unforum

[KradDrol]

I would be the second person to say that this is a scam. And although the word may seem to be a little strong to you, I believe it still applies.

The truth is, there is no puzzle. Now, there is the *potential* for an adventure, if the buyer took it upon himself/herself to try and find the lock that fits this key. That depends entirely on the buyer. The person who buys this key in essence has to create the mystery and puzzle and adventure all on his/her own. And so, there is no real puzzle already there for them to solve.

And given that, personally, I'd rather create that adventure and mystery over something that I didn't buy over the Internet. Let's say that I do buy this key. I can wear it around my neck and show it off. Inevitably, someone would ask me why I wear a key around my neck, and I would explain that I'm on a journey to find my matching lock. They would ooh and ahh, and then ask me where I found it. Was it perhaps in an old drawer somewhere, or lying on the ground? And I would have to answer no, I in fact, bought it over the Internet from a group of people that make them for money. And then the mystery, the uniqueness, the *adventure* dies a little bit.

Why do we need to purchase something to give us a sense of adventure, especially when there are so many things in this world that are yet unexplained, forgotten, misplaced, or misunderstood? We pass by everyday objects that may have decades or centuries of history behind them without a second thought, objects that have real history and real adventures waiting for the person willing to put the time into it. And we pass it all up so that we can buy something polished and shiny for so and so dollars, plus shipping and handling.

Now, they are very nice keys. And the artwork that you have displayed is excellent. If you meant to sell these keys as jewelry, something cool and shiny to put around your neck, I might even end up buying one. But that's not what you purport to be selling. Instead you sell the concept of adventure, of a mystery, of something unknown, where the reality is that it's a commercial product, made to make money. The adventure and mystery are entirely in the buyer's head, and could be wrapped around any object in this world.

Now, I'm sure many posters will come to your rescue, for you are Jane, a supposed godlike figure in the ARG world, and I am just some guy. But those are my two cents.

[krystyn]

I have a key. In many ways, I could be Fake Person.

I haven't made the time to write about my adventures thus far with the key, but I can tell you that none of them so far involve actually interacting with other people about the key, nor even trying my key in any locks.

I am so glad you are here to guard the puzzles, Ehsan. It provides quite a nice foil for those of us who like to play with those boundaries.

[oliverkeers13]

I really like the basic concept of this, but there does seem to be one main flaw as far as I'm concerned. You don't know where the lock is. This means that the clues you write can't be of any assistance. If you were able to send the key to someone in the same city as the lock, then that'd be fine. There are still millions of locks in most cities, and it'd be much more of an interesting adventure. The number of locks that there are makes it seem much more like a chore. You may only be charging $28 for the key, but you may need to spend over 100x that in plane tickets.
Personally, if you placed the lock somewhere interesting and close to the owner of the key (city wide is enough, I think), and then wrote the clues, I'd be willing to pay a lot more for the experience.
I'm not suggesting that this is a bad idea, on the contrary I like it, but I think a few tweaks would improve it no end.

[krystyn]

/me blinks very, very slowly.

[krystyn]

[KradDrol]

[krystyn]

I ask myself the same question every night when I log onto XBoxLive and play Halo 2 against total strangers.

What, pray tell, am I doing paying a monthly subscription when I could simply walk out onto the mean streets of Chicago and get some deadly violent action for free?

[KradDrol]

[Ehsan]

[krystyn]

[KradDrol]

[BrianEnigma]

It looks like everyone has a strong opinion on this. I received my key a couple of weeks ago and have been pretty satisfied with it. The goods, as described, were delivered (The Miraskill Key, #7 of 16 in the Hydrogen Series) as well as fun handwritten clues (indicating the key spent time on the Trans Siberian Railroad and that if I introduce myself as a distant relative of a famous historical figure to the right person, that I will be told what the key unlocks.)

Based on the items received and the statement on their page that they cannot guarantee that you will ever find the lock that your key opens, I'd think that the term "scam" is not only incorrect, but so grossly incorrect as to be rather offensive.

I believe that the "adventure" of it all is the same "adventure" you bring to any other nontraditional game (such as an ARG) as well as the same adventure you get from a fictional story. You can sit there and coldly analyze a story or you can jump right in. You can play an ARG by powering through puzzles and meticulously looking at it from an Out-Of-Game perspective or you can get wrapped up in the story. In the case of the keys, the beginnings of a story are written for you, in the from of clues. Admittedly, there is no "PM Babysitting" of the story and plotline through the duration of the adventure to steer you in the right direction. You just have to pick it up and run with it. Or not. It's your choice.

I know that now, when I pass by antique furniture shops (there are plenty here in Portland), I sometimes have to check if the key will turn in the lock of a trunk, desk, or armoire. It's a little bit dumb, actually, but if you suspend disbelieve and don't think about that, it's a little bit fun, too--like splashing in puddles.

** Edited URL code to make it work -- jamesi

[catherwood]

[rose]

Actually this project seems a bit like ARGs, in that, either you get it and it sounds like a fun idea, or you get it and it sounds like a poor idea, or you don't get it.

I like the idea. Part of the great appeal of ARGs to me is that using your imagination is required. I know a number of people who can't take the time to play an ARG, but they would love something to spark their imagination in the everyday world. I think the key would do that.

Would I buy this from anyone else? Probably, if I knew they had a reputation for creating good products, like Mind Candy with the PPC cards.

[Giskard]

Seeing the above discussion unfold, I'm thinking that this is a subject where two different parts of this community kinda collide, because of their different interest in, and expectations of, the genre of games under discussion on unFiction.

There are those here who love ARGs (and related forms of games) because of the puzzles in them, and the challenges they set, and the satisfaction of uncovering next steps through the victory of 'beating' increasingly difficult puzzle-aspects, and there are those who love ARGs because of the story-telling aspect, the suspension of disbelief, the creation of an "alternate reality". The fact that there are tons of different people in this community, who are either part of one of the above groups, or have a mixed interest in both aspects, makes playing (and creating) ARGs so enjoyable imho, as it becomes a group effort of distinctly different people.

Now, in the discussion on IRC, I've heard people say that you cannot call this a scam, as "they deliver exactly what they promise to deliver", but that is a matter of interpretation I guess... the former group of people might look at the information on the Latchkey Project page as an offer of a puzzle: you recieve a key, and clues to help solve the mystery surrounding the key. It is, however, not a solvable, beatable puzzle out-of-the-box, where afterwards, you know exactly what you've spent your money on, instead, you yourself, and your imagination, have to play a vital role in making it that.

If you interpret the offer this literally, you might be disappointed in the project and you should probably, as Ehsan did, decide that this is not for you. I still think calling it a scam is rather inappropriate, as I think (and Jane has assured us of this through her post) that there went a lot of sincerity and creativity into the project.

Now, some have said (Kraddrol in the posts above, and some others on IRC) that the only reason people are positive about this (or "buy it") is because Jane's name is attached to it. Maybe that's true, but it would be wrong to suggest that that is because she is "a God in ARG world", and so all of us "believers" blindly trust and follow whatever she does.

I'd say it is because whoever knows Jane and her ideas and the gist of her past efforts, probably know what the intended purpose behind this project is, and that it is sincere. Also, if you know Jane and her work, you can probably make a pretty good decision for yourself if you have the same interests and adventurous outlook on projects like this, or if you don't. I for one applaud it's originality, but it is not something that I particularly feel like participating in, so I'll pass on ordering a key myself. Still, I can appreciate the way it is probably meant to be set up, as can I appreciate some people's scepticism.