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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Find the Lost Ring
[RING] First Draft of the Beginner Guide for the Wiki
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GeekDream
Boot


Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 24

 		 [RING] First Draft of the Beginner Guide for the Wiki
Being brand new to everything a few people asked me to put together a new start guide for newbies... I have attempted to do that... but be aware im a newbie myself... so if something is incorrect in here please let me know... Smile

Welcome the The Lost Ring ARG. Maybe a friend told you about this, you stumbled upon a blog post, or maybe you saw a video.. but no matter how you got here, we are glad you came!

This is the beginners guide to understand what The Lost Ring is about and how you can quickly get up to speed and play with the rest of us.

[edit]First things First...

What is an ARG or Alternate Reality Game?

An Alternate Reality Game is what brought you here right now. It's a relatively new genre of game that allows players (like you) to interact with a fictitious world using real world elements.

Say what?

If you have ever played Final Fantasy, Zelda, Myst, D&D or any other adventure type game, where you go around solving mysteries and puzzles in a fantasy world, you already understand the fictitious world part. Normally you follow the linear computer program story or a dungeon master pre setup script to the end.

What is different about ARG's is that the players control what happens and a real live person (Called the Puppet Master or PM) controls how the story goes based on the interactions that happen. You use real life things like real phone numbers, responses to characters real email address and locations where you may have to go and pick something up in your home town in order to help solve the puzzles of the game.

Best of all? There is no cost to play!

There is a very good explanation on Giant Mice that gives an examples if you are still confused. You can also view a description on Wikipedia here.

[edit] The Lost Ring Introduction

What are the Olympics? Is that a question you can answer? If you think you can, take a second glance - are you sure?

The Find The Lost Ring ARG is a project being run by a group of teams well-experienced in the ARG genre, including Jane McGonigal (of World Without Oil), AKQA (of Iris), sponsored by none other than McDonald's, and combined with the backing of the International Olympic Committee itself. Suffice to say, it promises to be a grand scale game, planning to unite communities from around the globe beyond any language boundaries.

Its ultimate purpose and outcome is still unknown, but discovery is the fun of the game!

It's estimated to run from March through August, with open arms - hoping to eventually count its players in the millions!

[edit] First Thing's First

* You must -- absolutely must -- watch the first trailer. The shivers it gives you should be enough to get you hooked and give you an idea of what's going on around here.

You can find it for quick viewing on Youtube, or you can visit the game's "meta" site TheLostRing.com and watch or download the trailer in high quality.

* Youtube Trailer #1
* Youtube Trailer #2
* Youtube Trailer #3
* TheLostRing.com


[edit] A Breif Overview

There's a history to the Olympics that's been hidden for centuries, even millennia - a series of events dating back to Ancient Greece that were somehow mysteriously erased and have long since been forgotten.

Fast forward to today, Six individuals woke up in late February - all in various athletic attire, in various places (forms of Labyrinths, no less) with amnesia, blindfolded, and with a tattoo on their arms saying Trovu la ringon perditan, or "Find the lost ring" in Esperanto.

Now they're seeking our help to find out who they are, where they're from, what their purpose is, and just what the heck is going on around here.

Expect to dig into legends, talk to people from various parts of the world, solve puzzles, research things online, learn about Greek mythology, study ancient Greek lore and philosophy - and don't forget that there's lot of 'new' stuff to learn that no one yet knows (at least, knowledge that has been lost to our modern civilization).

Join with others around the world, communicating across language barriers - even learn Esperanto (a language based on words common to all the European languages) if you like - in an attempt to help our six amnesiacs 'save the world'.

[edit] What started it all?

February 29th, 2008 specially couriered packages arrived at many homes around the world - bloggers, industry heads, and ARG veterans... In ARG this package is called the Trailhead or the RabbitHole.(The initial site, page, or clue that brings someone into the game.)

The Mysterious Package contained many different items.

- 8th Olympiade Aug-Sept 1920
- 4 various Olympic type postcards
- A ball of Yarn

That package gave us four milestones within a week's time:

1. Find her...
2. Find the others...
3. Find him...
4. Find the secret...

Since February 29th, those very things have been happening. Our heroine Ariadne was found at Findthelostring.com (thanks to some helpful tips in the Trailhead package). Shortly after, five more people like her were found scattered around the net, having woken in similar circumstances.

The 6 people who all have woken up in this strange way are....

Ariadne - Speaks English
Markus - Speaks German
Diego - Speaks Spanish
Lucie - Speaks French
Noriko - Speaks Japanese
MeiHui - Speaks Mandarin

However, on the heels of these discoveries, we found a man named Eli Hunt - a historian who studies ancient Olympic mysteries. He called them the "Lost Games". His website TheLostGames.com is set up to share his research, including a few podcasts in which he quite articulately describes his research and finding about the ancient 'lost games'.

Eli has secrets of his own. As predicted, "the secret" was found - a level to his research he kept private. He has decided to share his secret - a mysterious webpage system not run by him.

The six amnesiacs have been the keys to discovering omphaloi(An Ancient system of navigation kind of like GPS), which appear to be pointing towards hidden artifacts. Ariadne found the first one in Cardiff, UK. It was in a package containing two pages of a document believed to called the Codex of the Lost Ring. There are 27 chapters to find…..

...The trailhead package also included a fifth milestone, supposedly slated for August 24th, 2008:
* Save the world...

How? No one knows... But August 24th is the date of the closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing. Will you help us?

[edit] So where do I start? How do I get Involved?

There is no set rules you have to follow to start. As a beginner here are some suggestions to start:

1) If you have not already watch all of the trailers on the Lost Ring Website.
2) Visit Eli Hunt's Webpage and view his Podcasts about the History of the Olympics and The Lost Ring.
3) Start reading the timeline - Learn more about various events that are of interest to you....
4) You can take the Personality Test to figure out your ancient strength (sofia, thumos, chariton, dikaiosune, sophrosune, or mythopoeia) and use the missions corresponding to each strength as a starting point for jumping in.
5) Join a Community and start talking and meeting people from around the world who can help you get up to speed first hand.
6) You may want to jump in where we're at right now and learn about the past events over time.

Everyone's got a strength, a role to play in the community... if you unsure of yours yet, unsure of what you can do or how you can join in, you'll soon find out.

Don't be afraid of the story, don't be afraid of the puzzles, don't be afraid of the community. Although it looks like everyone knows what's going on, Everyone was new to this story at some point. Help out, speak up, or just sit back and lurk(watch the games or board discussions without directly participating) Embrace it, explore, and have fun!

[edit] Find a community?

Depending on the language you're most familiar with, certain websites and communities may be more at home for you.
Player communities:
English: Unfiction forums
English: This wiki aims to be a user-friendly, player-run community resource
German: Patmo.de forums
Official characters' communities:
English: Ariadne's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/ariadne
German: Markus's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/markus
Spanish: Diego's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/diego
French: Lucie's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/lucie
Japanese: Noriko's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/noriko
Mandarin: MeiHui's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/meiHui
Portuguese: Larissa's forums - http://forums.findthelostring.com/community/larissa

[edit] Some Helpful Tips

Research and discovery is an ongoing process. Thankfully, there are some resources that are set up to help.
* At the very least, Google is your friend and Wikipedia rocks.
* On this wiki, the Glossary lists many researchable, mysterious, strange, ancient terms and such. As more is discovered, the more these things will connect and make a bigger picture.
* Review the timeline to research what you've missed and figure out what information is still missing.

[edit] So what now?

Well, if you're caught up, then you're with the rest of us. There are outstanding things we need people to help with, so check that out too. Then join us, eagerly and impatiently awaiting the next tidbit of information for our immediate consumption in our passionate and urgent effort to save the world.

Welcome to the game...

PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:12 pm
Last edited by GeekDream on Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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GeekDream
Boot


Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 24

 		I would like to somewhat say i am still kind of confused on what the ARG 'rules are'...

ie.. what is in game and out.. and how that all works... what the characters are allowed to do... am i actually surpost to be calling a phone number or place i find...?(these places have been paid and will know that im calling from a fake world and will play along?) etc...

and

I still don't have a very good grasp on the 'Omphaputer'... and ive read as much as i could find on it...

PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:52 pm
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Hikaro
Boot


Joined: 09 Mar 2008
Posts: 58
Location: Oregon, United States

 		I'm a newb too, but this is my understanding.

All locations, documents, etc., they mention, should be real. As in, if you know where they are, you should be able to go and touch them. Any phone numbers, websites, etc., should not only exist but also give you useful-to-the-game information.

Basically the only rule that you can be sure of is that the game is not a game. In other words, whenever you post something about the meta-game (like the video of the actor who also plays Diego) it DOES NOT EXIST. Diego will act like no one ever showed him that video because it is out of game, or he will deny that it is him, even if you showed him that their fingerprints were the same. In Ariadne's world, this forum doesn't exist because it acknowledges FtLR as a game.

When you contact the characters, you need to act like the game is real, because to their characters it is.

I find it odd that they do acknowledge stuff like the Wiki in Ariadne's blog and Ariadne has trailer 1 favorited on her Youtube.

~Hikaro

PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:06 pm
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Shad0
I Have No Life


Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 2180
Location: Southern California, USA

 		Re: [RING] First Draft of the Beginner Guide for the Wiki
Re: In-Game vs. Out-Of-Game
There used to be a sort of motto floating around the ARG-world, meant to summarize the ideal approach for both the players and the PMs: TINAG. It stood for "This Is Not A Game" -- meaning, as you say, treat everything as real.

About a year ago, the PMs who originally coined that phrase said that, in retrospect, they considered it an over-simplification (though it's still quite catchy, and as a result has stuck around regardless). Their more accurate revised motto-type-thingie is this:

"We [the PMs] will never make you feel stupid for treating this as if it were not a game."

Ideally, there should be no phone number you can't call, no email you can't write, no web site to which you can't go. There will be no "winking" from the characters, no secret half-smiles as if to say, "I know this is fake, and so do you, right?" No one involved with the ARG will come out from "behind the curtain" (so to speak) while the ARG is still in progress and talk directly to the players about Out-Of-Game topics.

They want us to view the experience as real. They will do their best to make it realistic, within the confines of the Alternate Reality they have created for us. And they know that "breaking character" is a fast way to destroy the illusion that they have asked us to accept.

So they won't do it. And we can expect them not to do it. The players and the PMs cooperate in this division between our reality and the ARG's reality. Ariadne may reference the Wiki for others to check out, but she's not going to, for example, go in and edit it to correct any errors we make.

Does that help at all?
_________________
These were the puzzles that would take a day, these were puzzles that would take a week, and these puzzles they'd probably never figure out until we broke down and gave them the answers. ... The Cloudmakers solved all of these puzzles on the first day.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:05 am
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Rogi Ocnorb
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 4266
Location: Where the cheese is free.

 		Re: [RING] First Draft of the Beginner Guide for the Wiki
Re: In-Game vs. Out-Of-Game
Shad0 wrote:
There used to be a sort of motto floating around the ARG-world, meant to summarize the ideal approach for both the players and the PMs: TINAG. It stood for "This Is Not A Game" -- meaning, as you say, treat everything as real.


If we need a new acronym, I think you've just offered up a good one...
Treat
Everything
As
Real

Shed a TEAR for TINAG Wink
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:44 am
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GeekDream
Boot


Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 24

 		yeah.. that actually just helps to clarify a lot of the points..... perhaps i'll put something to that effect in the wiki up there... Intimidating being the new girl and asking what seems "very silly" questions Smile

did anyone have any comments on that draft or should i post it on the wiki?

I also think the wiki needs a character page for each.. there may be one.. but i couldn't find one...

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:00 pm
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Shad0
I Have No Life


Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 2180
Location: Southern California, USA

 		Re: [RING] First Draft of the Beginner Guide for the Wiki
Re: character pages
GeekDream wrote:
I also think the wiki needs a character page for each.. there may be one.. but i couldn't find one...

There's a box labeled "Characters" in the middle of the home page, with links to the page for each character. The sidebar on the left also has graphic links to everyone, six under "the amnesiacs" and six under "the others."
_________________
These were the puzzles that would take a day, these were puzzles that would take a week, and these puzzles they'd probably never figure out until we broke down and gave them the answers. ... The Cloudmakers solved all of these puzzles on the first day.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:18 pm
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ariock
Has a Posse


Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 762
Location: SF East Bay
GeekDream wrote:
The Mysterious Package contained many different items.

- 8th Olympiade Aug-Sept 1920
- 4 various Olympic type postcards
- A ball of Yarn

- A ball of Yarn hiding a small slip of paper with a fortune and directing people to www.findthelostring.com.

----

Two other things to link that are helpful would be HitsHerMark's thread on player tools/resources, and RedHatty's thread with the Story So Far.
_________________
"It says, 'Let's BEE friends'...and there's a picture of a bee!" -Ralph Wiggum
When the Apocalypse comes, it'll be in base64.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:16 pm
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mr.judkins
Unfettered


Joined: 26 Feb 2008
Posts: 393
Location: Wellington, NZ

 		One thing I thought I'd throw in here: when trying to explain to someone over the weekend why we were going to be organising a group to start training in an "fictional lost ancient Olympic sport", we actually ended up working from the latest developments backwards - rather than vice versa.

It worked really well, and we found that by the time we'd got back to amnesiacs awakening blindfolded in labyrinths, they were fascinated rather than bamboozled.

Just a thought... not sure if it helps.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:41 pm
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Elizabeth123
Decorated


Joined: 15 Mar 2008
Posts: 285

 		Not sure I quite agree with this paragraph:

Quote:
The six amnesiacs have been the keys to discovering omphaloi(An Ancient system of navigation kind of like GPS), which appear to be pointing towards hidden artifacts. Ariadne found the first one in Cardiff, UK. It was in a package containing two pages of a document believed to called the Codex of the Lost Ring. There are 27 chapters to find…..


It's the players who are finding the omphaloi, not the agons. I'd also suggest you add a sentence saying that the ompha-puter has directed us to the locations of several chapters, hidden in places as far reaching as Johannesburg, Vancouver and Shanghai. Then I'd say that players are needed all over the world to find the future chapters...

PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 5:49 pm
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aliendial
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Joined: 29 Sep 2002
Posts: 3438
Location: Far Far Away. Nowhere Near You. Really.

 		Geekdream - if you haven't yet, just post it! People can tweak it there. Trade PMs with thebruce about setting it up with a link on the main page.
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aliendial

PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:41 pm
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GeekDream
Boot


Joined: 28 Mar 2008
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 		Posted.... with some pretty pictures from spacebass...

Not sure about everything up there.... but its a bit better of a start i think Smile

http://olympics.wikibruce.com/Beginners_Guide

PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:40 pm
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