It’s here, Tron week!  TRON: LEGACY will premiere on Friday Dec 17th in 3D and IMAX where available, starting with midnight screenings. Not only that, there are now two opportunities for fans and dedicated movie-goers to see Tron: Legacy in 3D for free at select limited theaters across North America.

First, as a reward for all who participated in the FLYNN LIVES promotional ARG, you can visit FlynnLives.com/Electrify to locate a nearby theater for free public entry Monday Dec 13th on a first come first served basis (it will be chaos!)

Secondly, for the lucky folk who managed to snag a ticket from Norelco’s ticket snatching marketing ploy at 3dshave.com and 3dshave.ca, another screening will take place on Wednesday Dec 15th.

The FLYNN LIVES campaign has effectively come to an end with the completion of the DigitalPulse puzzle trail – the actions that allowed a portal to be opened between the grid and the real world. It’s believed to be we, Kevin Flynn’s supporters, who created the means for Alan to receive the supposed page from Kevin Flynn.  What a way to end the campaign and lead in to the film!

Now, to celebrate TRON week and the completion of the ARG, Wikibruce will be raffling off a selection of Flynn Lives and Tron paraphernalia.

Raffle Details:

Each day a number of items will be listed on Wikibruce.com, along with a simple “skill testing question” to ensure at least some level of Tron knowledge.  Post your answer and name in the comments below, and you’ll be entered in the draw to win any of the items listed.

The prizes will get bigger and better as the week goes on :)

• You can enter as many times during the week as you like, and for as many items as you like, but only one entry per item!

• If more than one of any item exists, more than one name will be drawn (eg, two coasters as listed below means two names will be drawn).

• Entries will be accepted until Saturday at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern. Names will be drawn, contacted, and announced shortly thereafter.

• Make sure you include your email address with your answer!

Raffle entry is now closed!

Item 1: End of Line Club Coaster

2 coasters are available Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered) What is Yori’s user’s name?

Item 2: FANExpo Blue ID disc

1 disc is available Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered) Who directed the original 1982 film Tron?

Item 3: Operation Tron Profile Badge code

12 codes are available These codes award you the Operation Tron achievement badge (Encom’s San Francisco press conference) for your FlynnLives.com profile. Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered) What is ‘Tron Guy’s real name?

Are you rezzed?  Here we go, start answering!  And don’t forget to see Tron: Legacy this week :)

Check out the other raffle items from TRON week:

• Day 2: Samtracker 89 pin+sticker, Space Paranoids pin, Flynn Lives T-shirt
• Day 3: Sabotaged!
• Day 4: Flynn Lives pin, ‘Home of Tron’ Flynn’s Arcade token, Encom Guest Badge
• Day 5: Blue FLYNN LIVES poster, ARG Launch Bit
  

Raffle entry is now closed!

—-

To catch up on the Flynn Lives ARG, visit the community wiki at tron.wikibruce.com and join in with the community at Unfiction!

You can also connect with Flynn Lives on Facebook.

See you on the grid…

Tags: 42E, disney, tron

Categories: ARGs General, Movies, Viral General

After taking a lengthy hiatus from activity, a new Flynn Lives challenge was publicized on October 8th. News quickly and excitedly spread throughout the community.

The Flynn Lives Facebook page and @OperationTron twitter cryptically posted: “Testing… 1.. 2.. 3..” Followed an hour later by another: “Wait for it…”

These mysterious taunts were given closure with the big reveal:

How fast can you figure this one out? http://xdqlrpgmqivgca9tfjcqddnbxt.com

On visiting the headache-inducing URL, players were presented with an equally headache-inducing visual design reminiscent of the website that led to the Pitcell trailer online at program-glitch-esc.net exactly 7 months earlier.

This time, the website provided three downloadable ZIP files containing a total of 168 text files. Each text file was an ASCII art image of either a Yes bit or a No bit.

Players quickly discovered that the files within each ZIP represented binary sequences, and once decoded became:

tron night 2010.com

TronNight2010.com announced the availability of exclusive tickets to another movie preview night on October 28th, and the tickets would go up for grabs on a first-come first-served basis globally, the following Tuesday October 12 at 1pm Eastern time.

The “Tron Night” preview events were to take place in locations around the globe: 31 US states, 4 major Canadian cities, Mexico, 27 European countries, 13 countries in Asia, as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Visit the TRON ARG WIKI at Wikibruce.com

On Tuesday, the floodgates were opened, and the world fell on the website. Tickets were snapped up almost instantly, selling out some locations, after having four days for the word to spread. The rabid Tron: Legacy fan base, with no hint at more than a 20 minute movie preview, eagerly wanted in.

Tonight is Tron Night. Some even refer to this day, October 28th as TRON Day. The expectations for the event are high, indeed! Will this event live up to the hype? The last preview event had fans eager for excitement, to be shown a brief 3D trailer of Tron: Legacy, and nothing officially more.

Whatever the case may be, excitement is high for Disney’s Tron Night 20 minute preview event.

---

Now some local TRONto TRON Day fun!

Also, I lost three special Flynn’s Arcade tokens last time I was in Toronto, so if you find them, please let me know!

See you later in Toronto, maybe!

 

UPDATE: Well, isn’t that strange… Apparently some program on the grid by the name of “KLOO” just commented below saying he was able to determine the tokens’ locations in Toronto, and will be publishing their calculated GPS coordinates when he finds available windows of  communication. I’ll re-post them if necessary — If you find any, please retrieve them, and find me! There are rewards for their return…

UPDATE: TRON Night just finished, but it looks like KLOO came through after all! He commented again below with the locations of the 3 tokens:

ERR6871:UNKSRC:—————————————————//got it! quickly: I got the word from a trustworthy source, the three tokens are located at // 43.64500, -79.38675 north of the MTCC, on an inside ledge // 43.65058, -79.39063 st.patrick’s market square, nw corner of center ledge, dirt’s edge // 43.65283, -79.38751 University & Armoury, behind nw bench, edge of wood chips // I hope they’re found // good luck, gotta g–//

The tokens are specially identified, so if you find one at any point, please hold on to it and contact me by any means available. I’d like to award you with some Flynn Lives memorabilia!

Tags: 42E, disney, tron

Categories: ARGs General, Movies

On September 4, Toronto became ground zero for a Covenant attack on a UNSC control point, just as was warned in the Xbox News video series (which has since come to a disturbing end).

Teams of 6 troops marched onto the (laser) battlefield to ward off Covenant attackers and defend the UNSC obelisk. Presented with a Halo: Reach t-shirt and lanyard, they were then ushered into a tent where they could train on Halo: Reach’s multiplayer firefight.

People who had pre-ordered their copy of Halo: Reach were granted the privilege to switch sides on the field and play as an enemy Covenant again the UNSC onslaught.

The event lasted 6 hours, with over a thousand players cycled through the battlefield. Even Master Chief himself showed up to support the troops.

• Halo: Reach drops September 14, 2010.
• For more high quality photos from the events, visit Flickr.
• For more details about the viral components leading up to the Toronto and Vancouver UNSC events, visit halo.wikibruce.com.

Halo: Reach Toronto Control Point Defense community event from Xbox Canada Go to Youtube

Don’t forget – Remember Reach…

Tags: halo, toronto

Categories: Video games, Viral General

Want to know more?

• Join the Unfiction discussion
• Get recruited at IFILR.org!

Tags: Gnomes, IFILR

Categories: ARGs General, Rabbit Hole

Check out this press release from Tim Kring and Nokia, revealing a new social and educational game for change. Conspiracy For Good has been running since mid-May, but anyone is able to join the Conspiracy, so go take a look.
Wikibruce is also hosting the community wiki if you need a place to get caught up!

“HEROES” creator Tim Kring and Nokia launch Conspiracy For Good
June 22, 2010

Audience participation drives social and educational change

Espoo, Finland – “Heroes” creator Tim Kring and Nokia today unveiled Conspiracy For Good (CFG, www.ConspiracyForGood.com), an inaugural movement that blends online and real-world tasks to effect social change through audience participation. CFG combines Kring’s original storytelling (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/about) and Nokia’s Ovi platform (www.ovi.com) to create a dramatic, fictional experience using interactive theatre, mobile and alternate reality gaming (ARG), music and physical participation to do good in the world. Participants will become part of the plot development and will find the necessary tools and clues to move the narrative forward and into the real-world, ultimately creating social and educational change for the Chataika Basic School, located in the village of Chataika in eastern Zambia.

“I believe that storytelling has the power to create positive change in the world. Audiences today want to be more involved in stories,” said Tim Kring, 2010 Digital Emmy Pioneer Award winner for transmedia storytelling. “Our goal with the Conspiracy For Good is to entice, engage, and inspire the audience to drive real-world change through their participation in a narrative.”

The Backstory (Fictional Plot)
Over the decades, members of Conspiracy For Good have been reputed to be quietly and effectively doing good in the world’s most troubled areas. But CFG is not without enemies, and it is now under fierce attack by Blackwell Briggs (www.blackwellbriggs.com), a London-based multinational company committed to advanced infrastructure development and security services. For help, CFG turned to Kring, a master storyteller, to share their story, recruit new members to read the signs, and bring down Blackwell Briggs.

Joining the Conspiracy For Good
Participants enter into the story, which fuses reality and fiction, through www.ConspiracyForGood.com, where they will join like-minded thinkers, artists, musicians and causes, creating a unified voice to fight for social and environmental justice. The audience can take action within their own comfort zone and level of engagement to meet new people with similar interests online and in person, and have some fun too. Participants who join CFG will be able to solve mysteries online, play casual mobile games or be a physical participant in the London events that will take place from mid-July through early August.

CFG brings to life many of the experiences that Ovi, Nokia’s Internet service platform, offers to people that use its devices. CFG participation on Ovi occurs through a series of existing and upcoming apps including casual games like “Exclusion” (http://tiny.cc/4ujaw) and “Mainframe Liberator” (http://tiny.cc/r9qfx) that unlock codes to confidential websites, Ovi Maps (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/map) to guide characters through the story, and Ovi Music where hidden information within songs can be deciphered to advance the story.

In the UK, participants will be able to download a special edition app called Conspiracy For Good: DeadDrop powered by Nokia’s Point & Find service. Available in the UK Ovi Store (http://store.ovi.com) in mid-July, the app will allow players to point at objects and images in the real-world to discover clues and participate in challenges during the series of upcoming events in London.

“Tim Kring has truly realized the potential for Nokia’s Ovi platform as an additional distribution channel to once more advance storytelling through interconnected services and active audience participation,” said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president, Nokia. “Conspiracy For Good is Nokia’s most powerful example to date for how content owners can blur the lines between the online and real-world to connect people to change.”

How to Join ConspiracyForGood.com
Anyone is welcome to join the conspiracy from any country. For those who live in or plan to visit London later this summer, event participation is free, registration to www.ConspiracyForGood.com is required and no purchase is necessary.

About Tim Kring
Tim Kring is one of the Hollywood creative community’s original transmedia storytellers, who works seamlessly across mediums, including viewing screens and delivery devices such as film, TV, broadband, computers, mobile devices and the printed page to engage audiences around the world in narrative and immersive story arcs. For four television seasons, Kring served as the creator and executive producer of “Heroes,” NBC’s Emmy®-nominated epic saga that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. An estimated 76 million fans viewed “Heroes” every week around the world on TV and via interactive online programming.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

About Ovi
Ovi is a family of internet services for use on Nokia mobile devices that keeps people connected to the people and things that matter. Ovi services include Ovi Maps with walk and drive navigation and premium travel content; Ovi Music with millions of music tracks; Ovi Mail for email and messaging; Ovi Share for sharing content; and the Ovi Store, filled with thousands of apps, games and media from the content industry’s biggest names along with independent developers. Content publishers are invited to distribute and monetize their content through Ovi by visiting www.publish.ovi.com. More information is available at www.ovi.com.

Media Enquiries:

For Tim Kring
Rogers & Cowan
Sallie Olmsted/Jessica Boyer
Tel. +1 310 854-8124/+1 310 854-8141
Email: solmsted@rogersandcowan.com / jboyer@rogersandcowan.com

Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com

www.nokia.com

Tags: conspiracyforgood, kring

Categories: ARGs General, Educational, Puppetmasters

It’s prompting nostalgic retro-flashbacks to the 80’s, all this hype for the upcoming film Tron: Legacy – a sequel to the classic cult sci-fi adventure from 1982 Tron. But the new face of Tron presented by 21st century technology and special effects has the fan-base in a tizzy. It’s having a similar effect as the recent reboot of Batman had; and perhaps it’s not unconnected that the same marketing team behind Batman’s Why So Serious campaign is heading up Tron’s Flynn Lives campaign.

Visit the TRON ARG WIKI at Wikibruce.com

Last year at the San Diego Comic-Convention, a very successful live event (with online components) was the platform for the public revelation of a life-size ‘Light-cycle’ and the first public teaser trailer from the film (watch the official video recap here!). This event opened the door for fans to start following FlynnLives.com – hoping, wishing, and praying that whatever happens between then and the movie’s release would also award them with some sweet Tron swag! If the Comic-Con event was any indicator, Tron fans would be in for a wild ride over the next year.

Sure enough, in early February 2010 I, along with other people all over the globe began receiving small packages in the mail containing a palm-sized “Bit” as seen in the original Tron, with a hand-written phrase written on the inside lid of the box reading “/zerohour“. From this, the website FlynnLives.com/ZeroHour was discovered with a binary-coded countdown to 11am EST, February 24th – Zero Hour.

The Tron community erupted with theories, as over the next few days a mysterious message was slowly revealed below. A list of cities appeared, located within the United States, Canada, France, UK, and Australia – but there were no instructions accompanying them.

An email was distributed just before “Zero hour” hit reminding people to watch their nearest city. Right on schedule, three cities first lit up linked with instructions to meet a contact at a specific time and place in each city. What happened was a feeding frenzy of F5’s and website refreshes for the next 9 hours as all 27 cities lit up three at a time. At the drop points, the first person to arrive and say the code phrase to the waiting contact (and only the first person!) would be given a cell phone by which they were instructed to locate a deaddrop containing exclusive Tron collectible swag – as well as codes to be entered online.

At this point, FlynnLives.com allowed anyone to create a profile, including contact information. This implied potential phone calls, text messages, even physical mail to be distributed in coming months. Once signed up and connecting the profile to a facebook account, players discovered they could earn achievement badges – bragging rights. Additionally, those lucky enough to be the first to each ZeroHour location and enter at least one of the discovered codes online also received a special achievement, and their name listed as one of 66 special operatives.

At the end of this ZeroHour event, players online and offline were rewarded with a new desktop background, and instructions to visit PitCell.com at 4:00pm EST the next day — to be the first to register for an exclusive, limited IMAX screening in one of five listed cities: Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, and Sydney. Of what the screening is – still a mystery.

Going to an IMAX screening? Add your name to the list if you’d like to meet up with others in your area!

The next day, when this second zero hour hit, once again the refresh-frenzy began. Word had spread over the course of the day through mainstream media, and people worldwide were waiting in anticipation for the moment the (FREE!) ticket registration for this IMAX event would open. In an unbelievable record (where is Guinness to confirm?) The Los Angeles IMAX event was flagged SOLD OUT in under one minute. New York quickly followed suit about 5 minutes later. Toronto and London were next in short order, and Sydney selling out closed the deal.

A leading theory at this point is that individuals who grabbed a ticket in time (which is good for two people) will have access to view a special IMAX 3D scene from Tron, much like the 6 minute prologue scene for Batman: The Dark Knight. But details about the Tron screening as of this writing are still up in the air.

That’s not the end of it, however. After the updates, more was discovered online. Additional mysteries and strange codes, a hidden discussion forum with reference to Encom International, and what appears to be a deeper story still to be unraveled.

With tron: Legacy not slated for release until December 17th, 2010, this hype campaign is sure to kick up a notch or few in upcoming months, and those who miss out on this IMAX event shouldn’t fret about missing out entirely. Sign up for a profile, and watch for any opportunity to get in this game! One thing to keep in mind is that this kind of catering to a market fanbase is best and most successful when free, and only as good and enjoyable as the fans, players, and community make it.

You can join the search for Flynn in numerous ways:

• Bookmark FlynnLives.com and sign up
• Join the Flynn Lives Facebook group
• Follow #FlynnLives Twitter hashtags
• Join a discussion community like Unfiction or Tron-Sector
• Follow updates on Tron viral wiki, or the Tron wikia
• Watch sites that are tracking the campaign, like MovieViral.com and ARGN.com

Tags: 42E, disney, tron

Categories: ARGs General, Movies, Rabbit Hole

This weekend, a momentous discovery was made: The hidden fortune of Grayson Ozias IV was found. After almost two months of hints, puzzles, research and anticipation, Levi’s “G.O. IV Fortune” campaign has come to a close.

Two months ago, the campaign for Grayson’s fortune began with the revelation of the discovery of wax cylinders – audio recordings from the late 1800s. About “GoForth”, The Inspiration Room said: “Levi Strauss has launched a new advertising campaign, ‘Go Forth’, presenting an optimistic tone in a time of pessimism in the United States. The online (goforth.levi.com), print and television elements borrow words and concepts from American poet Walt Whitman to establish a pioneering tone for the ‘New Americans’.”

Levi’s new “G.O. IV Fortune” campaign included the promise that along with the discovery of Grayson’s buried $100,000 prize, the organization would donate an equal sum of $100,000 to a charity of choice. The campaign prompted players to learn about American history and solve puzzles based on clues revealed in old wax cylinder recordings of Grayson Ozias IV. The introduction to this long-buried treasure hunt can be heard from G.O. himself here.

I left my home and all I knew because I feared the complacency that was growing in me. I feared that I would be content to never experience anything of America beyond the city in which I was born. But after hearing Whitman, this complacency became unthinkable, and my comfort became my greatest burden.

This great man’s portrait of our land emboldened me to conquer fear and go forth, and I have never regretted it, even now. Which is why it is my hope that these words may in turn inspire another to conquer fear, and abandon comfort, and seek their unknown.

Therefore, I commit the fortune I have made in my travels back to the earth from whence it came. I leave all I have to America, so that America might set out and find it.

Yours most sincerely,

Grayzon Ozias IV

“In September of 2009, Levi’s verified the existence of $100,000 that Grayson Ozias IV buried.

He left it there for you.
And so did we.

Go Forth.”

Shortly after the hunt began, Wikibruce among other websites received a package from Grayson, which is documented here in the article and video “It’s never too late IV a rabbithole“.

After almost two months of clues and thought-provoking quotes from Walt Whitman by G.O. IV on Twitter, players who persevered were presented with the final clue, a final puzzle that would reveal the location of Grayson’s buried $100,000 fortune. On November 21st, 2009, Laura Hall was the GoForth participant who successfully made the trek to the boonies of southern Utah to recover Grayson’s buried fortune.

Laura wasn’t the only winner though. The chosen charity to receive an equal donation of $100,000 from Levi Strauss is charity: water. “Bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the money raised goes to direct project costs—funding sustainable clean water solutions in the areas of greatest need.”

In the planned final trip to the secret location, she recorded her progress and adventure, tweeting about it, and ensuring others could follow along.

The official final video of her discovery has been posted for viewing at goforth.levi.com, and you can watch her documentation of the buried fortune in this video.

Laura has also begun a website to document, relive, and share her GoForth experience at goforthandbeyond.com.

To check out the progress of the entire game, you can visit the community wiki at goforth.wikibruce.com, or read about other people’s adventures in recovering clues around the United States and from other related events at whereisthemaninthehat.tumblr.com.

Congratulations to Laura Hall and Charity: Water, and an enormous thanks to Grayson Ozias IV and Levi Strauss for their positive, exciting, and memorable campaign through America’s history.

As “hach1r0k1d03” shared near the end of the campaign, We’re all winners because we have gone forth & followed Grayson’s journey. His story is worth so much more than $100,000.

Tags: goforth, levis

Categories: ARGs General, Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

About the time of Levi’s launch of their new “Go Forth” campaign, reports began popping up of nifty packages being delivered from the Levi Strauss and Co. Archives in San Francisco.  Days after I reported the press release, another package arrived!  Unfortunately this time, there was no charcoal briquette goodness used as packaging.

There was, however, a red bandanna marked with a very good question: “Who was Grayson Ozias the IVth, and where is his treasure?”    So I had a creative urge and decided to share the opening of Grayson’s mail…

 

You can join the game and help solve the mystery by starting at goforth.levi.com

Then follow GraysonOziasIV on Twitter for updates, and stalk Grayson on Facebook

Then go and bookmark the community wiki here at goforth.wikibruce.com for help and answers (and please contribute if you want!).

You can also join a community discussion at Unfiction.

Now get II it and Go IVth!

Tags: goforth, levis

Categories: ARGs General, Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

Celebrities are a hot target for ransoms and blackmail. So is it any surprise that Seth Green of Idle Hands and Austin Powers fame has now had to likewise suffer a life-altering, catastrophic tragedy? If you don’t know what I’m referring to, check out these videos:

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/bP8R0tNhkrA” width=”255″ height=”214″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /]

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/H_NQeqp0lNA” width=”255″ height=”214″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /]

Almost 1 million views in 10 days. What exactly happened? Someone (maybe marketers?) stole his lucky vintage Butterfinger bar. As Seth testifies on his blog, “So last Friday I was on my cell during a break while shooting a Butterfinger spot. I’m in the parking lot, getting some junk outta my car, when two guys jumped me. These guys took my wallet, keys, bag…and the most important thing ever: my lucky vintage 1928 Butterfinger.”

While the videos stirred up the viral pipeline hornet’s nest and caused some heated debating over hoax videos, Seth and Nestle were busy setting up a central web hub called DudeWheresMyBar.com (get it? It’s a play on “Dude, Where My Car?” got it? ok, moving on) in preparation for a campaign to help Seth get re-acquainted with his precious Butterfinger bar; because no one lays a finger on his Butterfinger bar. Well, except that someone already did. In typical ransom style, the goofy perpetrator also then mailed him a letter-clipped ransom note. Seriously?

Seth outlines his dilemma in the following video, which has also apparently been hacked by the mysterious goofy perpetrator with no face.

Apparently the perpetrator also really knows his flash programming, because part of the ultimatum given to Seth is to that he must play games at his expense to reveal, in a very Joker-like fashion, a secret message which must be solved by midnight on October 31st or the bar will be destroyed o noes!

But ho! Seth has decided to team with Nestle and recruit the help of his throbbing mobs of fans to play these five games as they are magically made available and earn the high scores to unlock the gameboard message! And of course, as a thank you, Seth is prepared to reward the most successful player with a golden Butterfinger Bar valued at $10,000, and a trip to L.A. to be rewarded by Seth in person! Eh-oh!

Unfortunately to some, it seems the mystery may go deeper than the surface. This ‘mystery man’ has been leaving video messages, and surely there will be clues hidden throughout this evil-kidnapper-of-evilnesses tricks. As he describes his game: “It is an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, smothered in secret sauce”

It appears though that Seth only likes the U.S. So, if you live in Canada, you’re not eligible for his reward according to the official rules. Boo-urns.

Turn that frown upside down though, because you can still play the games! And you can still feed the gears of virality by sharing and spamming the brand-ridden cry for help with friends who embrace any of over 85 social networking tools! (even those who don’t who at least have email)

All that said, if you still want to help Seth (and who wouldn’t want to help those teary puppy-dog eyes), go log in, and start playing the Tap-Tap Revenge Remix That Rant game and shoot for as high a score as you can – but don’t forget to collect the clues along the way.

ARG?  “Lite” ARG?  Uh…  Contest style marketing viral banking on celebrity pseudo-reality? That’s a little closer.  And you know it’s viral when you’re told about it by the development team, who were inspired by the ARG community. Enh — not very ARGish.  But who cares, I like Seth. And I chuckled.  Here’s hoping Seth will make some personal phone calls… or Mars and Hershey will crowd-source a covert corporate takedown of Nestle via a public blog. Perhaps they’ll spread rumors of government conspiracies, or introduce an AI from the future, or a corrupt pharmaceutical company, or sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their foreheads!

• Dude, Where’s My Bar?
• Seth’s Backstory
• Official Rules (and details about the games, sweepstakes, and rewards)
• Official Press Release
• Game #1: Remix That Rant!
• Game #2: Will be available beginning Monday Oct 19th

Other media coverage:

• Despoiler – Dude, Where’s My ARG?
• A-List Press – Seth Green Mugging Video Was Fake, Stupid

Tags: butterfinger, nestle

Categories: Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

Levi’s is stepping up. Check out this Press Release about a new game and contest with a $100,000 prize, and the chance to choose any non-profit charity for which Levi’s will match an additional $100,000 donation. Relevant links following the release.

LEVI’S® BRAND BURIES $100,000 SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA WITH THE CHALLENGE TO PIONEERS TO “GO FORTH”

The Denim Leader will match the $100,000 fortune for a philanthropic chance to change the future.

SAN FRANCISCO (October 5, 2009) ­ The Levi’s® brand challenges today’s pioneers to uncover a $100,000 fortune buried somewhere in America by solving the question “Who was Grayson Ozias IV and where is his fortune?”

Launching October 5, 2009, at levi.com/goforth, this interactive challenge invites participants to solve mysteries as they unfold, keep up with other players or go for the gold themselves with the final cipher. It is a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle and an adventure across our country.

“The question we asked ourselves was ‘how do we bring the spirit of Go Forth to life out there in the world?  How do we bring the unique history and rich legacy of the Levi’s® brand to life in a fun and compelling way?’ The story of Grayson Ozias’s lost fortune seemed like a mystery just waiting to be solved,” says Doug Sweeny, Vice President of Levi’s® Brand Marketing.

Grayson Ozias IV Fortune

The narrative behind the challenge follows Grayson Ozias IV, a fictional character based on the Levi’s® brand’s pioneering and innovative spirit, on his adventures across America until his 1896 disappearance into the wilderness, after hiding his considerable fortune. Grayson Ozias IV was a friend of Levi Strauss’s nephew Nathan, so the story goes, who recorded newly discovered details about Grayson’s journey that hint at the final hiding place of his fortune. These newly discovered recordings and the story they tell will lead participants on a new adventure of discovery.

The story of Grayson’s 1890s adventure exploring America will guide our modern-day event. The game’s scavenger hunt leads to many cities and towns across America, each a part of Grayson’s journey, encourages players to step out from behind their computers and will lead some lucky player into the real world directly to the buried treasure. Each task triggers the next clue in the challenge.

The ongoing puzzle, an elaborate cryptogram, requires a combination of knowledge, skill and determination. The players will be receiving clues and pieces of the puzzle from launch to finish. The first player to crack the final puzzle and send it to the Levi’s® game team will win Grayson Ozias’s buried fortune.  Players can also win other great prizes throughout the journey.

The Levi’s® brand is not only awarding the Grayson Ozias IV challenge winner with $100,000, the participants of the challenge will be given the opportunity to nominate and vote for a U.S.-based non-profit organization to receive an additional $100,000 gift from the blue-jean-inventing icon. Sweeny adds, “This is the legacy of Levi Strauss who himself donated a robust portion of his first earnings to a local orphanage that the company still supports today. This began the company’s tradition of sharing its prosperity with the community.”

The hidden fortune is the third expedition from Levi’s® Go Forth campaign, first launched July 1, 2009. The campaign will be supported heavily in digital social media (Facebook, Twitter), online via rich media and offline (ESPN The Magazine).  The first two expeditions—the New Declaration and the New Americans—were an homage to today’s America.

 

About Levi Strauss & Co.

The Levi’s® brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss in 1873, Levi’s® jeans have become the most recognizable and imitated clothing in the world ­ capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi’s® brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry.  Our range of leading jeanswear and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style.  For more information about the Levi’s® brand, its products and stores, please visit http://levi.com.

While the contest itself is open only to the United States, anyone can participate and enjoy the game.  And in case you hadn’t noticed:  “G“rayson “O“zias “IV“(th)  ;)

Links:

• GoForth.Levi.com
• Grayson Ozias IV on Facebook
• Grayson Ozias IV on Twitter
• GoForth discussion at Unfiction

Tags: goforth, levis

Categories: ARGs General, Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

Perhaps this article would be better entitled: Why I love Halo: An Epic Analysis.

I’m not a Halo fanatic…relatively speaking. I’m not shy about being an enormous fan of the Halo franchise, but I don’t own a Master Chief costume, nor have I ever worn one. I don’t know every little intricate detail of the Halo universe. I can’t ramble off stats, ID numbers, the name and rank of every known character. I don’t play the video game most of the day, every day, and it’s a fat chance I’d “pwn” anyone in multiplayer these days if I did. At all. I’m what you might consider a discoverer, or a story enthusiast.

I was an early adopter of the original Xbox back in 2001, due solely to previews of Halo: Combat Evolved. At that point, I was a gamer. My friends at first were annoyed with my constant raving about Halo, yet many eventually caved and began playing as well – and soon, much more than me. My game-playing fanaticism and multiplayer skill slowly faded as I was drawn further into the mystery, the story world that had been created by Bungie Studios.

I would not hesitate in the slightest to refer to the Halo franchise as “Epic”.

Quite often I compare the potential scope of this universe to that of Star Trek or Star Wars. To me, for a story to be epic, it must have potential to become a ‘part of the whole’, a story told within what feels to be a much, much larger untold story. For an epic to be successful in my opinion, it needs to employ a certain formula. It needs first to be told from the perspective of an individual, or providing only a very small portion of the larger picture, and still make a personal connection with the audience. If done right, this story alone would capture its audience.

Consider recent entertainment franchises like Terminator, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or even the Chronicles of Riddick. Each begins by telling a self-contained story from a single perspective, while leaving many questions unanswered in the end. Sarah Connor has to survive against a deadly killing machine from the future. Neo strives desperately to discover and understand what the Matrix is. The little hobbits in peaceful Hobbiton have their worlds turned upside by an unknown, evil force. Harry potter learns about a strange, magical, hidden world. The convict Riddick uses his extreme skills to survive and escape a deadly planet. Each of these tease at a larger universe with untold stories, but begin with an engaging tale of discovery or exploration of something unknown.

Enter Master Chief, Spartan John-117.

Presuming one knows nothing of the previous, indirectly related Marathon titles – with Halo, we begin from the Chief’s perspective, opening up not only in the middle of a war we know nothing about, but making that first, eerie discovery of a foe that threatens much more than we could imagine (I will never forget watching for the first time the cinematic cutscene in which the Chief discovers the Flood). Already, the premise is clear that this isn’t just a self-contained video game story, but actually only a very small window into a universe filled with history and a future, conflict, and characters that truly feel as if they have backstories and full lives.

( Continue to the next page )

Tags: bungie, halo, ilovebees, microsoft

Categories: ARGs General, Books, Movies, Video games

What did you see?

Back in April, a commercial for an organization named The Mosaic Collective aired on ABC, forwarding people to themosaiccollective.com. Visitors were asked to report into a database what they saw during a very brief flash of an image on screen. The collective would then generate a mosaic of these ‘visions’ for the public.

Recently, The Mosaic Collective has begun collecting more extensive visions from people regarding their 2 minute and 17 second “Flash Forwards” – visions of their lives six months in the future, which everyone on earth experienced during the GBO (Global Blackout).

I was one of the fortunate few to meet up with the collective at Comic Con in San Diego in July, and was able to finally get my flash forward reported and off my chest. I met Mosiac Task Force Intelligence Analyst Marcie Turoff who was intrigued by my vision and asked some followup questions after my report. However, I’m uncertain if this is something I should have done, given the personal and sensitive nature of my vision. But it could end up taking one of two directions: reporting my vision ends up changing the future and I no longer have to worry about my safety, or reporting my vision has made my eventual knowledge public and inevitably leads to that very future and the danger I will soon be faced with.

Judge for yourself. The Mosaic Collective has published my report via their Youtube account. I truly hope this changes things.

The Mosaic Collective is “dedicated to connecting the world one experience at a time.” The GBO wreaked havoc across the earth as 7 billion people blacked out simultaneously for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Many did not survive. The rest were left dazed and confuzed, having to make sense of what just happened. The Collective aims to unite humanity with their efforts to paint a mosaic of the future by analyzing as many flash forwards as they’re able to get a hold of.

An investigative journalist, Oscar Obregon, reporting for Truth Hack (Youtube), described the collective this way:

Mosaic’s general approach is an interesting one; in one way they’re offering the public a service – an international clearinghouse to find corroborating information for FlashForwards. At the same time, they’re building a database that could potentially create a a vivid portrait of our collective future – and possibly explain whatever could be behind the GBO [Global Blackout] itself. It’s not quite open source, but it’s close, and seeing the Bureau embrace a more “web 2.0” approach speaks well of Wedeck’s instincts.

Something is believed to be scheduled to happen at JoinTheMosaic.com on August 16th.  Keep watch!

---

Flash Forward is a new ABC TV series slated to premiere September 24th.

For more information, visit these sites:

• Official ABC Flash Forward Homepage
• Flash Forward @ Wikipedia
• Flash Forward promo spot

Here are some campaign sites to get you connected:

• TheMosaicCollective.com
• TruthHack.com
• JoinTheMosaic.com
• whatdidyousee @ Twitter
• truthhack @ Twitter

And of course, there is an Unfiction community discussion you can join in as well.

Tags: abc, flashforward, mosaic collective

Categories: ARGs General, TV Series, Viral General

August 5th, primetime, Fox launches a new viral.  Reports are popping up all around the blog-o-sphere that hidden within commercials during shows including So You Think You Can Dance and Hell’s Kitchen was this very short teaser commercial:

Simple, really.  A caduceus, with a cane as the centerpiece.  The teaser quotes the website SnakesOnACane.com.  This website contains the same basic information, with one change, however: There is a countdown timer (staple of ARG/Viral hype!) counting down to September 21, 2009, 8pm (local time).

The leading theory about this teaser is that it is in fact the beginning of a promotion for the season premiere of the hit Fox TV drama House, M.D., of which I am a huge fan.

Well, looking quite a while back, on the ARG Netcast episode 24 from May 13 2007, the panelists were asked for what property they would love to see an ARG created.  This happened to be an episode I was present for as a panelist, and after contemplating the question for some time, I was obliged to answer House!

Have TPTB at Fox heard my cry for a House ARG?

Doubtful. Will this turn out to be the next great TV ARG?  It’s hard to say right now, but my guess is – No. Like the witty doctor House once said, “…like the philosopher Jagger once said, ‘You can’t always get what you want.'” Unfortunately. While I’d love to see a House ARG, I don’t think the show is necessarily all that conducive to an ARGish experience, though I could be wrong (I hope I’m wrong!).  But for now I believe this may just be another viral campaign to drum up interest and press.

It is, however, working.  And I for one, am excited to see what will be pulled from this little hat.

“The problem could be neurological. Everyone knows TV rots your brain.”

(bonus points if you know the quote that inspired the title of this article!)

UPDATE / Aug 10

Snakesonacane.com has updated. A minor update, but the link to House is now quite obvious.

“I was deluded into thinking I was crazy”

Tags: fox, house, snakesonacane

Categories: TV Series, Viral General

It has been a busy summer. Year, even. But two days from now, a community of alternate reality gamers and creators, media and casual folk, fans and fanatics, will descend on Portland, Oregon for the annual ARGFest-o-con.  2009 marks the 6th year of the ‘con, which began as a group of friends gathering for a meetup in Las Vegas. It’s certainly come a long way!

My flights are booked, hotels reserved, and later today I’m heading out for the trip to Portland.  ARGfest has always been an amazing experience, both socially, educationally, and professionally. That it’s also highly entertaining goes without saying.  If you’re also registered for attendance, keep an eye out for me and say hi! :)

For more information about ARGFest and the events of the weekend, be sure to bookmark and visit ARGFestocon.com.  Watch for new announcements, teasers, press, editorials, photos and videos, and much more to come out of the ‘con.  Catch up on the latest discussion at the Unfiction thread.

---

Not to be outdone, after the ARGFesters have dissipated, I’ll be attending the San Diego Comic Convention the following week.  There, all forms of entertainment are present and respresented, from comic book artists, to TV shows, to video games, to upcoming major theatrical releases, and of course many fans decked out in their favourite characters’ costumes.  It’s a sight to behold!

This will be my first attending of the SDCC, and to say I’m extremely excited is an understatement. Be sure to watch this space for updates, news, rumours, and – hopefully – intimations of upcoming ARGs and quality promotional campaigns!  These events are hot spots for mysterious happenings and hints of upcoming announcements. Let’s hope there are some upcoming campaigns with some meat, some substance!

At the very least, there will be a sore lack of sleep, lots of talking, lots of news, definitely lots of photos, and many announcements.  Watch this space for updates!

Two years ago Comic-Con was host to a part of Batman: The Dark Knight‘s campaign Why So Serious, with a live event and lots of fanatical attendee activity. Last year, Comic-Con saw dropping of content related to Resistance 2‘s campaign Project Abraham.  What might this year hold?

We shall see…

As above, if you’re also planning to be in attendance, watch for me – the guy with the black Canadian ball-cap – bold red maple leaf in the front! :)

Tags: argfest, comiccon

Categories: ARGs General

Elan Lee, co-founder of Fourth Wall Studios and long-time ARG Puppetmaster, recently tweeted that a new paper he co-authored about ARGs and storytelling had been published online.

Titled “Storytelling in new media: The case of alternate reality games, 2001-2009“, authors Jeffrey Kim, Elan Lee, Timothy Thomas, and Caroline Dombrowski cover and discuss a variety of Alternate Reality Games that took place over the past 8 years, and compare their strengths and shortcomings.

Abstract:

New media allows previously passive consumers to tell and shape stories together. Yet most information is still disseminated in a top–down fashion, without taking advantage of the features enabled by new media. This paper presents five Alternate Reality Game (ARG) case studies which reveal common features and mechanisms used to attract and retain diverse players, to create task–focused communities and to solve problems collectively. Voluntary, collective problem solving is an intriguing phenomenon wherein disparate individuals work together asynchronously to solve problems together. ARGs also take advantage of the unique features of new media to craft stories that could not be told using other media.

You can read the entire paper at UIC.edu.

Tags: discussion, media, meta

Categories: ARGs General, Educational, Puppetmasters

April 23, 2009, ARG designer, beloved husband, father, and friend Dave Szulborski passed away. 

As announced by Dee Cook at unfiction:

Dave Szulborski passed away last night after a long and incredibly courageous battle with leukemia. He leaves behind his wife Marianne, his baby son Tyler, and many many friends both online and in the real world.

If you are interested in attending the funeral services, here’s the information:

Sunday night, visitation at Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden Street, Bethlehem, PA from 6-8 PM.

Monday morning, memorial service at St. John’s Windish Lutheran Church, 617 East Fourth Street, Bethlehem, PA at 11 AM.

If you would like to send along your respects:

It was Dave’s wish that in lieu of flowers, people contribute towards his son’s education. You can do so by sending a check to the following:

Long Funeral Home
500 Linden Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018

Make the check payable to Long Funeral Home, and put “Tyler Szulborski Education Fund” in the memo.

Also, there is a memorial page posted at the funeral home site where you can write in the guest book, and there will be an obituary posted on The Morning Call tomorrow.

Last, Dave’s wife Marianne would love to hear from you and keep in touch with the community. Her email address is beachmomma8991SPLATaol.com. She said that she is going to put some of the strings of cranes in with Dave to rest.

I personally met Dave only a couple of times, through the annual ARGFest events.  Last year, Dave S. graced us with his presence in Boston, and providing the Keynote address: “The Story Inside: Making ARGs for Fun and Profit”.  Fun always came first.

Two years ago, I had the privilege being selected as Dave’s Secret Santa at Unfiction.  I was floored, and immediately felt that pressure of hoping to find a gift that would be greatly appreciated (knowing, of course, he would appreciate any gift at all).  I gave him a copy of a book he was hoping to read at some point. And as is quite common, I made up a special puzzle for him to solve on receiving the book.  I never found out if he solved it. As a matter of fact, I never even found out whether he liked the book or not.

I was also privileged to be on the receiving end of some of Dave’s ARG swag from a game called Monster Hunters Club for the foreign film The Host.  My name was drawn randomly from entrants to receive – to save – an old collectible monster figurine or action figure.  On my doorstep a short while later was some unique ARG swag from the game.  Don’t worry, Dave.  Bionic Bigfoot will be safe from harm.

It was only two months ago, precisely, that I blogged about Dave’s condition, happy that was back out of the hospital and doing fine. Funny how fast things can change.

The few times I met him and spent time with him, he made an enormous impression. I recently bought his book “This Is Not A Game“, and am slowly reading through it. Dave was a brilliant, creative, intelligent game creator.  Others who’ve known him on a far more personal level and who’ve worked with him are expressing the same sentiments. He was a wonderful leader and inspiration to us all.

This article can’t possible describe all that Dave has done, or even come close to paying a satisfactory homage to the man.  So I resign to simply share my personal reflection of his influence in my life.

Dave, you will surely be missed.

(Please review the announcement above for information about Dave, memorials, donations, and others sharing about Dave)

Tags: dave szulborski

Categories: Puppetmasters

Abrams’ next big screen gem will officially be hitting theatres in 2 1/2 weeks, and the virals are finally ramping up.

Long ago, the website NCC-1701.com was activated, displaying four security camera angles of what appeared to be the construction of a very large vessel (the Enterprise, of course), and it drew throngs of interested followers. This week, however, the website went offline (rather, it now redirects to StarTrekMovie.com) after many months of inactivity, to the disappointed sighs of many fans looking forward to some high quality visuals and experiences.

Replacing it, however, is a very subdued, mysterious multi-lingual chat session occurring between five individuals, believed to be operating under the pseudonyms Si, Ca, Al, Fe, and O. The mystery has ongoing coverage at the fan site TrekMovie.com, first reporting on April 10th about a number of binary-URL websites that were discovered.

Later, an individual named Malak0 reported finding a device in France, and wanted to return it to its owner, but no one could convince him they were the rightful owner. TrekMovie.com covered it on April 15th.

Once again, the website containing the chat between the five individuals was updated with more chatting, as outlined on April 17th.

Most recently, these chatting individuals were discovered to have transferred to Twitter in order to better converse.  Primarily, User #4 and #5 have been active.  This was reported April 20th.

• PHPChatUser1
• PHPChatUser2
• PHPChatUser3
• PHPChatUser4
• PHPChatUser5

(You can also follow the ARG happenings by tracking the twitter keyword #startrekarg)

Today, however, Malak0 decided to share a video where he shows off the strange PDA-like device.  The video is entirely in French, and begs an English translation (or whatever language you may otherwise prefer).

If you are able to translate the video, please comment below. (update: A full english transcript has been added to the wiki)

I had previously set up a wiki, prepared to update with happenings at NCC-1701.com, but it is still a great tool to keep up to date with the happenings of this particular viral.  You can read the chat transcripts and catch up with other details at:

startrek.wikibruce.com

You can continue continue conversing with the Trek community at any of the articles linked above, or you could also join the discussion and coverage at Unfiction.

 

Tags: abrams, star trek

Categories: ARGs General, Movies

On April 3rd, NASA made a startling discovery – the Chandra X-Ray Observatory photographed what could only be described at “The Presence” – a strange phenomenon photographed in recent years. 
Described by Gradiosity:

A buddy and I were getting our asses kicked by a couple cops after they caught us tagging a wall. I remember hearing this crack like thunder right overhead. Next thing I knew, we were all standing there, looking up like baby birds. One of the cops was crying. We were all shaking. It was like realizing I’ve spent my whole life underwater and finally looking up and seeing *real* life on the other side of the surface. The cops just left us, just forgot about us. But we didn’t notice because we’d forgotten about them.  (source)

And now, has The Presence been captured by NASA’s Chandra Observatory?  CNN has also reported NASA’s finding.  You be the judge…

This, on the heals of two nebulous tweets reportedly posted on April 2nd from Trent Reznor saying:

At this stage in my career, there’s few profession-related situations that truly make me nervous. Walking into one right now.

YZ is alive.

The second tweet has since been deleted.

The Presence first made its appearance in an ARG by 42 Entertainment, partnered with Nine Inch Nails, for their edgy album Year Zero.

Yes, this is a real astrophotograph, a real nebula.

Tags: year zero

Categories: Viral General

(updates appended below; most recent update: Sep.25.10 – Please see disclaimers at the end of the article before commenting)

Today, big things happened. The Box was opened. (ongoing updates appended)

The viral nature of this production certainly did its job. The original video on youtube had a description which was consistently updated every few days. But the description was a countdown. It now reads:

000000000000000000
000000000000000000
0000…………………..0000
0000……OPEN……0000
0000……..THE…….0000
0000……..BOX…….0000
0000…………………..0000
0000…………………..0000
www.whatsinthebox.nl
000000000000000000

So what happened? We still don’t know… but something. All content indicates that events are taking (have taken?) place in the year 2018, August 6th. Supposedly this is when the events of the video take/took place.

Read on to find out all that’s been discovered, and dig in to the story…

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: babel research, whatsinthebox

Categories: Grassroots, Viral General