ARG: Another Contest Worth Entering-Responses

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 03:23:52 +0000

Any chance for a full PM-list?

No, some people have requested that their names no be mentioned due to different reasons. Be the reasons 'right' or 'wrong' I agreed to uphold that one wish. They are free to come forward and post themselves if they wish. Feel free to send any questions or comments to me and I'll reply to the best of my ability. What I will not do is finger point, so keep any questions within the context of the project and not who did what, how, or why. In that respect I will only answer for myself and I'm willing to answer anything I am completely 100% aware of or had involvement in.

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 02:58:54 +0000

Well, on this note I guess its time to say that I'm sad that the ARG had to end on such a low note, and I'd like to thank the PMs for their efforts. I enjoyed it, and despite the flaws, loved all the efforts put into it.

Any chance for a full PM-list?

[ACWE] Background

ItWasntMeISwear@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:24:39 +0000

[ACWE] Interactions

ItWasntMeISwear@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:23:44 +0000

[ACWE] Clues

ItWasntMeISwear@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:21:36 +0000

[AWCE][POSTCARDS] Postcards received

Varin@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:19:56 +0000

I found my poster today in the library. I couldn't get the forums to let me add an attachment so I put the pictures up on my flickr

[ACWE]Web-sites and "art"

ItWasntMeISwear@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 08:19:32 +0000

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 01:05:31 +0000

In the letter that Chewy posted, the PM says that they would like to continue the game in 2 weeks.... have you had information to the contrary? Or is it worth waiting around for a bit.

A couple of the PMs dropped into the chatroom last night and said that the game will not be continuing in 2 weeks. There may be some sort of puzzle trail put together to facilitate the solving of the remaining puzzles.

That's correct. One of the PM's specifically talked about creating a puzzle trail with the remaining puzzles. However, when we began to discuss our progress on the postcards, it became apparent that we were much further along than he had suspected. I didn't get the feeling that there were many puzzles already created after that point, so I can't say for sure.

Finally: Do you think this means that Sarah isn't going to marry me like she promised?

I can say with almost 100% certainty that Sarah won't be marrying anyone. Krysten, the actor who appears as Sarah, might still be interested.

Also, where did the 7th poster come from? There are only 6 on posterlog.html - plus Jack said that the 16th poster he would give us

Yeah, I had noted 7 were done because 1 was missing and was going to be revealed to us automatically. But that may not be the case anymore. Edited the original post to say 6 of 10 done. Sorry for the confusion.

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 21:24:03 +0000

In the letter that Chewy posted, the PM says that they would like to continue the game in 2 weeks.... have you had information to the contrary?

A couple of the PMs dropped into the chatroom last night and said that the game will not be continuing in 2 weeks. There may be some sort of puzzle trail put together to facilitate the solving of the remaining puzzles.

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:35:55 +0000

It is a real shame about what happened to the game - I was really enjoying it - I've been playing PPC for a while, but at the moment it's a bit overwhelmed with new players and I've found this game easy to get involved with. I've also really enjoyed talking to you guys in chat.

In the letter that Chewy posted, the PM says that they would like to continue the game in 2 weeks.... have you had information to the contrary? Or is it worth waiting around for a bit.

I totally agree about finishing off solving the postcards for completeness sake. Also, where did the 7th poster come from? There are only 6 on posterlog.html - plus Jack said that the 16th poster he would give us - that must be the one from the Netherlands that went AWOL, so we will never probably get that.

Finally: Do you think this means that Sarah isn't going to marry me like she promised?

[ACWE] Closed... or is it?

Glecius@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:15:01 +0000

I hope that I'm not taking too much liberty with this post. My intent is not to offend anyone, nor upset an already difficult situation. However, much has happened over the last few days and I feel it needs discussing.

Yes, the email content that Chewy posted is real. It appears that ACWE has ended. There's been a lot of talk since some of the PM's came out from behind the curtain (is that the proper lingo?). Some people are very upset. Some people said it was inevitable. I don't feel that the reasons behind why it's come to an end are as important as how we, as the players, choose to deal with it.

This was my first ARG. I'm not a PM. I'm just a player. I'm not even a very good player. But about two weeks ago I signed up because it seemed that ACWE was still in its early stages. I felt I had an opportunity to get involved easily and quickly. I read through the forums and tried to follow everyone's input as they worked through past puzzles and story elements. In less than 36 hours I was posting on the forums, contacting in-game characters and even solving one of the puzzles!

As it stands now, we reached a critical point in the story. We nearly finsihed all of the postcard puzzles that were sent out and/or uploaded to the acwe website. And we discovered the location of some of the posters. It's unfortunate that we couldn't continue this through to the end, but such is life. Things happen.

That being said, I'd like to avoid posting endless logs of chat room content. I'd rather summarize some information I've gathered in the last couple of days.

1) The original PM assured me that the prize winners will receive an email soon regarding the contest prizes. I do not know what will be discussed but expect some communication soon.

2) I asked the original PM to share with the community a summary and/or outline of the complete story as it was intended to play out. Should this occur it will most likely appear here in the unfiction forum.

3) There are 6 postcards yet to be solved. The postcards were sent out and there images were uploaded. I've archived them and indexed them HERE . I hope that some of you can swallow the bitter taste of this and assist in solving the remaining puzzles.

4) The solutions to the postcards were intended to lead us to posters placed near real life locations near players. These posters had additional puzzles on them that required solving and would help us discover an even greater puzzle. I know that when all 16 posters are arranged in a certain way, like jigsaw pieces, that they reveal a map, and presumably another puzzle. There are 16 posters total and 6 of them have been revealed. The remaining 10 need to be discovered, either through actual footwork or by further communication with some of the original PM's. I'd love to see us stick it out, find the last 9 posters and solve all of the remaining puzzles.

At least two PM's are willing to assist us in indirect ways. Perhaps I'm being too resilient about the whole experience, but as I said, this was my first ARG and I'd really like to finish what's left of it before it is completely forgotten. I've had a blast so far. I've learned so much in just two weeks thanks to everyone here. You've all been so courteous and polite and shown a wonderful sense of teamwork that I've rarely seen in any other online community.

So... if anyone is with me, let's do this! Let's finish these postcards, dicover the remaining posters and put this dog to rest in an honorable fashion! What do you say? Let's show the community that we're able to rise above defeat and come out better for it!

Thanks everyone! It's been a wild two weeks so far! I can't wait to see what else the ARG world has to offer!

goatman

Special thanks to josiah for organizing a list of the postcards and related posters I used for my index. Thanks to Kender, freshness, enaxor, teh_lisa, chewy and the rest of the acwe regulars who helped me along in my first two weeks as an ARG player! I hope everyone in the community is as friendly and helpful as you all have been!

[ACWE] Hiatus

Chewy@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 05:15:56 +0000

In a very in-front-of-the-curtain move, the ACWE PM team has announced a hiatus.

Here's some excerpts. ... I'm posting it in full.

Dear players,

This is the head of the Another Contest Worth Entering PM team. I'm writing to address the issue of where the game is going at this moment. We believe the game is in imminent danger of implosion. At this time we have lost 2 PM's and there are a few problems that are grinding this game to a halt. I realize there is the "This Is Not A Game" rule, but in this case I felt it was imperative to address you directly, because we are in jeopardy and believed that addressing this in-game would seem duplicitous. I emailed because it seemed more personal and I am really hoping that this is the right thing to do. I decided against posting on the forums because it is you who have been playing and I want you to understand how delicate this matter is to the team. We had very little control over the creation of these circumstances and we very much want to avoid a fiasco, it's already a debacle.

The team apologizes, first thing, for what has been happening. There has been gross miscommunication and a number of logistical quirks, and their impact on our ability to perform as a team has been crushing. There is no blame to be laid, it was a syndrome. This is supposed to be fun for both sides, and it has ceased to be so. It has never been our intention to deliver anything but an enjoyable experience to you and due to these problems we have been unable to do so. At this point we are almost paralyzed. An emergency powwow was held and we determined that perhaps the best course of action was to contact you who we have corresponded with in email and tell you what our status is. I am asking that you spread the word to your fellow players. I would be much obliged.

Right now we are rebuilding the team and revamping the game. The cumulative effect of what's happened has made it impossible to repair the game while it is in play. We would like, if we may, to take a hiatus of two weeks if possible. I realize this is an unusual request, and I'm going to be honest, it was my idea. The alternatives were to limp along, crippled, or to simply fold. Either one is, for you and us, an unsatisfying conclusion. You've borne with us for this long (we're very grateful and somewhat amazed), and we're just asking that you give us the time to recuperate and put everything back on track. A lot of effort has been put in on both sides, and I think nobody wants to see an implosion.

Please email me back, the team is anxious to get the game going again, but we definitely need the time to recover. When we return, we promise a much-improved experience.

Thank you,

ACWE PM Team

EDIT: BTW, although the email is 1st person, I'd like to say that I'm not a part of the PM team. I'm just posting verbatum.

[WEBSITE]irkshirechemicals.com

Chewy@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 05:15:02 +0000

I've taken a different approach to Irkshire. I took the "I know something you don't want me to, and I'm telling" tactic.

I've sent emails to Donald, Noel and Jason... Donald being the only one to respond, and he seems to be oblivious to Project Shadow Web. Or at least pretending too... and he also took the ol' Kain approach and threatened me if I attempted to contact him again. Ah... the beauty of being the pain.

I don't plan on contacting Lauren... I have enough trouble balancing the email interactions as is.

I took this approach because so far I've only seen the "I want to buy said protection" tactic thusfar. Nothing wrong with some variety.

EDIT: Lucy, IRC? Perhaps the in-game chat (#xbox360contestdrawing?) That way we can lurk... but then again, I'd expect you to post the logs nonetheless the location :D

[ACWE] Postcard Solve Reference

smibbo@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 02:16:33 +0000

maybe somehow it's binary?

[ACWE] Postcard Solve Reference

smibbo@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:38:14 +0000

I had an idea last night...but it didn't work. I've since emailed Jack about it...maybe he can clear it up.

My idea:

We can consider the crop circle to be just a hub with 5 spokes. Going clockwise from lower right (the spoke with the little nub thing) to upper right (the spoke with the hollow circle at the end) and reading from inside to outside, we can organize the symbols like this:

oooo/ooO/OO/oO/Oo

Now...opposite words --> on/off --> Morse Code...

.... ..- -- .- -. = human

And, http://www.anothercontestworthentering.com/human.html ....doesn't work. So, I haven't been able to figure out anything past there.