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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: MetaCortechs » MetaCortechs: General/Updates
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JayR
Boot

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 20

 		Questions...
I'm new to all this so forgive my ignorance and if this is the wrong place to post this type of message I apologize. I found out about this Metacortex online mystery on a Matrix Reloaded message board on IMDb about a week ago. It seems to me there is debate over whether this is an "official" Matrix entity and that is part of my question. What is the purpose of these ARG's anyway? I understand the original one "The Beast" was used to promote the movie A.I. So what would be the goal of the so-called PM's of this current ARG? Obviously connecting it to the Matrix series because of its popularity would generate interest in that fanbase. I tend to think whomever is behind this also has a great deal of time and resources but how is that expense recouped? All of these websites, email addy's, fake phone #'s with actual voicemails cost money so what is their motivation in doing this? I have about a million more questions but I will leave it at these for now. Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 1:59 pm
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AgentIns
Boot

Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 10
Location: Van Down By The River

 		I'm new to all this as well, and the answers to a lot of those questions seems to be a mystery.

Nobody appears to know who the PM's are exactly, what their motivation is, whether they're sponsored by Warner Bros OR the Wachowskis, or whether they're recouping any expenses at all. That's part of the mystery behind all this. Nobody can figure out whether this is all planned by WB's as a lead-in to the 3rd movie, the MMORPG, or whether this is just supposed to be a standalone ARG which is just taking advantage of the pre-existing Matrix hype.

If you figure it out before everyone here does, let us know Very Happy
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 2:11 pm
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bWF0cml4IHN1Y2tz
Troll

Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 21
AgentIns wrote:

Nobody appears to know who the PM's are exactly, what their motivation is, whether they're sponsored by Warner Bros OR the Wachowskis, or whether they're recouping any expenses at all.


[EDIT: Because I'm a guy who doesn't understand what the word "no" means.]
It is highly unlikely that the PMs are sponsored by either of the WBs. Other than a couple of shady allusions to the Matrix films at the beginning of the game, absolutely nothing ties this ARG to the Matrix universe. As for motivation, these PMs have previously funded and executed another ARG just for the fun of it. Now that they are operating under a business name, one might assume that this ARG will serve as a proof of concept for when they approach potential clients. Of course, they might just be doing it for fun, again.

AgentIns wrote:
That's part of the mystery behind all this. Nobody can figure out whether this is all planned by WB's as a lead-in to the 3rd movie, the MMORPG, or whether this is just supposed to be a standalone ARG which is just taking advantage of the pre-existing Matrix hype.

If you figure it out before everyone here does, let us know.


The smart money is on option number three.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 2:34 pm
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JayR
Boot

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 20

 		Well I think there have been more than just a couple shady allusions but that's besides the point. I guess I can't understand that somebody would go to all this trouble and expense just for fun. All these websites and not one advertising banner or pop-up ad? I can't see how anybody could make money doing this or even sell it to a potential client. Think about the sales pitch. PM's- "We've got this amazing game and there are like 200 people on the internet playing it" Potential client- "Wow!! 200?"(sarcasm mode on) PM's- Well maybe more we really can't track that information. Potential client- "How much does it cost them to play this game?" PM's- "Well we aren't charging them." Ummm yeah that would fly with a possible investor. An online game that a handful of people are playing for free.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:23 pm
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Marl64
Unfettered


Joined: 04 Oct 2003
Posts: 456
Location: Prisoner of Zion
JayR wrote:
All these websites and not one advertising banner or pop-up ad?
Wow if this is what it's like in the matrix, where do I jack in Very Happy
Quote:
I can't see how anybody could make money doing this or even sell it to a potential client.
Unless it's sponsored by the Internet Provider on which it's all hosted.
Quote:
Well maybe more we really can't track that information. Potential client- "How much does it cost them to play this game?" PM's- "Well we aren't charging them."
Sounds like the business plan for any organised religion Very Happy

You must have seen the ad campaigns where they run a series of adverts without telling you who or what they're for (Gabbo? Wink ).
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Marl
(There is no spoon, oh wait, there it is)

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:36 pm
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JayR
Boot

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 20

 		Gabbo is coming!!! Ok I see where your coming from. I'll just sit back and shut up. Ha ha.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:48 pm
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BrianEnigma
Entrenched


Joined: 05 Oct 2003
Posts: 1199
Location: Pacific Northwest
JayR wrote:
I guess I can't understand that somebody would go to all this trouble and expense just for fun. All these websites and not one advertising banner or pop-up ad? I can't see how anybody could make money doing this or even sell it to a potential client.

Let us take a look at the details...
* Website hosting (including email, FTP, etc): the company I use has a $9/month barebones plan. I am sure there are even cheaper ones out there. Let us round that to $10. Say there are 15 websites (we do not yet know the actual number, but 13 have been found through official channels now). Let's also say it ends at Christmas. $600.
* K7 voicemail: it would appear to be free (http://www.k7.net/faq.htm#two)
* Art (stock photos, etc): we know Beth is on Photos.com, which is a $99/month subscription. You would only need to subscribe for a month to get all the photos you need. Also, this is assuming they used a service and did not just steal pictures from other sites.
* Web programming, page layout and design: this is tough to put a dollar value on. A dedicated programmer doing it for the fun of things can do this alone for free. A professional company will charge a lot. Let's say the person or persons behind this ARG are doing this themselves for free.

That's $700. (I may be missing something). While this is a lot of money for some, this is disposable income for others. A decently paid programmer could easily do this--especially if it is spread out over monthly billing statements (since the primary expense is web hosting). A fledgling company trying to get into the ARG business might spend this in a heartbeat--it is cheap compared to many other forms of marketing and helps present the product and establishes a track record.

Does this effect the fun of the game? For me, no. For you? I'll let you decide for yourself.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:48 pm
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bWF0cml4IHN1Y2tz
Troll

Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 21
bWF0cml4IHN1Y2tz wrote:


[EDIT: Because I'm a guy who doesn't understand what the word "no" means.]


NO. It was edited because this board is more for the benefit of the PMs than it is for the players. What else would you expect when several of the PMs are admins/moderators on this board and own several of the ARGN member sites?

The link I posted was only the name the PMs have given their group. You can't discern the names of individual PMs from visiting that site. No other game moderators have tried so hard to censor the identity of the PMs. If the PMs have asked you to censor this information, then you should tell us. Otherwise, it makes very little sense for you to hide that information, unless you are abetting the PMs in their scam to associate this game with the Matrix just so they can pull in more players.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 3:48 pm
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JayR
Boot

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 20

 		$700.00? I guess putting it that way it isn't as complex as I thought. I was enjoying it either way.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 4:01 pm
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AnthraX101
Entrenched

Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Posts: 797
bWF0cml4IHN1Y2tz wrote:
bWF0cml4IHN1Y2tz wrote:


[EDIT: Because I'm a guy who doesn't understand what the word "no" means.]


NO. It was edited because this board is more for the benefit of the PMs than it is for the players. What else would you expect when several of the PMs are admins/moderators on this board and own several of the ARGN member sites?

The link I posted was only the name the PMs have given their group. You can't discern the names of individual PMs from visiting that site. No other game moderators have tried so hard to censor the identity of the PMs. If the PMs have asked you to censor this information, then you should tell us. Otherwise, it makes very little sense for you to hide that information, unless you are abetting the PMs in their scam to associate this game with the Matrix just so they can pull in more players.


No, they haven't asked me to do anything for them.

No, I have advised numerous people that this is probably not related to the matrix.

This information has been known for weeks to not be allowed here. If you do not agree with our policy, I would advise you to please chat elsewhere.

AnthraX101

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 4:18 pm
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yeahyeah
Decorated


Joined: 14 Oct 2003
Posts: 282

 		just for completeness, the place the server(s) are hosted is 99$ a month, and I don't know if they multiple ips to one machine, I didnt see anything on the website to suggest one way or another, but the servers are at least in two different class c's (not that it matters). So it may be 99$/month for them, or 99$*5 a month (if they indeed use one machine per ip)

=)

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 8:07 pm
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BrianEnigma
Entrenched


Joined: 05 Oct 2003
Posts: 1199
Location: Pacific Northwest
JayR wrote:
$700.00? I guess putting it that way it isn't as complex as I thought. I was enjoying it either way.


Of course, if they are outdialing everyone who left a phone number on one of the web forms, which it seems they are doing now--that ups the price a bit unless they have a REALLY GOOD calling plan and free access to IVR phone hardware.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 10:15 pm
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yeahyeah
Decorated


Joined: 14 Oct 2003
Posts: 282

 		well, if they did it with oldschool style bulk callers, then it wouldn't cost too much for the gear, and to have someone else do it for them (any voice broadcast service) it can cost between 500$-50k depending on the number of people to call, considering that a lot of politicians do these voice broadcasts at the price of 1.5cents per call (1 minute), plus a service fee it may or may not cost a lot of money =)

PostPosted: Fri Oct 31, 2003 10:34 pm
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