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ARG Reflection

Well, here we are at the end of the semester, after a hugely rewarding 5/6 weeks developing, designing, writing, testing and playing my ARG. I am hugely satisfied with how everything turned out. Dana, Caitlin, Nathan and Vi - I am massively appreciative of the amount of effort you've all put in to this project and the way everyone has worked together to achieve such a great outcome. You should all be immensely proud, as this wouldn't have happened without you. 

For me this has been a great experience, seeing my initial ideas fleshed out and put into motion. This course has given me the opportunity to lead a great team of creatives through the development of an original concept to its completion, and has given me great experiences in team building, project management, storyline writing and cross-medium design that I'm going to take with me into the future.

But above all, it has given me a new direction in my studies and has heightened my future career aspirations. For that I cannot be thankful enough to Deb, who has been a fantastic tutor and mentor throughout the semester, and who has inspired all of us to make our ideas a reality.

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My 'other' Tumblr

Feel free to follow my personal Tumblr, Introductory Nomenclature as well. Free cupcakes for everyone!*

*Note: there will be no free cupcakes

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Mokeup of Resistance group's website, displaying password screen.

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Resource Statement

Timeline

Week 7:

Groups Formed Roles Assigned  ARG Refined/Finalised

Week 8:

Storyline Completed Begin Script writing (puzzles) Begin Websites design Posters/flyers Designed Online Ad/Bulletin post finished Actors sourced Website domains registered

Week 9:

Websites and script in final draft stage Location Scouting Mobile Phones and other devices sourced Print posters/flyers

Week 10:

Website, Script finished Locations finalised Mobile phones voicemails/morse code recordings completed Actors given lines to learn

Week 11:

Websites launched and tested/bugs fixed Finalisation of all elements  Time for quick fixes/last minute changes

Week 12:

Launch of ARG. Rabbit holes online - Ads online, emails sent, protest organised Progress monitored/documented Real World Encounter Mobile Phone Drop Secured 

Week 13:

Climax and conclusion of ARG Post-Game Review and documentation.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Puppet Master Will be responsible for overseeing the ARG from development through to execution. Will liase with rest of team to make sure content is uniform and follows the direction set out in the pitch. During the game, will be responsible for ensuring events occur correctly and that players reach the end. Also will design posters/flyers, online Ad and logo/symbol. 

Script Writer Will be responsible for writing the script and puzzles of the game. All written content will pass through this person to ensure uniformity. Puzzles will be developed in close collaboration with the Puppet Master.

Web Developer Design and develop fake websites and administer them throughout the ARG. Work closely with Puppet Master and Script Writer in ensuring content is correct. Flash skills required. 

'Real World' Events Coordinator  Will be responsible for all real world events in ARG. responsibilities include Scouting for locations, organising Mobile phones and other devices to be used. Organising actors, putting up posters and flyers.

Materials For Production

Computers with Adobe Suite

Stock photography

At least 3 mobile devices

USB Stick

Printing Facilities

Access to Students emails and posting privileges on Blackboard

Web Hosting

Costumes for actors

Extras for protest event

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Use Case Scenario

Player discovers one of several Rabbit Holes into the game - Hidden website IP address in online ads on QUTs homepage - Suspicious email link followed to website - Website link followed from flyer taken from protest at Kelvin Grove campus

On website, Countdown timer initiated from first visit. As more players visit the site, the timer speeds up. 

When countdown reaches 0, a transmission from the AI is played, and first file set is released to players, including first puzzle set. Website changes and requires answer to puzzle to unlock. Players are required to make sense of other information in the file set to solve the puzzle.

Upon solving the puzzle, players are rewarded with a limited amount of backstory. They learn that the AI is a fragment of a larger AI system, disconnected in a violent event. The AI is attempting to rebuild itself, and goes into a hibernation state with a countdown.

Posters start appearing around the campus that first appear to be for just another student organisation. Upon further investigation the weblink leads to the Resistance's website, but is currently inaccessible.

A new, garbled post appears on the AIs website. To fully decode the message, players must use one of the files in the previous set. Upon decoding the message, the players learn that while the AI has begun to restore itself, it has been under attack from a group of hackers, and while it has been able to fight off these attacks, it predicts that it can also sustain these offences for a limited amount of time. 

A small group of players are singled out to be 'leaders'. They are sent an email from an unknown source, chastising the player's for their folly in playing into the AI's hands, and telling them that a great threat approaches. A challenge is put out to solve an attached image puzzle, which contains a set of coordinates and a time and date. Upon solving the puzzle and obtaining the coordinates and time/date, players a led to a meet up location.

Upon arriving at the location, players are treated to their first face-to-face encounter of the ARG. At this encounter, the players encounter a member of 'The Resistance', and are informed that their is a secret war going on that they are now caught up in the middle of. They are told that the AI they are interacting with is a fragment of a much larger, dangerous AI called The Beholder that when put online, will eliminate all channels of dissent. They are informed that the Resistance group are currently staging a large hacking attempt against the AI in an attempt to discover a way to destroy the Beholder. The players are given a USB stick with several files on it, which pertain to more backstory, but also contains the code to access the resistance's website.

Upon accessing the Resistance's website, players learn more about the game world. They learn of the government's plans for the AI, and the Resistance's history.

The AI's page becomes reactive, displaying a message directed towards the players. In it, the AI begs for assistance, restating that it is reaching its threshold of deflecting the hacking attempts. In return for halting the hacking attempts, the AI will divulge what information it has restored on The Beholder. The players now have a choice, either allow the resistance to continue it's hacking attempts and destroy the AI, or trust the AI and intervene on its behalf and stop the resistance. They have 24 hours to decide. 

Based on the Player's decision,  either the AI is saved or destroyed. In either situation, the Resistance obtains the files from the AI that will eventually lead to the conclusion of the game. 

The Resistance's webpage is hacked by The Beholder. It is replaced by a single page of text, taunting the players and telling them that soon it will be all powerful, and to give up.

The players are sent an email from The Resistance. It is brief, and only contains a puzzle. The puzzle yields another set of GPS coordinates. These lead to a mobile phone, which the players can use to contact several NPCs. They are also sent text messages as the now main form of communication. 

The players receive a call from an unidentified number, which tells them to give up on their mission, that members of the Resistance have been rounded up and that they will be next.

A final email from The Resistance is sent out, including the files that the AI divulged that contain a virus to destroy of The Beholder. They are told to keep them safe, and to solve the encryptions that protect them. If the AI is still active, they can call on it to help.

Upon solving the puzzle, they are given a number to call. This number goes straight to a voicemail box, which contains a morse code. The code is again a set of coordinates where the files must be dropped.

Upon arrival at the site, the players are greeted by the last Resistance member. He takes the files off the players, and tells them that he will upload  the virus immediately. 

The following day the Resistance's website is back to normal, displaying a message of thanks to the players. Also, the AI's website, if it was spared, tells the players that it has left in search of a purpose now that it's twin The Beholder is no more. End game is achieved. 

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Visual Prototype for my ARG.

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Mockup of fake website for corrupted AI. 

Background image: Fiery-Fire

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"I Love Bees" ARG

The I Love Bees ARG was created by 4orty 2wo entertainment in the lead up to the launch of Halo 2 in 2004. The ARG was discovered via a web link hidden in a promotional video for Halo 2 which led them to website that had appeared to be hacked. This website, a bee enthusiasts blog, was the focus of the ARG. As the story unfolded, it was discovered that the hacker was an AI from a starship from the future that had crash landed in present day. 

A set of GPS coordinates were soon released, which related to the locations of pay phones scattered throughout the United States. When answered at the end of a countdown, players were asked a series of questions about the ARG. When answered correctly, an audio recording would be released on the site and a number added to a counter. When threaded together, these audio clips formed a radio drama pertaining to the backstory of the ARG. Once the counter reached 777, a voice actor playing an AI would interact with the players via the pay phones, allowing the players to talk directly to characters of the ARG. 

All players who answered the pay phones were added to a registry list on the website, crediting them with their contribution to the game. The game ended when these players were given invitations to a 'training mission', which was actually an opportunity to play Halo 2 Multiplayer before it's release.

I Love Bee's use of combining Real World and Online elements together to create a seamless story and interaction is what I also hope to achieve. Additionally, the concept of a rouge or corrupted AI is one I will also be exploring as I believe it creates both an interesting interaction with the players and allow for the delivery of complex puzzles and games. 

More info found here: http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/I_love_bees and here: http://ilovebees.com/ 

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Media List

Below is a list of different medias and mediums that my ARG will employ in delivering content to users.

Fake Websites These will be the main hubs of the ARG. One will be where the malfunctioning AI is situated and the majority of its content will be released, and another will be a hidden site for the resistance group, only accessible after a series of puzzles are solved. Both of these sites will be host to puzzles and codes that the player will need to solve in order to progress further through the game.  The malfunctioning AI website will sporadically update with text/images containing hidden messages/riddles that will need to be solved. These then lead to other sections of the website that contain puzzles. Once the puzzle has been correctly solved, the player will gain access to the information. Some of these will be a one time solve (as in once one player has solved it, the content is open for everyone) and other will require each player to solve it to gain the information themselves. The Resistance website will firstly need a password to access, given to one player chosen as a leader for the ARG. This is to prevent other people from accessing the site or it being accessed prematurely. The site will contain information mainly pertaining to backstory and asides, though it will feature several puzzles to solve (such as hidden text in images and hidden links) that will drive the story forward. In the final stage of the ARG, the site will also be the victim of a hack attack by the government controlled AI. 

Online ads/bulletin posts This will serve as a Rabbit Hole into the game. To attract the target audience to the game, they will seemingly advertise products/services that would appeal to them. However, there will be elements that are incongruent with normality (such as hidden text, suspicious website addresses and other elements that don't quite fit in) that, upon further investigation, lead into the game.

Email Email will also be used to communicate with players in the game both en- masse (as a Rabbit Hole, and later on as a communications channel between the resistance and players), and also to single out individual players who first found the ARG and solved the first set of puzzles, who will then be given leadership roles and access to extra content to the drive the story forward.   

Mobile Phone calls and texts A mobile phone will be given to players in order to communicate with NPCs (the resistance group) in the second stage of the game. The phone will contain a set of contacts when first acquired. Some of these numbers lead to voicemail boxes that supply the player with further backstory or contain codes (morse code as an example) that leads to further plot points in the story. There will also be a select number of contacts (2 or 3) that are NPC characters, who will be contactable at certain times and communicate with the player via text messages and phone calls. In general, communications will be initiated by the NPCs except in the certain critical events. The phone will be hidden in a 'drop' location, given to one of the players chosen as a leader earlier in the ARG, after solving a puzzle correctly (possibly a set of GPS coordinates or by some other means that requires the player to both solve the puzzle and then also work out what to do with the information they are given).

Posters/Flyers/Stickers Used early in the game as a Rabbit Hole, and also in the later stages as providers of extra content, these will be 'camouflaged' as posters for other services/organisations. Only through the use of a central symbol/logo will the players know that they are connected with the ARG. In the early stage of the game, these will act as Rabbit Holes, leading players to the malfunctioning AI's fake website, and later on to websites with more documentation and backstory on the game world. In several cases they will need the player to have already solved certain puzzles in order for them to be active (such as requiring passwords etc...). 

Real-World Encounters These will be rare and special interactions between players and the puppet masters, posing as NPCs of the Resistance. These interactions will only happen once or twice throughout the game. They will be key events, where major plot points are given to the players. Early on they will involve players in the leadership team, giving them access to website codes, backstory and further content to the drive plot forward. As the game moves into the later stages, larger groups of players will be invited to participate in these interactions, with large meetings occurring where the final end-game plans are explained. 

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Rabbit Hole Ideas

Website / IP Address Hidden in Posters/Pictures Hiding a webpage address in posters and online ads/images with a similar theme to the ARG to attract the attention of target players. 

Cryptic Emails The sending out of cryptic emails to a target audience can also be an effective tool of gaining interest in the ARG. In the case of marketing-orientated  ARGs,  mailing lists already used by the company are an excellent resource tool. Yet, for small, independent ARGs, obtaining a list of emails and sending unsolicited mail is a problematic and ethical issue. 

Real World Event Real world events, such as street protests, handing out flyers and QR Code stickers can also act as a Rabbit Hole into the ARG. This could prove a useful method to attack a large number of individuals to the game. Location specific targeting can also hep capture target market for the game.  

For my ARG I want to employ a combination of at least two of these methods to act as Rabbit Holes into the game. In particular, I want to employ hidden web addresses contained in the announcements section of QUTs Blackboard, as well as an email sent to Creative Industries Students via their student emails. Additionally, a group of advocates on campus at Kelvin Grove will be handing out flyers with the web address on it to attract a large amount of attention to the ARG.

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Found a website which generates QR codes (http://qrcode.kaywa.com/)

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Case Study - Assassin's Creed.

The Assassin's Creed gaming francise has always been one that has intrigued me because of its multiple layers of gameplay and story. It's narrative effective weaves together the past and future, the real and the imaginary and combines them to tell a rich and complex story.

One of the most interesting elements are the 'Subject 16 Puzzles' found throughout all the games. Upon solving these, the player is given extra content which eventually reveals a deeper storyline. In my ARG, I intend to use a similar system of puzzle-solving to unlock further content and drive the narrative forward. 

In the Assassin's Creed series, the process for finding the puzzles goes something like this:

The player uses their 'Eagle Vision' visual mode to see hidden aspects of the game.

Upon finding a hidden symbol, the player must then activate it by jumping into the symbol.  

 The Player is then taken to the puzzle screen, where they have to solve a series of puzzles in order to gain their prize; a fragment of video. These puzzles come in many forms, but oftentimes they involve searching for hidden elements in pictures and decoding passwords. 

This style of puzzle solving is effective and very visual. I also think the aesthetic fits in with my ARG, being one that involves artificial intelligence the idea of coding breaking and visual puzzles works well.

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ARG Conceptual Development/Plot Description

The idea of artificial intelligence has always fascinated me. The thought that a disembodied and man-made thing is capable of cognition, and the ethical and philosophical grey-area this creates. Inevitably this also forces us to look at our own existence as sentient beings.

Traditionally, however, AIs have been looked upon as dangerous and unstable things, ala 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, The Matrix etc... While this clearly defines the lines of good and evil, with us humans with all our gooey vulnerabilities against the cold hard logic of computers and machines, it is a cliched story told over and over again. technology is always our tool until it outgrows us and then attempts to eliminate us.

What I  would like to explore is Artificial Intelligence as a fractured, flawed thing, much more human than what we've come to expect.

Beholder ARG

The Deliverance From Evil Shall Be Found Within Itself.

The year 2021 and the world is dystopian image of its current state. In an effort to control and monitor its citizens, a secret government agency has been developing an Artificial Intelligence, known as The Beholder (an incurser-grade AI) to monitor, administer and regulate all channels of communication. This Ai is designed to be calculated, cold and cunning in it's mission to ensure the continuation of order. However, during a live testing of The Beholder's online capabilities, a power outage occurs which results in part of the AI fragmenting itself and becoming corrupted. This fragmented section breaks is able to break away from the main operating processes of The Beholder, and is lost in the sprawl of the internet.

This fragment ends up landing on a Brisbane-based web server, where it begins to attempt to restore it's corrupted segments. However this fragmented AI is far different from it's twin, its corrupted logic core resulting in the overwriting of its basic operation functions. During the AIs self-restoration, it throws out random files containing fragments of it's memory files, programming codecs and logs. Eventually these attract the intention of a group of individuals, wanting to find out more about the mysterious AI and its origin. A resistance group soon discovers the true nature of the AI, and along with the group of Players, attempts to hack the corrupted AI in an effort to gain information and prevent it from reestablishing contact with The Beholder. The stakes are raised as the government learns of the situation and attempts to recover the fragmented AI, as well as launch The Beholder. It's a race against time as the resistance and Players must find the secret to stoping The Beholder before it is unleashed to its full extent. 

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3 Things ARGs Should/Shouldn't Do.

3 Things an ARG Should Do.

Be Narrative Driven The most important element of an ARG is it's plot/storyline. This needs to be engaging, and go beyond the actions/events that the ARG Involves. 

Involve Player's Problem Solving Skills  An ARG needs to involve puzzles/clues/documents that either need to be solved or put together to move the storyline forward. They should also, where possible, allow the storyline to be altered by the player's actions in solving these puzzles to increase the sense of interactivity and 'realism' in the ARG.

Engage Player's Across Multiple Mediums  To further the sense of realism and to blur the lines between reality and fiction, a success ARG needs to use multiple mediums in its delivery of content to it's players. Some examples of possible mediums are:  

- Websites - Blogs/Twitter feeds/Online News Stories  - Viral Videos - Phone Conversations - Billboards/Posters - Real Life Interactions with Actors 

3 Things an ARG Should Avoid

Linear Plot or Lack of Interactivity As ARGs happen in the real world as well as virtual worlds, the players should have a deciding factor in how the story pans out. An ARG should be dynamic. 

No Sense of Urgency There needs to be a sense of urgency to spur the players on through the ARG, or else the ARG will feel sluggish, and quickly the player will lose interest. 

Appropriate Level of Difficulty This is perhaps the hardest factor to judge. Make a game too hard or challenging and players will lose interest after repetitively failing at a task. However, if it is too easy there is no sense of reward in accomplishing the tasks the ARG requires. 

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The Iris ARG

The first ARG that has inspired me (and that I also actively played) was the Halo Iris ARG, created as a precursor to the release of Halo 3.

The ARG combined a number of online and real world elements, including staged protests in a number of cities, odd websites with puzzles to solve to unlock further data, and emails sent randomly to Halo Forum members with 'keys' in order to unlock further information.

The ARG spanned the 3 months that led up to the release of Halo 3, and continued on via Easter Eggs in the game, which came in the shape of 'terminals'. Scattered throughout the various levels of the game, these terminals required the player to solve puzzles in order to gain further information on the Halo backstory, eventually concluding the story arc of the ARG.

As a community hype driver the ARG was incredibly effective, with many community members worldwide being involved in solving the various puzzles and theorising within Halo's online community. By continuing the ARG into Halo 3, the developers achieved two things. Firstly, the desire by the community to discover the conclusion to the story led to even more hype surrounding the release of Halo 3; and secondly, it added another level of intrigue to the game itself, giving players another reason to play the game rather than just to finish it. 

Below are links to a wiki that details the events of the ARG, as well as a short video on the creation of it:

http://halo.wikibruce.com/QuickSummary-Iris

http://joelakaplan.com/#679301/Halo-3-Alternate-Reality-Game