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ReGenesis Becomes a Reality

October 24, 2004 / Jonathan Waite

Earlier tonight, Canadian subscribers to The Movie Network (Movie Central in Eastern Canada) bore witness to the unveiling of new series ReGenesis, which has an ARG element. Some of you will remember those snail mail correspondences that were sent out to ARG community members, leading people to the Science Sucks and NORBAC websites. Well, having just viewed the show, I can tell you that it certainly did not disappoint.

The series started with a situation involving a hazardous biothreat, which spreads across parts of Ontario. The first two episodes (shown back to back, commercial-free) mainly centered around the development of some of the key characters, as well as exploring the genetic make-up and possible sources of the virus. There was a lot of technobabble, which sounded perfectly rational — a sign that the writers had some excellent consultants in the process of developing the show.

The ARG tied in really well. Despite not getting a live phone call (which I had expected), I was not disappointed in how the plot of the ARG was duplicated and expanded on the small screen. The characters of the game are the same characters on the show, for example. Halfway into the first hour, I got 3 email updates from various sources within the game. And I was definitely watching closely for in-game phone numbers & login codes (although upon first viewing, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary).

Overall, I was uberimpressed as to how this ARG complimented the TV show. It has definitely left me wanting more. Hopefully the international audience will be able to view the episodes soon, because it’s really a fairly decent series.

Metroid Prime ARGishness

October 20, 2004 / Steve Peters

We aren’t sure if it’s the door to an Alternate Reality Game or just some stealthy viral hype, but Nintendo has put up a couple of very well done websites that seem to be part of the Metroid Prime universe. What with the upcoming release of Nintendo’s Metroid Prime 2: Echoes on November 15th, this is pretty obviously a marketing hook for the game.

Channel 51 is an Art Bell wannabee site looking into all things spooky, mysterious and conspiratorial. The site comes complete with grainy pictures video footage of things like Chupacabras and Species X, along with info about The Rossler Transmission, which is a pretty obvious tie-in to MP2E.

Orbis Labs is linked to from Channel 51, and bills itself as a “Precision Defense & Weapons Technology” company. Along with schematics and test videos of their Battle Sphere weapon, you’ll find a nice juicy Government Offical Login. Other links, such as one to UFO Magazine, appear to be out-of-game (if there is a game here), but you never know.

Don’t know if this will turn out to be an ARG Rabbithole, but it will provide an entertaining read at the very least. We’ll keep you posted of any ARG developments here. For now, we’ll file it under Something To Keep an Eye On.

Project Syzygy Stirring?

October 17, 2004 / Steve Peters

There have been some recent changes at the Project Syzygy site showing signs that something may be happening. Despite announcements of 2005 being the launch of this new free Alternate Reality Game, a recent update at Project Syzygy reveals that “projectsyzygy is now complete.”

A new link reveals perplexcity.com and a mysterious memo. It seems some sort of McGuffin in the form of a Cube has been stolen and must be found. According the the memo, there will be a “substantial reward” for whomever may find it. Plus, you can enter your email to be contacted “when the time is right.”

Hmmmm. Preview? Launch? Reward?? Time will tell.

ARG on CNN

October 14, 2004 / Steve Peters

Alternate Reality continues to spill over into the real world, as was evident during the Presidential Debate last night. Players of ilovebees (the Halo2 related Alternate Reality Game) at Arizona State University took advantage of the occasion to promote themselves and their game in the form of a huge bee-infested banner.

On numerous occassions during CNN’s coverage, a large ASU Beekeepers banner appeared behind the commentators. The banner could clearly be seen during Wolf Blitzer Reports, as well as Larry King Live. In addition, viewers reported seeing the banner on MSNBC as well. This marks the first time an Alternate Reality Game has invaded political history, as far as we know (unless of course certain important people have been lurking on the boards). Unfortunately, the ASU Beekeepers’ shouts of “I love bees!” couldn’t be heard above the other chants from the crowd.

The ASU Beekeepers team faced a few challenges during the days leading up to the debate, as it was a little scary running around campus answering phones while the Secret Service was doing security sweeps of the area. Nevertheless, Team ASU came through and completed most of their phone answering for the day. For those not familiar with the Ilovebees game, a big part of the interaction right now involves being at certain payphones at specific times in order to give a correct answer for a challenge/response. Doing so successfully helps to unlock pieces of audio files on the ilovebees website, revealing more of the story.

Mad props go out to the ASU Beekeepers for making the news! We know Melissa would be proud of you! For more information about the Ilovebees ARG, follow the links above.

Photo Credits: GBrian and G3k

New ARG: Regenesis

October 1, 2004 / Steve Peters

One of our Canadian friends received a hand-delivered package today. It consisted of a newsletter about an alarming outbreak of a disease in northern Ontario, and a grid of letters, which led to a couple very interesting sites:

Norbac is the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission, an organization that investigates biotech issues and questionable practices.

Science Sucks looks to be a grassroots site fighting to free scientific knowledge from vested interests like government and corporations. The site includes a poll, forums, and a page of links. We’ll leave it to you to find out where the links may lead.

A little more research revealed this press release announcing a new television series on Canada’s Movie Central/The Movie Network:

“ReGenesis is a new, 13-part one-hour original Movie Central/The Movie Network dramatic series about the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission (NorBAC), an organization formed to investigate questionable advances in biotechnology.”

Regenesis premieres on Movie Central on Sunday, October 24 at 9 p.m.

Normally, a site or two tied to a film or tv series isn’t that remarkable, but the fact that there are mysterious packages being sent to select individuals around Canada make us suspect that this is indeed a new rabbithole for a Regenesis-related ARG. Happy Hunting!

Unforums Discussion
ScienceSucks Discussion
Chat (#regenesis at irc.chat-solutions.org)

ARGs Becoming a Trend?

September 27, 2004 / Steve Peters

The genre of Alternate Reality Games (or Immersive Media, Pervasive Gaming, etc.) may finally be making inroads into the mainstream. Not only is computer/platform gaming media paying attention, such as in the recent story about Ilovebees broadcast on G4TechTV, but marketers are being urged to take notice as well.

Recently, TrendCentral ran a story in their newsletter pointing out the viability of these sort of games, “as their diverse media format seems conducive for brand integration and promotions.” Trendcentral is one of the leading resources for marketing firms and advertising agencies, helping them keep their finger on the pulse of up-and-coming trends in the marketing/promotional field. This makes a lot of sense, as some of the most successful Alternate Reality Games to date have in fact been promotional tools.

While many may criticize promotional ARGs as a cheap marketing ploy, most of those who have played along with such games as A.I.’s The Beast or BMW’s Uncap the Ride will be the first to tell you that when done right, they are highly entertaining, addictive, challenging and ultimately very satisfying in and of themselves. Let’s hope the trend continues.