Research and Reviews

Research and Reviews: Something In The Sea

http://www.somethinginthesea.com

 

‘Something In The Sea’ was an ARG created for the launch of the videogameBioshock 2 in February 2009. The ARG immersed players in the story of Mark Meltzer and his quest to find his long lost missing daughter. The website ‘somethinginthesea.com’ gave fans messages, photos, documents and puzzles. The ARG event on August 8 gave players the coordinates of 10 beaches across the globe and organized players to go meet there at dawn. From this, players found artifacts washed ashore from Bioshock’s fictional underwater city ‘Rapture’. Player’s could interact with the world by writing letters to Mark (whose address was available on the website) and in return would receive records, wine bottles or even masks. The world would interact with the players.

One of my favorite aspects about the ARG ‘Something In The Sea’ was it’s ability to not only immerse players in the visionary creation of ‘Rapture’, but also ‘Rapture’s’ ability to interact with it’s players. This is one particular attraction that I would strive to include in my ARG creation as it gives players a great sense of agency. Also, Rapture is similar to Gotham City in style. Both are dark and cryptic, and exist as great inspiration for my art direction. The User interface for the teaser trailer of ‘Something In the Sea’ (similar style to ‘Why So Serious?) reepresents the investigation visual style and the type of interaction I want to use to spark fan’s interest towards my ARGs narrative.

Research and Reviews: Why So Serious?

http://whysoserious.com/

 

‘Why So Serious?’ was a viral marketing campaign created in May 2007 by 42 Entertainment for the release of The Dark Knight. The campaign began by using the tagline “Why So Serious?” popularized by the character the Joker. 42 Entertainment launched WhySoSerious.com during San Diego Comic-Con International. The website directed fans to locate letters containing the Joker’s message “The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules”. Fans would send photographs of the letters in collage. ‘Why So Serious?’ was composed of many scavenger hunts, where fans would have to uncover clues throughout major cities in the US and document their findings. These clues combined to reveal a new Joker photograph and audio clip relevant to the film containing “And tonight, you’re gonna break your one rule.” Also, players were linked to a website names Rory’s Death Kiss where fans could be part of a community by, for example, role playing as the Joker in the fictional newspaper The Gotham Times.

‘Why So Serious?’ holds the exact ambiance I want for my ARG. The Batman universe and the world of Gotham city are dystopian; similar to the rational- world without ‘thought’ I want to project to players. ‘Why So Serious?’ is full of mystery and invites players to actively become involved (immersed) in it’s world. I love the design and aesthetics of ‘Why So Serious?’ particularly the events of change. For example, the high agency for players in the  “I Believe in Harvey Dent” sequence. For my ARG I want players to directly affect the rational (sterile) environment and work to infect it with chaos and creativity. Also, as discussed with ‘Something In the Sea’ the user interface for the teaser trailer has influenced the exact style and interaction I desire for my ARG. The ‘Why So Serious?’ teaser trailer traps it’s players into investigating the page to discover the mysteries behind the Joker and Arkham city. The use of vague messages/recordings creates a want in players to discover more and reach the end of the puzzle.

Research and Reviews: I love bees

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/I_love_bees


I love bees (ILB)was an ARG created in the summer of 2004 by 42Entertainment as a marketing campaign for Bungie’s highly anticipated game release Halo 2. Fans first took the ‘rabbit hole’ for ILB with a subliminal message in the Halo 2 theatrical trailer. The message led trailer viewers to what they perceived to be a hacked beekeeper’s website. The homepage for the website pictured a floating countdown and a message to direct fans to Dana’s blog (the beekeeper’s niece), who sought technical help to restore the site. The game began with viewers having to locate all payphones (or ‘axons’) in 50 states across the US and several countries around the world. The ‘axons’ answered at each countdown gave participants a recording of an AI and participants were asked questions about the character. When the clips were combined, they formed an audio drama about the characters in the Halo Universe. At the end of the game, participants gained early access to the Halo 2 multiplayer mode. Participants were granted special access to the sites via the phrase “The Operator left a message for me.” The ARG was a massive success with nearly 2.5 million casual participants tracking the experience.

I love bees inspires my future work on creating ARGs because it utilizes multiple mediums, affecting millions around the world. Player’s were not limited to web based interactions, seeking phone booths across the globe. This creates the strongest form of agency for players, as the players feel like they are a part of change and something larger than what they could achieve themselves.

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