List of alternate reality games
Encyclopedia
An alternate reality game
(ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions.
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
(ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions.
| Name | Year | Developer | Story summary | Gameplay summary | Scale | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Beast The Beast (game) The Beast was an alternate reality game created by a team at Microsoft to promote the Steven Spielberg film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. The Beast, which ran for twelve weeks in the spring and early summer of 2001, is one of the most influential early ARG games.-Defining ARG:An ARG is a game... |
2001 | Microsoft | Murder mystery set in the future featuring human like robots. | Puzzle solving by online communities. Rewards in the form of new websites and videos. | Very influential. | http://www.cloudmakers.org/ |
| I Love Bees | 2004 | 42 Entertainment | An AI from the Halo 2 Halo 2 Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved... universe is stranded in our world and needs help. |
Puzzle solving by online communities. Information released by phone calls to public telephones. Rewards in the form of new websites and videos. | 600,000+ players. | http://www.ilovebees.com/ |
| Last Call Poker | 2005 | 42 Entertainment | A cursed gun, passed down through generations, threatens the granddaughter of its last owner. | Puzzle solving by online communities. Real world missions in cemeteries. Online poker with dead characters. Rewards in the form of new stories and videos. | Over 500,000 active participants. | http://www.lastcallpoker.com/ |
| The Lost Ring The Lost Ring The Lost Ring was an alternate reality game initiated by McDonald's, as part of their marketing for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. A co-production between McDonald's, AKQA, and Jane McGonigal, the game was notable for its global scope: taking place across six continents, in seven... |
2008 | AKQA | 6 olympians from another world came to help us save this one. | Puzzle solving by online communities. Real world missions. A new Olympic sport "The Lost Sport" was introduced. | 3.000.000 players from over 150 countries. | http://www.thelostring.com/ |
| CommanderVideo | 2008 | Puzzle solving, currently, done by online communities. Email correspondence, Twitter, and various Internet interactions are the areas of play. | New; Ten recruits are the major players thus far. | http://commandervideo.com/ | ||
| Year Zero Year Zero (game) Year Zero is an alternate reality game based on the Nine Inch Nails concept album of the same name, its expected follow-up, and a possible accompanying film or television project... |
2007 | 42 Entertainment | Set in a dystopia Dystopia A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four... n future where the government surveys everyone. |
Players solve puzzles, listen to recordings, and watch movie clips, to gain more info and find sites. | http://www.ninwiki.com/Year_Zero_Research | |
| Xi Xi (alternate reality game) Xi was the world's first console-based and virtual world-based alternate reality game.It was a one-time-only play, unfolding in real time, and only available on the PlayStation 3 through the social gaming network, PlayStation Home... |
2009 | The worlds first console and virtual world-based ARG created by nDreams NDreams nDreams, Ltd. is a video game developing company located in Farnborough, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in August 2006 thanks to former SCi/Eidos creative director, Patrick O'Luanaigh. nDreams was listed in Develop magazine as one of the hot companies to look for in 2008... . It was set in secret areas in the world of PlayStation Home PlayStation Home PlayStation Home is a virtual 3D social gaming network developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network . It is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar under PlayStation Network. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN... where users helped to find Jess and the meaning of Xi. |
Users solveed puzzles, watched video clips, and did objectives in and out of Home to gain more information to help find Jess and the meaning of Xi. Users searched in Home as well as in the real world depending on the puzzle or objective. | Over 5 million visits | http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/03/23/xi-has-begun/ | |
| Gbanga Famiglia Gbanga Famiglia Gbanga Famiglia is a mixed reality, mobile phone game published on the Gbanga platform. Players take on the roles of Mafioso and can join an existing Mafia Famiglia or start their own. Players must first locate establishments whilst walking around the city before they can be taken-over.... |
2010 | Explore real-world locations to take-over your city and become the Supreme Mafioso. | Join or start your own Mafia Famiglia and take-over virtual establishments you discover whilst walking around the city. Establishments are linked to real-world establishments, so players must physically move between locations. A successful take-over depends on the Famiglia's power, determined by the number of Famiglia members and the cash total for special items collected. | Worldwide | http://gbanga.com | |
| Lewis Hamilton: Secret Life | 2010 | Centered around Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire... , a secret agent in the game, showcasing a new Reebok Reebok Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle... technology such as RunTone or ZigTech. |
Players worked together to solve puzzles and complete tests online, on mobiles and in the real world. | 637,000 players from over 154 countries | http://www.ndreams.co.uk/secretlewis | |
| Conspiracy For Good Conspiracy for good ' is a fictional organisation that is part of an "augmented reality drama" game developed by Heroes creator Tim Kring, funded and technologically-enabled by Nokia and realised by The company P, and over 100 people in production teams in five different countries... |
2010 | The Company P | Tim Kring Tim Kring Richard Timothy "Tim" Kring is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the television series Strange World, Crossing Jordan, and Heroes.Kring is Jewish... 's narrative focused on charity and against the fictional corporation Blackwell Briggs exploiting Africa |
Players cooperated online, on mobiles and in the real world. Four big events took place in London during summer 2010. | Gamers on Unfiction, on the game web and in the streets of London during the summer events | http://www.conspiracyforgood.com |
| Potato Fool's Day Portal 2 Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game... |
2011 | Valve | GLaDOS GLaDOS GLaDOS, short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, is a fictional artificially intelligent computer system in Valve Software's Half-Life video game series and the main antagonist in the video games Portal and Portal 2. She was created by Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift and is voiced by Ellen... of Portal is attempting to reboot herself. By playing a selection of 13 independent games, you can assist her. |
Solving puzzles using clues found in aforementioned games | Anyone who purchased the Potato Sack on Steam | http://valvearg.com |
Films
- The Game (film)The Game (film)The Game is a 1997 neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, and produced by Polygram. It tells the story of an investment banker who is given a mysterious gift: participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his life...
- eXistenZEXistenZeXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
- The Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
- Cloverfield (film)
- Super 8 (film)Super 8 (film)Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction action film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters...
Books
- Pattern RecognitionPattern Recognition (novel)Pattern Recognition is a novel by science fiction writer William Gibson published in 2003. Set in August and September 2002, the story follows Cayce Pollard, a 32-year-old marketing consultant who has a psychological sensitivity to corporate symbols...
by William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer... - Penny DreadfulPenny Dreadful (novel)Penny Dreadful, is the second novel by American novelist Will Christopher Baer. It is written in the grim style of hardboiled fiction...
by Will Christopher BaerWill Christopher BaerWill Christopher Baer is an American author of noir fiction, often delving into sex, violence, mystery and erotica. Currently published works include Kiss Me, Judas, Penny Dreadful and Hell's Half Acre, all of which have since been published in the single volume Phineas Poe... - Halting StateHalting StateHalting State is a novel by Charles Stross, published in the United States on October 2, 2007 and in the UK in January, 2008. Stross has said that it is "a thriller set in the software houses that write multiplayer games". The plot centres around a bank robbery in a virtual world. It features...
by Charles StrossCharles StrossCharles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera... - Little BrotherLittle Brother (Cory Doctorow novel)Little Brother is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 29, 2008. The novel is about several teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the...
by Cory DoctorowCory DoctorowCory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books... - Cathy's BookCathy's BookCathy's Book is a young adult novel with alternative reality game elements by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman, illustrated by Cathy Brigg. It was first published September 12, 2006...
and Cathy's KeyCathy's KeyCathy’s Key continues the storyline established in the first part of the series, Cathy’s Book . The story is authored by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman, and illustrated by Cathy Briggs. As did its predecessor, the book takes the form of a 216 page journal written by the protagonist, Cathy Vickers...
by Sean StewartSean StewartSean Stewart is a U.S.-Canadian science fiction and fantasy author.Born in Lubbock, Texas, Sean Stewart moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1968...
, Jordan WeismanJordan WeismanJordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded four major game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.-Biography:...
, and Cathy Brigg (illustrator) - John Dies at the EndJohn Dies at the EndJohn Dies at the End is a comedic horror novel written by Jason Pargin that was first published online as a webserial beginning in 2001, then as an edited manuscript in 2004 and printed paperback in 2007 via Permuted Press. An estimated 70,000 people read the free online versions before they were...
(novel) by David WongDavid WongDavid Wong may refer to:* David Wong Louie, American writer of novels and short stories * Dave Wong , Chinese singer* David Wong , philosophy professor at Duke University...