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ARGFest-o-Con Provides Fun, Mystery, and a Name for a Game

April 27, 2003 / Steve Peters

About a dozen denizens of the ARG world converged on Las Vegas this weekend for a semi-casual get together. This was the first time that we know of where players and even producers of various games have done anything like this, and it was great to get to meet people who were only previously known by their online personas.

Attenders expected surprises, and they weren’t disappointed, as they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a new game launch! Upon checking in to their hotels, a few folks were given packages from Stephen Lake, who is a fictional character in the ARG that had been dubbed L³. Players were sent on a scavenger hunt around Las Vegas that included a round of drinks courtesy of Mr. Lake, a search of the Las Vegas Convention Center, and a trip to the Hard Rock Hotel.

Ultimately, they ended up with a package containing a note and about twenty mini-CDs. The clues on the disks led to the discovery of Acheron. Acheron, to which L³ was a apparently teaser, will be launched this summer. Full Story…

The main event of ARGFest-o-Con was a party at a secret location somewhere in Las Vegas. In order to find the place, partyers first needed to meet a “man in a white hat” who would then give them instructions on how to complete a mini-quest, which ended up at the location of the party. One puzzle solve would lead to the next clue, and so on, and the first to reach the destination won a small prize.

The winner of this mini-scavenger hunt, called “Martha’s Mystery Tour” was Unfiction member DanmanD (pictured at right) who received an official ARGN T-Shirt and free dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was,Â incidentally, the secret destination. Not only was DanmanD the youngest person in attendance, but in my book he also gets the Most Dedicated ARG’er Award, and his father Peter gets the Most Dedicated Dad Award, for accompanying his son on the 12-hour bus ride to get to Las Vegas!

Unfiction member Diandra was also presented with an ARGN T-shirt for being the first to complete the online portion of the journey. CabalAgent23, the man behind Chasing the Wish then surprised us all withÂ commemorative CTW shirts, mugs and even frisbees! The evening culminated with a limo ride (courtesy of

Diandra) to the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. Congratulations to DanmanD, and thanks to everyone who attended and made ARGFest-o-Con an unqualified success!

A complete walkthrough of Martha’s Mystery tour is posted here.

Cloudmakers Turns Two

April 11, 2003 / Steve Peters

Landmark day! Two years ago this very day, the premiere Alternate Reality community, the Cloudmakers, was founded. Little did they know what they were in for! Three months, over 7000 members and a ride we’ll never forget, thanks to all of the tireless moderators and mysterious puppetmasters.

You can still stop by the Cloudmakers Yahoo Group to see where it all happened. Read The Guide, browse The Trail, visit Jeanine Salla, Evan Chan, and re-live a little ARG history. Nothing since has approached the amazing mystery and awe felt as players stumbled upon an extensive alternate reality world set in the future.

To the Cloudmakers Moderators and to the folks behind the game, especially Elan Lee and Sean Stewart, we say thanks again! We lift our glasses to you all

ARGFest-o-Con April 25-27 in Las Vegas

April 7, 2003 / Steve Peters

Well, you’ve heard of Fark Parties and Cloudmakers Parties (well okay, maybe you haven’t), so we’re pleased to announce our very own ARG Party: ARGFest-o-Con 2003.

In reality, the party itself will be on the evening of April 26th, but most folks are making a weekend out of it. The festivities will begin at 5:00 pm in front of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. In order to find outÂ where to go from there, attendees must solve an online puzzle to obtain specific instructions (or just cheat and read the discussion/solve here).

ARGN’s and Unfiction’s sitemasters will be in attendance, as well as one or more Puppetmasters, plus perhaps a few surprises. If you’ve been looking for a chance to get away, come join us in Las Vegas and meet some fellow Alternate Reality Gaming afficianados.

If you think you can make it, drop us a line and prepare yourself for some fun, some sun, and just maybe something unexpected.

Search4e Calls Off Search?

March 22, 2003 / Steve Peters

Search4e has seeminly joined the list of failed Alternate Reality Games, as an email was sent out this morning to players seemingly cancelling the game. The email states, in part, “It is with deep regret that True Crime Books announces that it is ending all formal ties with the Ed Sobian case….This decision was not taken lightly.” Continuing with their attempts at making player communications look to be a part of the search4e world, it seems the producers are announcing the cancellation of the search for Ed Sobian.

The troubled game was suspended for a while at the end of 2002, while new sponsorship/financing was sought. Once it restarted, the producers seemed unable to regain momentum, and compounded their problems by making decisions that further limited their player base. We are still awaiting final confirmation of the death of search4e, at which time it will be added to the list of ARG meltdowns.

Push NV Spinoff ARG “NoahBoddy” Cancelled Mid-Game

March 19, 2003 / Steve Peters

Another ARG bites the dust. According to a wordy announcement on noahboddy.com, “…the current Noahboddy.com game must be brought to a definitive close.” This cancellation was attributed to lack
of sponsorship and funding.

There is still plenty of action out there for Alternate Reality Gamers, however. Current live games include:Chasing the Wish, Time Hunt and the JMX Experience, with L³ and Ark II possibilities in develpment.

Alternate Reality Gaming in the New York Times

March 5, 2003 / Steve Peters

The March 6th, 2003 edition of the New York Times included an article by Charles Herold on Alternate Reality Gaming that features the history of the genre presented very comprehensively, along with links to Cloudmakers, Unfiction, DeadDrop and ARGN.

The article traces the history of ARGs and mentions The Beast, Lockjaw, Uncap the Ride, Alias, and Push NV, among others.