The publishers of the highly praised email mystery The Daughters of Freya (review) have announced a unique “Group Read” for readers of ARGN, where everyone will read the mystery at the same time, and discuss it in an online forum as it happens. The idea is to create a shared interactive experience out of what is normally a solitary activity. The story itself – about a journalist investigating a Marin County sex cult – is told through emails exchanged among the characters. But instead of reading them in a book, readers get them as part of their regular email – 4 or 5 a day over the three weeks it takes for the mystery to unfold. The mystery introduces a new and innovative way to use the Internet as a storytelling tool, and has been getting a great response from readers and reviewers alike.
In some ways, these email mysteries are much like ARGs, only without the puzzles. So, we thought it would be fun to offer ARGN readers an opportunity to experience the story collectively in real-time, much like a typical alternate reality game. The folks at Email Mystery have been kind enough to extend a special promotional price of $3.99 for those who wish to take part. The Group Read will begin on August 1st, when the first installment of the mystery will be emailed to readers.
A forum will be set up for discussion of this Group Read as it happens , so watch ARGN for details on that. If you’d like to participate, you can register here. In addition, there is a free preview with the first three emails from the mystery available here.
EDIT: The discussion forum for Daughters of Freya has been set up here.
What’s becoming known as Immersive Fiction seems to be gaining popularity of late. While not really ARGs per se, works of immersive fiction often have enough ARG-ish elements to them to merit a second look, as they might definitely feed the need for those of you waiting around for the “next big game,” (and you know who you are!).
subtext game
cafe and diner
memoirs of death
escape rooms
dinn
field studies institute