The following compilation of games that occured from August 2005 through August 2006 was written as part of the 2006 Whitepaper published by the International Game Developers Association Alternate Reality Gaming Special Interest Group (IGDA ARG SIG) and presented at PICNIC ’06, the cross-media conference held in Amsterdam in September 2006.

Continued from Current & Recent Games (2006) – Page 1

Omnifam

Game Overview

Running dates: May, 2005 – December, 2005
Design Team:
Funding Model: none – grassroots
Websites: http://www.omnifam.org/

Game Description

Omnifam was designed and executed by several genre enthusiasts as a fan-fiction piece revolving around the story universe of ABC’s Alias. While not the first alternate reality game to be written independently by fans for an existing media property, it was the first to do so for a television property and, more importantly, for a television property that had played with ARG-like aspects in the past. It went much deeper than the previous official efforts and included stronger interactivity and a richer narrative experience.

As a piece of fan art, the creators did not have access to the current and future story lines. As such, they built off existing backstory creating their own adjacent but wholly separate storyline with new characters and events. This allowed them a certain amount of freedom while not conflicting with the show or upsetting fan expectations and understandings.

While the alternate reality game did not mirror or support the events in the broadcast show, it did follow a similar episodic arc. The initial vision was that players would be faced with a series of missions that would take a week to complete. The first mission was a set up as a qualifying test to allow the player access to the future missions. It was simple enough for anyone to complete and, essentially, served as an introduction to the play experience. That initial mission was available to players no matter how far along in the experience they happened to join the game and, after completing it, players would join in with the existing game audience as new missions were made available. Each additional mission would provide a specific goal that would advance the overall story arc.

The game was relatively ignored by the active alternate reality gaming audience at web sites such as unfiction. In part, this was due to the reputation of the earlier Alias web games among ARG fans as being light on both the interaction and narrative. However, missing the existing ARG audience did not hurt the experience. The game was embraced by fans of the television show and actively played on a website dedicated to the series. These fans had no experience with alternate reality games and their level of engagement with the game, despite it not being “official story” or “canon”, showcases the desire of fans of the story world, not just fans of alternate reality games, to participate with the story world beyond the small screen.

Orbital Colony

Game Overview

Running dates: November, 2005 – January, 2006
Design Team:
Funding Model: none – grassroots
Websites: http://www.orbitalcolony.com/

Game Description

Orbital Colony was initially conceived as a way in which active players in the unfiction community could learn how to design and produce an alternate reality game. The goal was to maintain an open development group that received aid from experienced developers. However, they quickly realized the inability to keep the group visible while still allowing for a unaware player base that could become steeped in the mystery. Once the group closed itself to wandering eyes, the volunteer team struggled to stay together and it took almost two years before the game would launch.

As they had played dozens of games between them, they had a strong idea of what worked from a player’s perspective and this helped them tremendously. Despite a non-existent budget, they utilized their various interests, skills, experience, and locations to build a dynamic experience that included a variety of online communications as well as hidden cache locations in four different countries creating a truly global experience. To supplement their knowledge and create a game based in factual fantasy, they contacted a number of people in the space industry, gaining access to official images and information that would only add to the realism of the experience.

Initially envisioned as two one-week long mini-games, the complex story grew into a full blown alternate reality game that was played out over a town month period and fifteen different websites. With a series of difficult puzzles attracting those that enjoy the complex problems, a sweet story of a little girl on an orbital colony surrounded by mystery and missing her father grabbing the hearts of story specialists, and enough personal email and chat to drive any character interactor wild, the game engaged a large number of players with little to no promotional effort and over the stigma of being a “training arg”.

Perplex City

Game Overview

Running dates: March, 2005 – (currently running as of August, 2006)
Design Team: Mind Candy
Funding Model: Supported through collectable trading cards and merchandise
Websites: http://www.perplexcity.com

Game Description

Perplex City, created by London-based Mind Candy, is one of the first successful self-supported alternate reality games. The game finances itself through the sale of collectable puzzle cards that provide insight into the Perplex City universe. The cards also direct players to the massive online world where the story of Perplex City unfolds. But the story isn’t just told online, there have been a number of live events, primarily in the form of city wide scavenger hunts, that have provided some of the most talked about story events. Who wouldn’t talk about a helicopter whisking away a mole that had infiltrated your group?

The fictional Perplex City is a large city in an unknown universe that has recently connected to Earth. Perplex City’s priceless artefact, the Receda Cube, has been stolen and is hidden somewhere on Earth. In order to recover the cube, one of the city’s residents enlisted the help of Mind Candy to spread the word on Earth. As the Perplex City culture revolves around puzzles, where they compete in puzzle contests much as we on Earth compete in sport, he proposed the puzzle cards as a way to familiarize the citizens of Earth with the world of Perplex City and offered a £100,000 (approx. $200,000 or €150,000) reward for the safe retrieval of the cube.

Despite some initial controversy over whether players would need to purchase the cards in order to participate with the alternate reality game or discover the location of the cube, neither is true. The cards support the game both monetarily and story-wise, but the game is free to any who wish to participate. Though, it is undeniable that the cards have become a source of community building with players meeting both on and offline to trade the cards, solve puzzles, and discuss the game.

The fourth and final wave of puzzle cards was released in July, 2006 and, as far as those outside of Mind Candy know, the cube could be found any day now. Capitalizing on the success of the puzzle cards, Mind Candy has announced that Perplex City will be continuing in another episode and that a board game based on the world will be arriving at stores mid-late September, 2006. The designers of the game have also expressed a desire to take the Perplex City universe as far as possible, including books and film.

ReGenesis

Game Overview

Running dates: March, 2006 – June, 2006
Design Team: Xenophile Media
Funding Model: Promotional
Websites: http://www.regenesistv.com/

Game Description

The ReGenesis Extended Reality is an alternate reality game that runs along with the popular Canadian television show, ReGenesis. Extending the a one-hour bio-threat drama over multiple platforms, including websites, email, video-on-demand, voicemail, and real world events, the game allows players to explore the world as agents aiding NorBAC, the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission. After the award-winning first season, Xenophile Media, the design and production team behind the experience, did something that had never been done – they redeployed an alternate reality game when the programme was syndicated.

When the television programme was picked up for another year, it was no surprise that they wanted to include the extended reality. Learning lessons from the first season, they made the experience more accessible to wider range of player types. For example, they included a flash based game that introduced players to the scientists at the NorBAC lab that required minimal time commitment and provided another entrance into the alternate reality game. Through video-on-demand, viewers interested in the extended reality story but without access to the internet or the time to commit to the experience were able to receive story updates. A mission based play scenario provided direction to players who were overwhelmed by the freedom of exploration. The only people that lose out on the extended reality are casual browsers and information seekers, but that is by design.

Because the game is designed to be deployed multiple times as the series is aired in additional markets or in syndication, the designers need to control who accesses the websites and minimize the discussion about the experience elsewhere on the internet. As the websites are designed to change throughout the experience and in sync with the television episodes, they need to be displayed on a user by user basis. Additionally, website access is blocked to visitors that have not registered to the site to both minimize discussion and avoid search engines and archival websites from copying, or caching, the websites at various stages of the game play. The unfortunate side effect is that casual browsers and information seekers often include people that would tell others about the game or that would register once they were sufficiently intrigued by the experience.

In order to contain the discussion that is inevitable in a collaborative play experience, the extended reality makes use of message boards within the game reality. Players may find that they are reacting with both players and characters as the game progresses which adds an interesting dynamic to the game play. And, because the game environment is so controlled and all of the players understand they are interacting with a fictional world, the typical confusion found on in-game message boards is drastically reduced.

Studio Cyphers

Game Overview

Running dates: May, 2006 – ongoing
Design Team: Studio Cyphers, LLC
Funding Model: Pay to play
Websites: http://www.studiocyphers.com/

Game Description

Studio Cyphers is a serial based game with game episodes lasting about a month long each. It utilizes an interesting subscription based model that allows those who subscribe to an episode access to additional content and interaction while anyone may follow along with the story and work through the puzzles for free.

The story universe revolves around the Cyphers, a team of paranormal investigators and conservators, who have operated independently with no problem for years. However, things have changed and psychic forces being what they are, they need help and created the Wakefield Agent program in order to get it. Against this backdrop, the series lays down episodes which contain individual mysteries for players to solve while also delivering clues to the larger game story.

Though the episodes are part of a larger series, players must subscribe to each one individually. The US based company charges $9.99 to players within the United States and $13.99 for those outside of the country, presumably to cover the additional communication and shipping costs. Players who subscribe are given the title of “Wakefield Agent” and, in addition to the interaction, are granted access to game and story updates prior to those who do not subscribe.

The two episodes launched thus far, Out in the Cold and Perfect Friends Forever, received mixed reviews with players who paid for the additional interaction feeling more satisfied with the overall experience. However, the company behind the game, which maintains a blog on their website for company announcements and post mortems, has actively listened to and addressed player complaints.

Who Is Benjamin Stove

Game Overview

Running dates: January, 2006 – April, 2006
Design Team: Campbell-Ewald & GMD Studios
Funding Model: Promotional
Websites: http://www.whoisbenjaminstove.com/

Game Description

As a promotional campaign, Who Is Benjamin Stove? was very unique. It was not designed to promote a specific product and nor was the client revealed until several months into the campaign when they suddenly found themselves in the campaign. It’s confusing, but it worked.

Designed by Campbell-Ewald and executed by GMD Studios, Who Is Benjamin Stove? launched in early January with a character who had discovered an odd painting while was visiting his parents for the holidays. The painting was of a crop circle in a corn field that had the shape of an ethanol molecule; a shape that would reappear a number of times throughout the campaign. Players immediately recognized the ethanol connection and, while trying to uncover the game’s mystery as well as who might be backing the campaign, discussed the benefits and uses of the fuel. Several weeks later, when a Live Green, Go Yellow commercial appeared during the Superbowl, active players quickly determined that General Motors was likely behind the campaign. It would be several more weeks before they would receive confirmation.

The game’s mystery revolved around the original owner of the painting, Benjamin Stove, with players and characters trying to discover who he was, where he might be, and, eventually, what led to his interest in ethanol. Tracking down Mr. Stove, required players to communicate with a character in Brazil and uncover notes he had left hidden in libraries throughout the United States. At one point, clues led one of the characters to Campbell-Ewald’s offices in Detroit and, from there, players received more confirmation that General Motors might be involved. The big reveal, however, took place in late April when Benjamin Stove published an open letter to General Motors with General Motors responding in ads in the USAToday as well as a number of popular websites directing people to their Live Green, Go Yellow campaign website for more information.

The community for the game gathered on forums hosted on WhoIsBenjaminStove.com, a website created and maintained by one of the central characters. While this is nothing new to alternate reality games, the control that the game gave to players was unique. The forums were hosted and maintained by a character, but they were moderated by players who showed leadership and previous experience in moderating forums focused on alternate reality games. This allowed players to deal with questions and comments relating to the game reality without involving a character who might be suddenly confronted with the reality that they were, in fact, fictional. More importantly, it allowed the players to maintain control over the space and feel as if it was truly their community. This had the added benefit of inviting a strong shared culture and experience which has, in some ways, followed the players as they have joined other forums and games.