unforum

[Dorkmaster]

[META] ARG or ARS?

[clamatius]

I would guess that we're [URL=http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5632]still pregame[/URL] and this period is just to attract players. I could be wrong, though.

[Extrasonic]

[Dorkmaster]

Well, Clamatius, I sure hope you're right... While the PMs have done an EXCELLENT job making this intriguing and fun to explore, there's been no real headway made... no player has "uncovered" some major plot point... no puzzle has been solved using only intellect... all the puzzles have been unsolvable without the PMs giving us some clues, and that's not very flattering of us players... (For example, this coordinates puzzle, that's why I'm hoping there will be some sort of interaction at these points, as they would be perfect to launch an honest to goodness puzzle, (introduce some word/phrase puzzle, as in each location gets a piece of it, and we must collaborate to go to the next step), or somesuch... I don't mean to sound unappreciative, cuz I'm totally not... I just feel like we're being led by the hand on a tour of I Love Bees: The Ride... ya know?

[TheDuder]

This ARG does have potential to be an enormous and very enjoyable game (I say as I oggle over the 220 gps points). I am with Clamatius in his idea that we are still pregame. Especially if this is indeed halo 2 related. Perhaps (spec...) the game is intended to last right up to the actual release date of halo 2 on November 9. I suppose we'll find out on August 24 whether it will be the beginning of the game (ARG) , or the final chapter of the story (ARS) .

[clamatius]

[sherpa]

The contrast in difficulty between the puzzles so far and the Axons does seem a bit odd, but if they were gauging our ability it makes a little more sense. I also hope this will blossom out, but I can't help thinking that if so we're lumbered with a bit of baggage in the form of spec, disorganisation and tons of forum posts simply saying "trout"... it would be best to start from a clean slate, but that's totally not going to happen if it smoothly transitions.

Still, here's hoping. If this is just an ARS, then that is a bit of an arse I must say but let's stop all this arsing about and just take stock of what it's achieved (in terms of publicity, player involvement, richness of story and characters, etc)-- quite a lot even if it does result in a bit of disappointment.

[clamatius]

The thing that makes me think that the Axons is a puzzle rather than just a "show up at this time" event is that we're getting more and more information. At first all we had was the numbers. Then we got the email from the Princess confirming that they were indeed locations and not something else. Now we have times along with the numbers to add an ordering, and some "irrelevant" coords are removed.

This seems in line with the m/o of the Hive. As I recall, in an interview one of them mentioned that they had the subtle clue, then clue, then blatant answer approach to dealing with puzzles that didn't get solved.

[Dorkmaster]

I really appreciate your comments, Sherpa and Clamatius, and I tend to agree with you, just hesitantly...

I also want to once more make it perfectly clear that this is still an amazing social experiment, no matter what else it is! It's good advertising, and I'd still go down the rabbit hole again for something in the future, if it's as engrossing as this, to be sure!

However, I guess I'm just shuffling my feet as we approach next Tuesday, waiting to see what will happen. I guess I feel like this: if it gets to be the 24th, and we all go and find that (1) the story ends or (2) the story just continues, I think I'll feel a little cheated. Not that anyone on the PM's side of the curtain did anything wrong, cuz it's their game and they can do what they want! But since it had so much potential for a long, well thought out actual GAME with puzzles and such all over the place!

But if they go with option (3) which is to make this a puzzle that "kicks off" the actual game, then I will speak of this, Halo 2, the PMs, heck even Microsoft with reverent tones for the rest of my life. And who knows, it could even be an option (4) that I have no clue about yet! I'm just wondering, is all... (sigh)

[sherpa]

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head Dorkmaster. The potential is so immense it would just be a waste to throw it all away. Fingers crossed!

[BGMalone]

All stories have an introduction a climax and a conclusion. We have only seen snippets of a story. Things to intrigue us. The introduction.

It will not be solved by next Tuesday. No way.

Just ask yourself What, Where, When, Who and Why. You will hit a bunch of loose threads. (I can't stand not knowing where the ship crashed).

Halo is well known to have a huge backstory, they call it the Halo Bible. I Spec. they are using it

[Anton P. Nym]

Ah, the near mythical Halo Bible. There was actually a webcamera shot of it once; a blue 2" three-ring binder with the cover standing flush, spine towards the camera, with a printed insert saying "HALO BIBLE V4.0". (All this from memory, so details may be slightly wrong.)

When asked to comment on it, then-continuity editor Eric Nylund said only, "That? That's not the current one."

There are many Bungie fans willing to part with significant and valuable parts of their anatomy for a peek. On alternate Wednesdays, I'm one of them.

-- Steve is willing to wait and work it out for himself the rest of the time. Sometimes that's more fun than the reading would be... though apparently it's a mind-blower of a read.

[deadlock]

what do you mean "havent done anything"???
these guys taught the princess english! theres been huge interaction between ladybee777SPLAThotmail.com (i think thats the address) and the comunity

[thebruce]

I will definitely concur that it seems like this could just be the beginning... everyone was led to believe at the start that the countdown, being the last date known, was for some big announcement... but really, it's just part of the storyline - the Queen becoming wide awake and physical... if you think about it, what happens then? There HAS to be more... now, whether that's a game or story is the question...

I was recently coming under the same though process after having read about the Beast, that really we haven't solved any puzzles... and if you look at the amount of work that's been done, it's like English class - overanalyzing every single word and phrase to try to find out what the author(s) were really saying... I have a heart to think that most of the stuff we've done wasn't for any puzzle at all... it's just a story we're unravelling, with a little interaction with Dana and the Princess.

Then if you think about it, if the coordinates are the first real puzzle, that would be the perfect kickoff to the full game on the 24th... now, what could be involved in the 'game'? IMO, anything from finding Dana before the Queen in order to save her, to fighting the Queen, saving our own hides, trying to separate the queen and flea, freeing the princess... the list goes on... I almost even think that there's a possibility, considering how helpful and friendly (and smart) the Princess is, that the Queen, knowing how she apparently feels about the princess (locking her away, keeping her in a bad shapr), might even kill her off just when we're about to have some major plot point revealed...

then again, maybe I'm just making it all anti-climactic but it's all just speculation at this point... there IS so much potential. It had better not end on the 24th.

I'm piecing together all the plot elements into one long story, and it's long already... it could be a novel by the end.

I'm also one to think that this game will end in some form by November 9th. That's 3 months to play the game/unravel the story that leads up to Halo 2. That is an amazing immersive element to the game... better than reading a novel

[Anton P. Nym]

To go WILDLY meta, Bungie has a long history of doing exactly that; creating buzz for their next project by getting background for it out to die-hards in a highly cryptic form. The mad energy expended by said die-hards spills over into interest by regular fans, and etc. as you veteran ARGers will recognise as a classic viral marketing campaign.

They did it for Marathon. They did it for Halo. (in a BIG way, for the time.) Doing it for Halo 2 would make perfect sense.

If they follow the classic pattern, there won't be a final and conclusive revelation of ther result; on the other hand, fans have been pretty good at nailling down the possibilities to a main and one or two less-likely alternatives. On the gripping hand, dedicated fans are still finding new elements in the Marathon story today, almost a decade after release. Bungie stories are deep, and more allusive than illustrative.

If this does turn out to be a classic Bungie promotion, prepare for many head-bangs. And much banging of heads on walls. And many oohs and aaahs when something clicks. And many goosebumps.

-- Steve notes that many of the Box Acronyms that Bungie's put on their games have yet to be solved. They're that kind of people.