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Guest Check |
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Posted 2008-04-25 by Tony Walsh |
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I meant to post this last month during SXSW, but life got in the way:
Geneviève Cardin of Baroblik handed the above Guest Check to me after one of my two gaming panels, and I thought I'd post it for interested readers. I don't hear much about Alternate Reality Games and related interactives going on in non-English languages. Cardin is a French Canadian working on some interesting projects--right now, she's doing a billingual (English/French) ARG known as The Rivard Project. She permitted me to keep her email address in the above photo, and she's looking for ARG-makers in the Montreal area, so drop her a line if you can help.
For those without graphics support, here's a list of Cardin's projects: |
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4 comments |
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Alternate Reality Band: ‘The All-For-Nots’ |
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Posted 2008-03-14 by Tony Walsh |
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While in Austin for SXSW, I caught the launch of The All-For-Nots, described by BuzzFeed as "a new web comedy about a fictional indie rock band," except that what I saw on stage was just a band--the comedy occurs offstage, apparently. As explained by a friend of mine at the event, the band's scripted between-gig antics are shot for webisodes, which you can check out on the band's official web site. Not entirely clear on the target demographic for this--I'm going to guess 12 - 24 year-olds (the project is going after both MySpace and Bebo users, which seems around that age range).
I suppose what I saw on stage was a salad comprised of alternate reality bands like The Monkees, Josie and the Pussycats, Jem and the Holograms, and Spinal Tap--a pref-fab band appealing to your love of music (if you like derivative indie-rock), comedy (via webisodes rather than on-stage), and presumably to your wallet as well (merch? albums?).
I kept waiting for something crazy to happen during the band's energetic set, but no. What would have been cool is for them to fire their drummer on stage... anything involving fire, actually. Oh well, will keep my eye on this project, maybe it'll blossom. |
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0 comments |
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SXSW 2008 Notes: Jane McGonigal’s Keynote |
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Posted 2008-03-11 by Tony Walsh |
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Rough notes liveblogged from Jane McGonigal's keynote presentation at SXSW...
The Lost Ring has been in pay for a week, there are already over 100 screen grabs from the game trailer posted to flickr.
We need more alternate realities... the real world needs to be redesigned as a game...
Slide: "A game designer's perspective on the future of happiness"
Research around the subject of happiness... the science of happiness... we've started to see a backlash after a period of happiness study... one area of study looks specifically at what makes us happy and function well... it's been all over the popular press...
There's an amazing parallel between what makes us happy and the core tenets of game design...
Continue
reading: SXSW 2008 Notes: Jane McGonigal’s Keynote |
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2 comments |
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SXSWi 2008 Notes: Stories, Games and Your Brand |
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Posted 2008-03-09 by Tony Walsh |
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Liveblogged from SXSWi in Austin, my rough notes from the panel " SXSW 2008 Notes: Stories, Games, and Your Brand."
Dan Hon case study: Cloverfield.
-- More people heard of the marketing than saw the movie (based on informal audience survey)
Rachel Clarke case study: Honda.
-- Puzzles built into posters, web site, game play engages viewers, every time you play the game it takes you closer to the brand
Roo Reynolds case study: Perplex City.
-- PC had a nice collecting element, but a great backstory, bits of everything in it... in my work in virtual worlds, I've been disappointed to not experience this level of depth (although VWs are good at turning people into participants)...
Continue
reading: SXSWi 2008 Notes: Stories, Games and Your Brand |
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0 comments |
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Someone Spent Twenty-Five Bucks On This Post |
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Posted 2008-03-04 by Tony Walsh |
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Some poor bastard paid twenty-five bucks to send me a very nicely-produced clue-package for an Alternate Reality Game, presuming I have time to unravel a ball of yarn. Guess what: I don't. Lucky for you, Despoiler already did. I got the exact same package*, so just hop on over there to view the contents.
Dear Mystery-Package Sender,
You missed on three counts.
1) I'm busy running my own company, and don't have time to play your game.
2) I don't pick up my mail as regularly as you imagine I might.
3) I don't publish a news outlet for ARG-related matters. These days, I barely publish at all. So I'm not exactly worth approaching.
Additionally, I got an email from the makers of the game yesterday that almost ended up in my Spam folder, and was ultimately a wasted effort. I didn't care to rummage through the email contents. There's a link to a video there. I didn't check it out.
Clearly, Mystery-Package Sender is shooting in the dark--I wonder who else might have been targeted. Despite my indifference to their game, they still got free buzz out of me. Twenty-five bucks well spent, I guess.
* Update: Ok, looks like my photos aren't the same. All the more tragic I don't have time to scan and post them. |
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5 comments |
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For The Record: Walsh on Writing Alternate Realities |
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Posted 2008-02-29 by Tony Walsh |
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The Austin Chronicle published an article about games and storytelling today, written by Joey Seiler, frequent contributor to Virtual World News. I'm quoted in the article, and while I won't go so far as to say the quote was out of context, it doesn't reflect what I would have said given the context the quote now appears in.
In the article, I talk briefly about extending the Halo game universe across multiple media, but neither I or the article mentions the groundbreaking Halo Alternate Reality Game known as " I Love Bees." As an ARG writer and designer on the award-winning Fallen and Regenesis games, I am well aware of this precedent, I just didn't think to mention it in the interview, although it was obliquely referenced.
My interview, in its original context as an email thread, follows for the record.
Continue
reading: For The Record: Walsh on Writing Alternate Realities |
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0 comments |
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Games and Moving Pictures: Quick Links for 2008-02-03 |
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Posted 2008-02-03 by Tony Walsh |
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"We're in early stages on a feature film...pre-production stages...but it will still be a while," says 'Oddworld' creator Lorne Lanning as he heads towards 'Oddworld 2.0' business model. Whatever that is.
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Fictional game shown on 'CSI' fails to be launched as actual game. Missed opportunity not just for gaming but for transmedial storytelling. Good opening for a "fiction-jacker" to create their own version of the game.
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"This paper presents a survey of different kinds of interaction designs in movies during the past decades and relates the techniques of the films to existing technologies and prototypes where possible."
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"Violence depicted on television, in films and video games raises the risk of aggressive behavior in adults and young viewers and poses a serious threat to public health, according to a new study." Panic on the streets of London!
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Uh oh. December Xbox Live update "Added support for Audio Mute/Unmute for video ads." The static ads are already obnxious enough. And yet we keep paying.
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Movie meets gaming meets baking: Cake with phone number written in icing contains mobile phone. Someone call the Boston Police.
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Interesting blurb about 3D fan-fiction: an homage to LOST's island in Second Life. 277 members. Pity it wasn't an official ABC venture, given SL rents virtual islands.
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0 comments |
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Quick Links for 2007-11-14 |
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Posted 2007-11-14 by Tony Walsh |
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Horrid-sounding Blizzard mini-quests. Blizz could have learned a lot from Puzzle Pirates, where grinding is actually fun.
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Blurb on IGF 2007 lecture by Three Rings' Daniel James. The post includes embedded video and a link to download. Originally described as "a key hands-on lecture for all those considering making an indie online game."
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Journal for Computer-Mediated Communication special theme issue on “Social Network Sites” now available online. List of direct links to a diverse range of articles.
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Self-centered UK researchers unleash grieferbot on unsuspecting Second Life users: "It looks a bit drunk actually, but it is a great way to get data." Clearly the data is more important than the human subjects here. It's only a game, right?
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How not to launch an ARG: Alice gets envelope with suspicious contents, washes hands, discards contents. See how well " This Is Not A Game" worked here? And by "worked," I mean "failed."
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0 comments |
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I vote for popup radial menus.
Highlight a bit of text, the push and hold, Sims-style radial menu pops up with Copy, Paste, etc....
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