Wearable game launching soon
While alternate reality games of the past have been deployed as viral marketing campaigns for standalone video games, newer ARGs are looking to physical merchandise as a means of funding and distribution. ARGs are usually characterised by a trail of puzzles left across various in-game websites, solved by players working alone or together.
However, new ARG EDOC Laundry differs from precedent; its puzzle trail is wearable, in the form of a boutique clothing line which launches in March. The designers hope that their "skater" style clothing will become a talking point, tapping into the puzzle-solving, game-playing subconscious. This isn't the first ARG to sell puzzles, but clothing is a novel direction for games in general as well as ARGs--it will be interesting to see if it takes off.