unforum

[Fencer- England]

The End is Near

[Canzonett]

Ladies and Gentlemen, it was a privilege flying with you.

Getting familiar with this creative cosmos of an alternate reality and understanding its principles.

Watching you run training labyrinths.

Sketching, running, walking and cycling labyrinths myself. Turning street maps into something different has taught me to see cities with different eyes. Including my own.

Developing the weirdest thinkable theories and discussing them with you.

Pseudo-desynchronizing and synchronizing the worlds.

Joining in the colourful, chaotic, confusing and inspiring choir of trans-continental chat weirdness that was our Ring Re-Unification Chat.

If you or any of your parallel selves ever happen to be in Munich, you're heartily invited to eat a pretzel with me.

[konamouse]

I think one of the goals of this CF was to bring the world closer together. One of the benefits of ARG and the internet is that over the past few years I have "met" people from all over the world (some only virtually, but some in person).

As SpaceBass aliterated at his address during ARGFest. The first time he was in Europe, he felt like a tourist and stranger. But the next time, he knew people.

If anyone is here in Las Vegas, they know that I'm just an easy contact away for a meet/greet.

And I feel that where ever I go there will be someone I "know" and can meet/greet. Making our world just a little smaller. And making that six degrees even closer.

Yay for the multinationalverse!

[Khaos]

Lost Ring was my first ARG too, and i just loved it all the way. I'm glad i encountered lot of interesting people from all around the world and i thank you all for being so wonderful.

It was really a great game !

[Canzonett]

Favourite moments and experiences:

Beginning to understand the rules, routines, freedoms and language of the FTLR cosmos.

Receiving the very first reaction from a character to one of my mails.

Linking actual people and nicknames by watching Dav's magnificent James Ambush Mission video series.

The creative, weird and merry polyphony of the Ring Re-Unification chat.

Omphalabyrinths!!! All of them. Making and doing them. Following everyone doing them. Waiting for the omphaputer updates. Watching the essence of all those experiences in the Beijing Omphalabyrinth video. (And that unforgettable comment from one of the SF omphalabyrinth videos: "Damn multiverse!")

Eating breakfast and wondering if SF was still awake and Wellington already asleep.

Lucie confronting Markus on the plane to Beijing.

The athletes meeting for the first time in Beijing.

The dialogue between Diego and James during the discussion with Meihui, Monica and Larissa ("Just email him - membersoftheoatgmaildotcom" - "That's MY email address!").

Following the MO last night, watching Team Wellington between the runs and chatting along with everyone.

THANK YOU for all this.

[Bookmore[fromanotherPC]]

I've been lucky enough to participate into several ARGs before, but when I thought such an experience couldn't get more "massive", FTLR popped in. Working with you all, following Canzonett's instructions to design a giant labyrinth and walking it, going to collect items or gtting in touch with academics to help with linguistic riddles, most of these things I didn't imagine I'd ever have to do. This was all unique, and might well remain so for some time.

If the game itself is over, let me take this occasion to remind you the story - heck, our story - is not. We still have a memorial DVD project that needs a LOT of work, podcasts to write and record...All things to keep us busy for, oh...Four years ?

[TWolf]

= D

[VictorSueiro]

It was a pleasure for me. I hope i can share another experience like this with you folks.
This was my first ARG experience, and i hope just the first of several.
Thank you!

[DavFlamerock]

Álright, I suppose I'll dredge out some highlights for ya'll.

Coming in first in my mind are the opportunities it opened up:
*I'm learning Esperanto now, and I have no intention of stopping
*I have a host of new friends in the Bay Area, in Texas, in Wellington, in La Plata, just to name a few.
*I had the most amazing experience training for and participating in the Multiverse Olympics. I may not have gotten any gold, but by God "The answer is in the journey, not the destination."
*I was thrust into a new kind of storytelling--one that required every strength and forced me to step back so that other people with more expertise on the puzzle could have their spotlight.
*I had the immense honor of being lucky enough to have been in San Francisco--where I could help tie James to a chair and talk some sense into him. Not quite going camping with the characters, but it's closer than anything else I've seen or experienced.
*Now I will never look at the following the same way: labyrinths, Greek, the Olympics, parallel worlds, or just about any major decision.
*Finally, I will never EVER forget ABBA. I love you guys (RangerD/Ariock/Pita), and mostly because we ended up bonding over an impossible puzzle that we attempted to crack for 2 hours before finally getting dinner

So I guess this was about friendship. It even manifested in my friendship with Diego, even if we didn't chat/interact much. And I've got a whole host of friends who I would gladly visit on a lark if travel were free. For now, though, I will have to make due with... another ARG.

See you in Superstruct... or, if fate will have it, Eldritch Errors. If not one of those two, some future game will have to suffice.

[Tenchizard]

Well, this was great after all. I guess I won't forget soon these past months. As an ARG it was really good, full of puzzles and interaction and so on... but as an experience, it's been one of the best I've had.

For me, I will specially remember my ninja mission, as I got to interact physically with Monica and all. I'd like to thank too everyone who participated in the couberteam... even if it was not the best method to do something as we already discussed, we all have learned a lot from it.

I hope to see you around in another game, in the forums or just following twitters and such. Thanks for everything

[chaobell]

I wish I could have done more stuff in this game (why could James have not lived in Houston so I could help tie him to a chair, whyyyy), but it was still quite incredible.

The Hong Kong artifact, and finding of the pruvo code thereof, watching y'all go from "none of the code" to "4/5 of the code and curse that dropped J and its name and lineage" in what, an hour? half an hour? was particularly awesome.

[Oriza]

I'm back now, and I've got a few more things to say

I didn't really do a whole lot in this game, being in the middle of nowhere, but the few things I did do (walk labyrinths, making the omphalabyrinth...uh...that was about it >_<), watching the rest of you work on this baby was still totally awesome.

I learned a lot about ancient Greece and this experience really opened my
mind.

I made a whole bunch of friends all over the world.

I LOVE YOU ALLLLL *sobs*

Sorry.

[dreamerblue]

This was my first ARG as well. I learned that I can get very obsessive about my games, heh (well, I should have known that from involvement with other types of games, but it became more obvious here) . I enjoyed every minute of it, though I'll admit I spent a lot of time on it that at times I should have devoted to other things.

Things I got to be involved in:
- Picking up a Codex page with thebruce. Getting to hold a physical artifact so soon after joining the ARG world for the first time was very nice .
- Tying 2 separate Canadian omph knots (meeting new people to do the first one...and getting lost and scared during the second one, but it all worked out, heh)
- Performing a TheO mission with a partner from Brazil, which also had me discover a museum in Toronto I would not have normally visited and go on a day trip with an acquaintance I felt I should spend more time with
- Discovering and walking a public labyrinth in my own city (I did take video footage, but never submitted it because there was nothing interesting about it, lol...the Toronto Public Labyrinth is a LONG labyrinth!)
- Making the videos of my TheO mission and both oaths (I always enjoy getting to play around with iMovie, and nothing other than this could have got me to post videos of myself on YouTube )
- Interacting with the characters through Facebook (both real-time in Facebook chat as well as through messages and wall posts), e-mail and Twitter (which I didn't even know about before joining this game!)
- Watching some of the abduction of James in real-time via the webcast! That was awesome!
- Lots and lots of interaction and puzzle-solving goodness with people around the world, including some who were on their lunch break when I was thinking of going to bed!

I never got to see them in person, but I was wowed regardless by the 5 physical rings that had to be retrieved...they were *incredible*.

The Trackstick will be a great new friend for tracking my progress as I go for walks and as I travel, and continue to remind me of this fabulous experience.

I will save a few stickers and tattoos for 2012 . And hey, if something does materialize for a lost winter sport in 2010, when the Olympics will be in my home country, I'll certainly look out for ways to be involved again .

Unfortunately, the close of the Olympic Games for another year is also signaling to me the end of summer. I am a teacher and have been lucky to have so much free time this summer to spend doing this, but the real world is calling me back. Like I said, I'll keep an eye out for future Lost Ring activities...but given how much time I like to be able to pour into something like this--time which I will not have come September--I don't think I'll be able to be an active player in another ARG for a little while. (I know many of you have "real jobs" and still have time to game, but since I'm a new teacher I need to spend a lot of time setting up my courses and routines and such .) I may lurk in the background on some, reading about what's going on when I have time, and I'll certainly keep checking this forum to see if any further discussion occurs on the loose ends that haven't been tied up yet. I will miss the community, the connection with characters and the challenge. I wish all of you the best, and lots of fun with your future games . Hopefully, in time, you will see me again before you see the agonothetai again .

[jasper]

Good luck with teaching, bluedreamer! I'm an old teacher instead of new, but work swallowed up all my time these last two weeks of the game.

So, belatedly, thanks everyone for a fun game! Especially thanks to Texas players ameretto01 and lhall, who I got to meet and who got to spend a large amount of time riding in our vehicle on different missions. What a journey this has been!

[mr.judkins]

Well, before everyone begins to go seperate ways, and this forum grows quieter and quieter, I'd like to get in my thanks as well.

I entered into this community rather timidly, as so many already seemed to know each other, I had no idea how to [tag] a thread, and generally felt my newbie status. To those experienced unfiction members, thanks for being so open, inviting and helpful to us newcomers, as this all quickly passed.

I'd like to echo so many of the comments made by others - each time I end up explaining to people what I've been up to I remember just how extraordinary this experience has been (by the totally mindboggled look on their face). And the core of the experience has definitely been working together with all of you...

A few of my favourite moments:

* Seeing the photo of James Mutters on the SF rooftop of AKQA holding the La Sekto message MacMonkey left in London for TheO.

* Chatting to Ariadne for the first time through Gmail.

* The 12 hour solve of the seemingly impossible real-life challenge of deciphering the Hong Kong Pruvo Code.

* Watching the James Ambush live via webcast, along with Ariadne and a handful of others.

* Being a part of working out the Omphalos Code WAY back when, and then proceeding to enter in 100s of placenames in Central Europe...

* Getting a crazy-excited text at 1am from the friend-of-a-friend (that I had called out of the blue) to say that she had the Sydney "artifact", and ask what she was meant to do now!!!

* The friendly rivalry between the SF and Wellington Labyrinth Running Teams, and then having us BOTH get soundly beaten by Tokyo at the 3-Circuit! (Listening in on Atalanta and Dav's trash talking was endlessly entertaining).

And of course after 6 months there are plenty more. I'm sure one day _june and I will be able to raise a glass with you either here in Wellington or somewhere else in the world and reminisce.

So yeah, thanks to you all for a brilliant introduction to the world of ARGs... here's to sharing many more in the years to come.