Project KURI: Interdimensional Doors in Your Neighborhood?

Starting on March 27th, a series of “Interdimensional Doors” were erected in cities across North America. No two doors looked exactly the same: a door installed near Salt Lake City Utah’s Gallivan Center featured the kind of traditional wooden door with frosted glass that wouldn’t be out of place as the entry to a professor’s […] The post Project KURI: Interdimensional Doors in Your Neighborhood? first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 8 April 2024 | 9:10 am

Hunting of the Shark: Bookish Highlights From Lone Shark Games

Lone Shark Games’ name has come up more than a few times over the years here at ARGNet. Some of those projects, like 2008’s Citizens of Virtue, which created a fictional megachurch to create an interactive morality play, were explicitly designed as alternate reality games. More often than not, though, the company’s projects trend towards […] The post Hunting of the Shark: Bookish Highlights From Lone Shark Games first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 25 March 2024 | 12:07 pm

Sifting Through Field Studies Institute Records is Surprisingly Fun

Last night, I received a package in the mail from the Field Studies Institute, containing a cassette tape that shouldn’t exist. Helpfully, the institute also provided a cassette player to help me listen to the tape that shouldn’t exist, along with instructions on how to use a cassette player to help me feel even older […] The post Sifting Through Field Studies Institute Records is Surprisingly Fun first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 23 February 2024 | 11:58 am

Clue Chasing with Magic’s Ravnica-Themed Puzzle Hunt

Next February, Wizards of the Coast’s trading card game Magic: the Gathering is releasing a murder mystery expansion named Murders at Karlov Manor, themed after the classic board game Clue. But the clues don’t stop there: in a recent preview of the set, Blake Rasmussen noted that there will be a series of puzzles beginning […] The post Clue Chasing with Magic’s Ravnica-Themed Puzzle Hunt first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 8 December 2023 | 7:40 pm

It’s Okay to Call Strange Phone Numbers…Sometimes

While scrolling through TikTok yesterday, I came across a video where an unseen cameraman stumbles across a Missing poster for an adorable dog named Buzz, sporting what appears to be a New England Patriots jersey (although we can’t blame him too much for that). There’s a reward for finding Buzz, although the specifics of that […] The post It’s Okay to Call Strange Phone Numbers…Sometimes first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 1 December 2023 | 12:22 pm

Morrison Game Factory Delivers Gripping Story, Right Off the Assembly Line

While combing through the ruins of an abandoned game factory, an urban explorer stumbled across a box sitting on the factory’s conveyor belt. Curious, they tried to piece together why the box was sitting there, but couldn’t puzzle out what was going on…so, they forwarded the box over to you, the player. Can you figure […] The post Morrison Game Factory Delivers Gripping Story, Right Off the Assembly Line first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 17 October 2023 | 10:19 am

Welcome Home and the Construction of Nostalgia Through Fandom

Starting in 1969, the Playfellow Workshop filmed a children’s television program called Welcome Home, following the antics of eight colorful puppet neighbors who lived in a town called “Home”. After the show’s abrupt end in 1974 the production company shuttered its doors, and all show footage and ancillary materials from Welcome Home was presumed lost. […] The post Welcome Home and the Construction of Nostalgia Through Fandom first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 5 September 2023 | 7:34 am

BBC1 Presenters Play Hooky for “Great DJ Hunt”

When BBC1 Radio presenter Greg James went into work on Monday July 17th, thirty of his coworkers decided to play hooky, leaving him in charge of the station’s hosting duties for the foreseeable future. He was greeted by a message written in Comic Sans from a “sentient office printer” providing the following instructions written in […] The post BBC1 Presenters Play Hooky for “Great DJ Hunt” first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 17 July 2023 | 8:50 pm

Generation Loss Brings Analog Horror to Livestreaming

Two weeks ago, Showfall Media released a media keynote sharing the news about their exciting new horror comedy project, The Social Experiments. The live experience gives viewers at home control over aspects of the broadcast. The keynote was marred by some unexpected glitches and ominous messages about how “it got everyone…everyone but me”, but a […] The post Generation Loss Brings Analog Horror to Livestreaming first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 23 May 2023 | 6:39 am

Excuse Me, There’s A Puzzle on Your Jacket: The Wearable ARG Experience

During its third season, CSI: NY aired the episode Hung Out to Dry, revolving around a series of grisly murders. Each victim was found wearing a mythologically inspired t-shirt, with the logo Kodecon emblazoned on the collar. Solving the puzzles embedded in the shirt’s design would reveal information about the motive for murder, both through […] The post Excuse Me, There’s A Puzzle on Your Jacket: The Wearable ARG Experience first appeared on ARGNet: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

Posted on: 19 April 2023 | 12:04 pm