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Extended Feature: The Countdown Clock

nicksix@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 02:17:06 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2011/11/30/the-countdown-clock/

The Countdown Clock

Perhaps you have heard of the Machine of Death , an anthology of short stories edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki !, those stories gleaned mainly through a public submission process and contest. Each story is based on the same shared concept, that there is a Machine that can predict the exact nature of a person's death. This past Spring, a second iteration of the contest was launched in order to compile a second volume of stories.

Several aspects of the contest and guidelines inspired me to write and submit my own, albeit by taking a slightly unusual tack. I prepared eight stories and began a ninth, which I will need your help to complete. more

Feature: Undefining ARG - 11/10/06

Dottoe@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:08:19 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2006/11/10/undefining-arg/

Undefining ARG

A few years ago, in the midst of my first draft of a trail for Lockjaw, an early alternate reality game, I came up with that very term (yes, I am that particular idiot), for the lack of any better way to quickly convey a feeling for what might be involved in the information that followed, catalogued on that page in excruciating detail. That same impetus to try to categorize a nascent genre, to distill a definition into a more memorable soundbite, drove me to create the Unfiction site, mainly because I realized that I could not define the genre so easily as I might have wished. This site became my surrogate definition; instead of repeatedly explaining at length what these "things" were, the idea went, I could just point people to the site instead. As has been readily apparent to those active in the ARG community, however, there has never been any collectively agreeable, concrete description of alternate reality games.

So here's where where I tell you that I have a way to define alternate reality gaming in such a fashion as to prove to you that I cannot in fact define it at all. While the previous statement may seem nonsensical, I encourage you to bear with me. The following is written with the assumption that the reader has some passing familiarity with the history, mechanics, and gameplay of ARGs. more

Feature - The PM-Player Communication Dynamic ... - 12/15/07

theOtherGuy@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:48:54 +0000

Link to Feature .

The Puppetmaster-Player Communication Dynamic in Alternate Reality Gaming and Chaotic Fiction

In a previous article, I discussed Chaotic Fiction as a concept and as a context for a better understanding of Alternate Reality Gaming. This was intended more as an overview and did not address in detail the gaming dynamic, the process, or the chaotic play of Alternate Reality Gaming. How does it work? What engages an audience? Which elements are necessary to facilitate the growth of the audience, and which elements can be discarded? Why does there have to be a "curtain?"

Many discussions focus on only one of two aspects of the experience as being the primary drivers within the medium: (1) dividing the audience into discrete groups and (2) defining types of "real-world" game interaction mechanisms. Because the process of Chaotic Play is so different from that of more traditional gaming and entertainment pursuits, I believe that the metaconversational space shared during the creation of a chaotic enterprise should be the focus of the perspective from which we describe the system. more

[EDIT] Stickied. Because it deserves to be ;) --Gisk

Interview: Adrian Hon, Perplex City - 5/5/05

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 05 May 2005 16:41:46 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/interviews/2005/05/05/adrian-hon-perplex-city/

With recent developments surrounding 333 mysterious parcels being delivered to people around the world, and more specifically with the speculative meaning in the contents thereof, many questions were raised about the direction this game was taking. Perplex City is an ambitious project, first announced in February of 2004. In pre-game teaser episodes, it has run the standard alternate reality gaming gauntlet, from email puzzles and blogs to mysterious videos and live one-time events. These episodes have built a steady following among the ARG community over the past year. When a recent puzzle solution led to a sign-up page to receive a posted package, which turned out to contain a set of puzzle cards along with assorted Perplex City swag, chaos ensued as players tried to determine how they fit with the game so far.

Of course, the most obvious route to enlightenment was through Adrian Hon, currently known as "Executive Producer and Director of Play, Mind Candy Design" and the joint lead PuppetMaster behind this alternate reality game. It is unknown whether Mr. Hon was required to relinquish his duties as "Acting Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Perplex City" in order to take up his new post but we're hoping that, at the very least, the pay is better. Anyway, the point is he probably knows a thing or two about stuff and we figured he could set us straight. read more

Interview: Celia, Gaming the Game - 4/12/03

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:10:42 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/intrview/celia1.html

The Cloudmakers group was formed to solve the mystery surrounding the death of fictional character Evan Chan, which eventually turned out to be a game called "The Beast" by it's creators, and designed to promote the upcoming Steven Spielberg movie, A.I. The Cloudmakers group was formed on the Yahoo! Groups service on April 11, 2001.

On April 12, 2001, an individual appeared in the IRC chat room used by some of the Cloudmakers for real-time interaction. Known as "celia," this individual was first believed to be in-game due her strange conversational style and constant quoting from works and along themes that were also utilized within The Beast. more

Interview: Dave Szulborski, Chasing The Wish - 4/5/03

Stevoid@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 06 Apr 2003 00:57:51 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/intrview/ctw1.html

by Jonathan Waite
Dave Szulborski took a smidgen of time out from his hectic day and replied to some questions about his wildly popular new ARG Chasing The Wish. We appreciate this intimate look into the Alternate Reality of his world. more

Interview: Jeff Bodell, Experience It! - 4/5/03

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 05 Apr 2003 10:14:20 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/intrview/eit1.html

The Experience It! campaign was launched with a limited scope in mind - since it led up to a local event, it wasn't really designed to be played worldwide - yet it still attracted a healthy number of participants, not to mention the attention of a few hardcore ARG communities. The local event attendees weren't told what they were in for until they actually made it to the gallery opening, but a dozens of them still turned out at midnight to see what was up. The campaign was also developed on a short timeline and a small budget.

We spoke at length with Jeff Bodell, the man who put the Experience It! campaign together. more

Feature: Uncapping the Ride - 1/12/03

aliendial@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 18:16:16 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/features/uncap.html

BMW Endgame Gives Hope

Last year, BMW released a series of short films showcasing their cars. Each film starred Clive Owen as the "Driver" alongside many famous actors, and each was directed by such notables as Ang Lee, John Woo, Guy Ritchie, and John Frankenheimer. News eventually surfaced in a Macintosh rumors forum that the Apple site had a mysterious tiny :K: link which seemed to have something to do with those BMW films. Investigation of the subplot films that went along with each production revealed clues to a massive internet scavenger hunt set in the Driver's universe that spanned many sites, including the Apple and BMW Films sites, Starbucks, First Illinois Mortgage, and the Susstones' site.

Several thousand people took the bait and followed the trail, which ultimately led to the chance to register to win a brand new 2003 BMW Z4. Last night's event in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the culmination of their quest. Only 250 people completed the online portion and registered to win the car, and many of them travelled from all over North America to meet the man with the forks. Unfiction's Vegas Correspondent, Steve Peters, was there. more

Interview: A Conversation with Elonka Dunin - 1/2/03

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 02 Jan 2003 20:48:55 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2003/01/02/on-pixels-and-puzzles-and-pi/

Elonka Dunin was gracious enough to sit down and have a chat with me the other day. It started out as an interview but she turned the tables on me a few times and it ended up being more of a discussion of the ARG and MMORPG genres, cryptography, and puzzle creation. more

ed. fixed the link -imbri

Interview: Keith Griffin of MindQuest - 12/15/02

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 15 Dec 2002 09:06:06 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/intrview/kgriffin1.html

TerraQuest Game Offers Mystery, Intrigue and Big Bucks
by: Steve Peters

I had a chance to sit down and chat with Keith Griffin, the CEO of MindQuest Entertainment , the company behind the new online interactive game TerraQuest . Keith is the driving force behind this newly launched game, which bills itself as a cross between a mystery and a scavenger hunt, offering a minimum prize of $250,000 to the first player to solve it. more

Interview: Chat with Doug TenNapel of Push, NV - 12/8/02

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 09 Dec 2002 02:24:50 +0000

ARGN and Unfiction.com had the honor of hosting a chat with Push, NV , consulting producer and "Push Puzzle Kingpin" Doug TenNapel on Sunday, December 8, 2002. Check out the transcript !

Humor: 2002 Lockies Awards - 11/11/02

PaleFigure@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 13 Nov 2002 02:22:06 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/humor/lockies1.html

Live from Moreland, WV, it's the Lockies!
by: Adam Pedley-Smith

That's right, hello everybody, and welcome everyone to this, the first ever Lockies Award Ceremony. I'm Payne Wenipee and my co-host for the evening is the lovely Ivana Bigapare, she's out there on the red carpet right now amidst the arriving celebrities. Ivana?

Thanks Payne! Gosh, the air is just lousy with excitement out here, the good folks of Moreland have really turned out en masse to greet the famous faces that will be here tonight. Why, people are virtually exploding with anticipation and who can blame them on this night of nights. Oh and look, here comes a familiar face down the red carpet, you know him, you love him, it's the Reverend Lee and doesn't he just look fabulous? more

Interview: Dave Szulborski, PM for CAOOC and shc.com

bill@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 07 Nov 2002 16:48:24 +0000

Dave was kind enough to give me his thoughts on a variety of genre-related topics. The full interview is at http://www.deaddrop.us/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=58

Interview: Lars Fontaine of True Crime Press - 11/4/02

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 05 Nov 2002 06:11:28 +0000

Article: ARG Player Unexpectedly Wins $2,200 Cash - 9/9/02

SpaceBass@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 23 Sep 2002 06:44:59 +0000

http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/features/win2200.html