that took folks on a trip down memory lane, complete with some pretty tough puzzles.

The trail was finally completed today, and led to a nice credits page and a link to an online book that chronicles the Project MU experience for those who may have missed it. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of the players and puppetmasters alike, and was obviously a labor of love to compile. If you’ve got some spare time, grab a cup of coffee and sit down for an entertaining read.

Mad props go out to giskard, wishi, xnbomb and yanka for a job well done. If anyone wants to recruit some pm’s for a future ARG, you know where to look! 🙂

ARGN Site Migration

November 27, 2004 / Steve Peters

Please excuse any site hiccups you may have encountered over the past few days. ARGN is migrating to its new server, along with all of the acommpanying necessary upgrades, etc. etc. yada yada. The site admins over at unfiction have been working hard as well, reinstalling virtually everything due to some new phpBB forum security exploits.

So, if you’re seeing this, all is well. The old ARGN forum archive will be restored soon, but everything else should be working correctly. If you run into any problems, let us know. We now return you to your regularly scheduled ARGing.

EDIT 11/29: The server migration is completed with the addition of the Forum Archive. We’ve also turned on comments, so we’ll see how that goes.

Sable & Shuck: Realworld Reward in Store?

November 15, 2004 / Steve Peters

We wrote earlier about a website called Sable & Shuck, which seems to be part of some sort of viral, immersive, ARG-ish promotion for Stella Artois. A series of sites revealed a story straight out of an old Twilight Zone episode, involving deals with the devil and an obsessed hero named Jon Harker trying to get to the bottom of it all.

Recently, the discovery of an additional website called Help Me Find Jon (www.helpmefindjon.com) has upped the ante, both literally and figuratively. It seems Harker has disappeared in the midst of his investigation of the strange goings on involving a mysterious man in black, and his sister Brigid is asking for help in finding him. Notably, she’s offering a reward of Â£10,946 for his whereabouts. You can register and submit your answer, so it looks like if you solve the mystery, you win the reward. Is it real? Well, as Brigid says, “You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.”

Unforum Discussion