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Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Iris (Halo 3)

[META/INFO] Official article via halo.msn.com confirms end

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thebruce
Dances With Wikis

Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 6899
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

[META/INFO] Official article via halo.msn.com confirms end

writer87 found:
Project Iris

Quote:

Halo 3 Fans Dig for Interactive Riches in 'Iris' Treasure Hunt

by Alex Goldstein

The September 25th launch of Halo 3 may still be a few weeks away, but fans of the most anticipated video game in history have kept themselves busy viewing trailers and live action videos while tracking down any information they can about characters, weapons and story lines.

Perhaps their best source of information was a series of elaborate treasure hunts dubbed "Iris," an alternate reality game created by Xbox and Bungie Studios as part of the massive promotional push for the third and final chapter of the best-selling Halo franchise. More than 1.5 million visitors logged onto Halo3.com since Iris debuted earlier this summer. The viral campaign concluded in mid-August but the plot thread will extend into Halo 3.

With its cryptic messages and iconic symbols, Iris took gamers on an extraordinary journey through the Halo universe, providing a wide range of previously unknown secrets about the Halos, the Flood, the Forerunners and the true origins behind the Halo trilogy. It contained numerous examples of innovative technologies, an eclectic mix of multiple media channels � including the online, wireless and physical worlds � and several complex, mind-bending challenges to solve that unlocked new information and stories about the Halo mythology.

"The goal of Iris was to thoroughly engage the Halo community in the launch of Halo 3 and provide an exciting glimpse into this rich and immersive world," says Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.

For hard-core gamers who eat, drink and sleep Halo, Iris provided intriguing new details and background stories to the trilogy that had never been previously disclosed. It also brought new fans to the franchise by introducing them to the Halo world without needing to delve into the more arcane aspects of the game.

According to Aaron Elliott, online marketing manager at Xbox Global Marketing, one of the most unique aspects of Iris was how Xbox and Bungie decided to "pull back the curtain" and openly embrace the campaign.

"Many viral campaigns try to go underground and remain concealed, but in this day and age they are almost impossible to hide," says Elliott. "We decided early in the planning process that everyone should come along for the ride, have a lot of fun and enjoy the experience."

A small team from the two companies spent eight months developing a five-episode story and crafting an interactive narrative that could be easily followed. In the end, Iris was created as a physical mechanism � five servers representing the five episodes of the campaign� that was locked until the first 100 people cracked the code. Once opened, all of the content � videos, text log files, images, maps �was available to everyone.

The widely played Iris campaign set a new standard for its multimedia penetration. Elements of the campaign were found in newspaper advertisements, in-store kiosks, toll-free phone numbers, voice mail messages and blog posts. Clues were placed in weekly Circuit City and Best Buy circulars and offered up by mysterious street-corner conspirators. MTV.com was also involved, posting a video leading to a key link.

In addition, a popular Canadian Internet portal, MuchMusic.com, introduced a new Web application that allowed a ringtone to launch a secret Web site containing essential details for Iris competitors, , prompting well over 100,000 downloads and counting. (Check out the application in action at http://blog.muchmusic.com/archives/2007/07/halo_3_secret_u.php )

"We were thrilled to be part of the compelling Halo 3 experience," says Elliott. "A game like this doesn't come around very often."

"The most important aspect of Iris was that it encouraged fans to work together and share what they know with others," adds Bell. "This is a core element of the Xbox 360 DNA � creating community."

And there you have it folks - "...elaborate treasure hunts dubbed "Iris," an alternate reality game..."
Though it's the only reference anywhere thus far 'officially' referring to Iris as an ARG, it is none-the-less in this article, condoned by MS/Bungie being on their official site (as opposed to a 3rd party reporter's words on an external site).

I stand corrected Razz

_________________
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ARGFest 2013 - Seattle! ARGFest.com

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:30 pm
Last edited by thebruce on Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

chewpathingy
Greenhorn

Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 6

your posts are prettier than mine /cry

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:39 pm

KLind
Entrenched

Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 928
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Oh. Noes. Jeff Bell.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:38 pm

DreamOfTheRood
Unfettered

Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 714
Location: Indiana

Great ARG or Greatest ARG?

_________________
Twitter: DreamoftheRood

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:30 pm

Naked
Guest

Aww dang... I missed this one too. Well, I was there for the end, and I missed ILB by almost 2 years so... getting closer =)

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:46 pm

what?!
Guest

....

DreamOfTheRood wrote:

Great ARG or Greatest ARG?

this "arg" was made of fail and suck

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 1:35 am

DreamOfTheRood
Unfettered

Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 714
Location: Indiana

Re: ....

what?! wrote:

DreamOfTheRood wrote:

Great ARG or Greatest ARG?

this "arg" was made of fail and suck

Colbert: President Bush, great president or greatest president?

ILB set the bar for professional ARGs, and Wildfire Industries set the bar for amateur ARGs. So far, a few args have approached those bars, Year Zero being the chief among them. Iris, though? Iris doesn't come close.

_________________
Twitter: DreamoftheRood

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 1:44 am

Arkanor
Veteran

Joined: 27 Sep 2005
Posts: 89

Quote:

complex, mind-bending challenges

What?! Where! *cries* I missed them. Sad

Oh, they must mean scratching on my mike to unlock Server 3. No, couldn't be. Perhaps it was talking to a chat bot to unlock Server 4. Bah, too simple. Must have been mashing down F5 for hours until TheArtifactLocation updated. Oops, guess not.

Quote:

The most important aspect of Iris was that it encouraged fans to work together and share what they know with others

Exactly how divorced from reality IS Microsoft, that they think Iris promoted widespread cooperation and sharing of information? Oh, granted we all overanalyzed the material from servers, but in terms of cooperation to unlock servers? Virtually nil, none was needed.

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:01 am

grey101
Veteran

Joined: 20 Aug 2007
Posts: 100
Location: virgina beach,VA

DreamOfTheRood wrote:

Great ARG or Greatest ARG?

greatest ARG

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:57 pm

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