unforum

[FMG]

Wow, thanks for taking the time!!!

We should start posting about the pages in single threads, because we're speaking of this in two different threads already...

[AUZ505]

Ariadnes Forum on findthelostring.com

[aliendial]

Sure - these forums are 'out of game' because we discuss meta stuff. And because that's how we like things. So Ariadne can't really officially come here or to our wiki to get the news. And as a practical matter they don't want to force players to come to our forum or any particular forum; they'd like to be neutral ground. So better to encourage all the groups out there to post findings in-game.

In her forums/universe we are characters in the play - so go ahead and post what you or your UF friends may have found in an in-game manner - i.e. 'hey Ariadne we really want to help and here's chapter 2 [upload pdf] found by my buddy Jasper in Austin [tell some of the story if you like] and here is a translation my friend esperanto-tim did [copy/paste]; and gee do you think this means WE are the agonothetai?" I recommend not linking to the wiki copies - save to your hard drive and upload a standalone copy.

It's not important who ends up being communicators of UF information on the in-game forums, so anyone can be Ariadne's friend there, but your UF friends will very much appreciate attribution for their finds. No need to be compulsive, just acknowledge shared efforts.

[Avatrix]

Ariadne just IM'd me, wanting to talk about the letters she found in Cardiff.
The conversation was long, so in summary, she noted that on page #2, there are a list of descriptions that seem like the result of a "personality quiz". She wants help matching those up to the six words (Thumos, etc.) from the bottom. She agreed with me that we could backsolve (reverse engineer) the puzzle to do the matching, without figuring out the "quiz questions".

There are six words, 11 descriptions, so we may have some overlap. There are five codes for "proof of recovery" at the bottom; 5+6 = 11, so I can also see those matching descriptions that aren't used, or are used a different number of times, etc.[/quote]

[D72W]

Cardiff threads?

[Weezel]

[dreamerblue]

I do think it is good policy for us to communicate information with Ariadne since, after all, this is her life's mission we're discussing. If I'd lost all my memories, had no connections to family, etc., I know I'd want people to share with me all the information they had, especially if their not sharing information could lead to my failing to be the saviour of worlds that apparently Ariadne and company are supposed to be. If the "it's not a game" feeling is supposed to be part of playing an ARG, let's remember that we are trying to help a fellow human being here (err, at least I'm assuming she's human...or is her otherworldly self just inhabiting a very athletic human body? lol...).

[Elizabeth123]

Yeah...This is why I'm suggesting somebody post a general READ THIS FIRST post in the forum, to let people (especially newbs) know these discussions are going on here, that many of their questions have been answered, and there are more puzzles going on than they know about from just reading the forums and Ariadne's blog...It seems like there are probably 30 people there who don't realize these discussions are going on here.

[limako]

Thanks

[dreamerblue]

Re: Thanks

[Weezel]

Re: Thanks

[aliendial]

Some ancient history - for folks like Limako.

The first important ARG, "The Beast" for the movie A.I., was launched without any infrastructure like this. No in-game forums. Most of the gameplay happened in a yahoo Group, where hundreds (thousands?) formed a spontaneous community to play the game. The mods of those forums made a life-changing decisions when they jumped in to set up the group. To keep track of things as they changed, they started a Trail and a Guide. The first an event-by-event collection (eventually huge) and the second an attempt to synthesize it all in a "story so far" format. Those were brilliant choices. But the game was entirely self-enclosed. There was no outside reality to intrude. No places for people to post anachronistic comments like "hey isn't Haley Joel Osment a great actor??!!"

The Trail (was at cloudmakers.org) was a huge endeavor, built from scratch. As time went on, not every game (not most games) drew the resources that merited independent creation of a Trail site. So as an easy alternative, folks adopted the wiki tool to serve the same purpose. Hence the wiki set up by thebruce.

The Guide is more problematic - tends to happen in a "story so far" thread most times. For an enclosed game it's not so important; for a game that draws a lot of new players it becomes very important.

But game designers appear to have realized the best way to create a neutral ground for everyone - a central hub for interaction with the game and for web groups to find each other - is to set up in-game forums where we all step on the stage and join the game universe.

As to how this all interacts with games - imbri's guide for new players (its link shows up at the upper right of UF pages in rotation) is a good place to start. But in general, the game is interactive fiction. When you interact with the characters, you are in their universe and they won't hear you when you ask "hey is McDonald's sponsoring this game?" "hey how could the old athletes write a web app in 1917 that we can use now?" or silly questions like that. It's the deep end. Jump in.

Various web communities may get involved. UnFiction is very explicitly "out-of-game" - characters may not post here. We don't pretend it's all real; we analyze the game directly and play hard. Puppetmasters should not post here either, at least until after the game at which point some PMs will drop in for chat. Other forums may choose to play "in-game". Different strokes.

But to really play, you need to find a direct connection with the gameplay - watch the blogs, see if you can get a character to talk to you - things like that. Research architecture to analyze chapter 4. Whatever floats your boat. And most importantly, have fun!

[Shad0]

Re: [RINGU] New Ariadne Video

[limako]

Re: Thanks