alternate-reality-games
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Chaos Theory: Grand plans for The Secret World's Black Watchmen ARG
Last week we revealed that a new persistent alternate reality game is in the works from Human Equation, the studio that brought us the pre-launch and End of Days ARGs for The Secret World. But that little introduction is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the company has planned for the community. Human Equation has bought the license to operate the Black Watchmen IP from Funcom, and that means TSW players, fans, and puzzle-enthusiasts have much more in store for them than they realize. Although a major premise behind an ARG is figuring out clues and discovering information over time, I sat down and chatted with Andrea Doyon, the chief innovation officer (aka puppet master) for the ARG to bring you the scoop on those very plans. Check out all the details in this exclusive interview, including future job possibilities, and get a peek at two never-before-seen pieces of concept art.
The Secret World fans get a persistent ARG
If you've wanted to get in on the ground floor of an Alternate Reality Game tied to The Secret World, the time is now! A brand-new ARG developed by Human Equation has just entered the scene. Focusing on the Black Watchmen, this ARG differs in that it will be a persistent, complete game with features (such as a class system and NPCs) designed in partnership with Funcom. However, players will have plenty of real-world and online puzzles to work through as well. Check out the official site now to start on the first mission; the second mission unlocks tomorrow, March 20th. Then stay tuned to Chaos Theory for an upcoming interview with the creators for even more details about this new game and what they have in store for this IP. [Source: Human Equation press release]
Ragnar Tornquist talks of The Secret World's progression, power and purpose
"It's simply true freedom of progression!" Ragnar Tornquist exclaims in a new interview with Gaming Nexus. After giving a broad overview of The Secret World's structure, Tornquist spends time discussing just what will make this upcoming MMO so appealing. According to him, just because TSW is lacking levels doesn't mean that you'll soon run out of ways to advance your character: "Collecting powers and building these decks of seven actives, seven passives, is a large part of that, and it'll take players hundreds and hundreds of hours to create enough decks to tackle most of the content in the game -- and that doesn't even take into account PvP." Because players will be locked into a faction, Funcom is working hard to keep the balance of skills similar between all three secret societies. Even so, there will be abilities unique to each side. Interested in Funcom's use of alternate reality games (ARGs) as part of The Secret World's experience? It looks as though these will be a bigger part of the game than we previously thought: "In fact, with our investigation missions, players will have to go outside the game in order to solve intriguing puzzles based on real history, myth, legends, conspiracy theories, and they'll also need to cooperate with other players via forums or chat in order to basically solve these really deep and complex ARG style problems. Some missions are designed to take weeks to crack, even with the help of the entire community."
Futurist Jamais Cascio discusses Superstruct
Superstruct is the world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game. What does this mean? As a player of this alternate reality game, you envision your life as it would be in 2019 and collaborate with other players to come up with innovative solutions to global 'superthreats'. These superthreats may bring us to a tipping point that determines whether the human race either solves its looming problems and continues existence, or society collapses under the weight of its troubles. The excellent sci-fi centric io9 has an interview with futurist Jamais Cascio, a member of the Superstruct game design team. Cascio discusses his work on "21st Century Ideas" (essentially a toolkit of solutions to the game's superthreats), the influence of Children of Men on the game and its setting, and some of the innovative creations he's seen from players in the relatively short time since the game launched. It's definitely worth a read if you're interested in a game grounded in futurist speculation. If this piques your interest in Superstruct, don't wait to find out more -- the game will only run for another 5 weeks. Be sure to check out Massively's primer on Superstruct to help you get started, as well as Jane McGonigal's Avant Game blog for more info about the game.
Superthreats: Quarantine, Ravenous, and Power Struggle
Quarantine Superthreat"In 2019, Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ReDS, is here, and it's not going anywhere." Outbreaks of ReDS have become commonplace, initially in tropical and sub-tropical regions, then spreading to other cities such as Stockholm where over 15,000 citizens are living with ReDS and its chronic, severe symptoms. Relief organizations struggle to handle the situation as it is presently, yet ReDS is spreading to other regions of the world while remaining incurable. Superstruct Challenge: What can we do in our own communities to provide ReDS relief and support?
Superthreats: Outlaw Planet and Generation Exile
Outlaw Planet Superthreat"In 2019, the mobile internet and sensor networks we rely on to hold our societies together are being hacked, griefed, and gamed."The effects of technology turned against us impacts the democratic process, social networks, and every institution connected to the internet. Sophisticated criminal groups employ 'transparency bombs' in online banking attacks (and "World of Starcraft" players no less). The target financial institutions are major players in the virtual currency market, but the issues resulting from this undermined security affect private citizens as well as the banks.Superstruct Challenge: How can we come together to secure our assets, both real and virtual?
The Daily Grind: Are ARGs MMOs?
ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) take the normal boundaries between games and reality and skew them just enough so that the two overlap, offering a new way to think about entertainment interaction. Perhaps one of the most famous of these is the "I love bees" campaign, which was developed to promote Halo 2. Certainly hundreds played, and part of the gameplay mechanics was taking clues from various places on the Web to complete the puzzles and solve the mystery.However, is "hundreds" enough to typify the term "massively"? Given that you could play alone and never see another player, only becoming part of a grander, more widespread team, is that really "multiplayer"? If the entirety of gameplay isn't online, does that satisfy the "O" requirement? How precise does the "MMO" definition need to be?
The Escapist goes virtual this week
Gaming commentary magazine The Escapist has gone all-online this week, with an issue entitled "It's a Small, Virtual World". Probably best known among gamers for the excellent video series Zero Punctuation, The Escapist's editorial side is always full of thought-provoking commentary. This week features thoughts on the alternate reality game spawned by "The Office", a discussion of this year's Building Virtual Worlds show at Carnegie Mellon University, and the harsh reality of life online. They liken living in a virtual world to the travails of the old West, complete with opportunity, outlaws, and more than a few dirty deeds. It's a great read, and The Escapist in general is well worth looking into.
Halo ARG causes 300+ calls to unwitting college student
It's all fun and games until someone gets 300 cell phone calls in a matter of days. That's what your mom might say about the story of Michael VanderZand, an innocent bystander whose cell phone got accidentally drawn into an alternate reality game promoting Halo 3.It all started when ARG followers came across what looked like a cell phone number template in the Xbox Live motto for a mysterious Bungie.net user called Adjutant Reflex. The number led followers to VanderZand's cell phone which, coincidentally, had a Red vs. Blue audio clip as his voice mail message. The message set off alarm bells for callers, and the number was soon being passed around message boards and ARG sites all over the 'net.In actuality, VanderZand is just a Halo fan and a business and marketing student from Michigan who has nothing to do with the game (Or is that just what he wants us to think? No. It's true). In an interview with Hushed Casket, VanderZand seemed mostly bemused, especially with some of the more nervous callers. "Most of you wouldn't even respond when you got a live person on the phone. ... How do you expect to get anywhere if you don't even have the balls to respond?" he asked. We bet these same people don't even have the guts to ask Jenny for a good time when they call 867-5309.
SXSW: ARG! The Attack of the Alternate Reality Games
Ever since the success of The Beast, the alternate reality game created to help pimp Spielberg's A.I. back in 2001, alternate reality games (ARGs) have been popping up left and right, most notably the I Love Bees ARG that was used to launch Halo 2. Based on what the panelists were telling us, there are a lot more coming down the pipeline.However, one of the problems was that the panel promised to help define the term "alternate reality game," but that never happened. Wikipedia calls it "an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions." Which is quite a mouthful. But that makes us wonder, does it have to use the web as a medium to be an ARG? When people used to play T.A.G. or Killer on college campuses, that was definitely an ARG ... but where did those games go?
