Ready? Go!

Client: A&E Television via Campfire. Developed puzzles embedded within text pieces for campaign to market a television miniseries adaptation of a Stephen King novel. Dark Score Stories

Down left side: NINETEENAFTERB. Every time there is a “B” in the text, readers must pick out the 19th letter after it and accumulate the URL in that manner. There are 15 Bs in the text, and the 19th letters after them in order spell out DARKSCORECOMODE, which leads to Darkscore.com/ode. Below is a chart displaying the text and the relationship between the Bs and their corresponding 19th-after letters. The DLS letters are in green, the Bs are in uppercase bold, and their 19th-after letters are in red. The number 19 has special significance to the Stephen King universe.

Client: Egmont UK via The Shadow Gang.
Constructed puzzles for four month ARG; managed player community across forums, email, Twitter, and Facebook for the duration of the ARG. NexusHumanus.com

Puzzle example below; my contributions are colored red and blue:

Crossword Puzzle Questions & Answers

• 1. The BBC’s non-rhymin’ Simon is more knowledgeable but less tasty than shawarma.  : schama (6)
• 3. Crossword hero: klahn (5)
• 21. Nexus’s Monster: carloff (7)
• 72. Delicious gouty mint gum: franklin (8)
• 74. That’s raditude for ya minus three plus n: ween (4)
• Teeny Tiny Chain Cut: bitlyslash (10)
• 94. Famous British library: bodleian (8)
• 85.  He scares me the most: dehumbert (9)
• 37.  The first is not always the 00 best: nelson (6)
• 39.  Perform Alchemy on a hero’s name: hammersgold (11)
• 59.  His shocking experiments of 1961 led the way: milgram (7)
• 911. Worse than MKULTRA:  violentlemming (14)
• 401.  Liev did it. Harve did it. Even Frank and Johnny D. did it.: manchurian (10)
• 931.  Bride of Nexus’s Monster: cage (4)

The numbering is based on the word BIOT, which, if letters A-Z are given the value 1-26 has the values 2 9 15 20.  Those values are added in succession to the puzzle grid values.  1, 3, 12, 27, 47, 49, 58, 73, 93, 95, 104, 119, 139.

Then the numbers are reversed.

Timeline

Early August

With his sanity going by the second as his second biot dies, Davis stashes the flash drive in a bus depot locker and returns to his family’s Upper East Side home- the Morgensteins are in the Hamptons for a wedding / society event. He opens several dropbox accounts using his sister’s laptop and stuffs them with digital detritus- evidence he found against Nexus, clues to what happened to him, clues to the final resting place of the brainwave interceptor. Being crazy, he quickly designs a crossword puzzle in the shape of a biot that leads to these dropboxes.

August 16

There’s a tiny message scratched on the Sophie’s miniature, but she doesn’t notice it until she posts a close-up image. One of the crossword clues for later in the game.

Scratched into miniature: 3.XWORDHERO (Klahn)

September 1

(Pics posted on 9/1) Wednesday. Davis’s funeral. Closed casket. Sophie asks to see the body and notices some numbers smeared onto Davis’s hand. She asks about this. No one knows what it means.

Written on his hand: 21.1315141920518156145242119

If A=1 and Z=26, the numbers above are the equivalent of “21. Monster of Nexus.”  Players will need to decide where the spaces are, but that’s trivial. (Carloff)

The answers to the two above questions reveal the first bit.ly address: klahncarloff.

September 5

Monday.  A letter arrives for Sophie posthumously from Davis. She hides it from her sister. In the envelope, there’s a crossword puzzle layout. One row is pre-answered: “bitly.”

Tuesday September 6

Post from Sophie to players with crossword scan. Sent at same time as stamp on the video post this goes with.

Players will realize that the previous solutions they got match up to the grid numbers in the crossword puzzle.  They will put the two together after bit.ly to get to this week’s dropbox.  If they are struggling with the procedure, the sisters can help them along.

Thursday September 8

Dropbox 1 – Brainwave Receptor is safely hidden. Complete the crossword puzzle to find it. Start with Sophie’s laptop.

• Photo of a bus depot locker bank with hand scrawl: “Which one is it?”
• Zooming into the numbers on the lockers reveals part of clue to next crossword puzzle element.
• Video of him introducing his crossword puzzle challenge.
• Assorted photos of Davis at the Morgenstein house using Sophie’s laptop

There is graffiti written on the locker bank.  This graffiti and the “Lear made me do it” etc. graffiti should be in the same color paint to signify to players that Davis wrote it.  It’s a rebus.  “74. Raditude – 3 + n = ?”  Crazy arrows to draw attention to it. (Ween)

Tuesday September 13

• Puzzle element to public ID of next dropbox.

Sophie is able to VPN into her old laptop and checks her files for anything that was changed on the day that Davis disappeared.  There’s a weird sentence in one of her old school papers: “1. The BBC’s non-rhymin’  Simon is more knowledgable but less tasty than shawarma.” (Schama)

The bit.ly address to the second dropbox is: weenschama

Thursday September 15

• Dropbox 2
• Puzzle element to crossword question for dropbox file name.

Scribbled on the bottom of one of the Dropbox papers is this note: “37. 001 wasn’t necessarily the 00Best.” (Nelson)

Tuesday September 20

• Puzzle element to public ID of next dropbox.
• Tuesday. On Detective Munoz’s phone, content about her and Lynch’s investigation into Davis’s slaying of the McLure Labs worker. Photo of graffiti left by Davis helps lead to Dropbox three- LEAR MADE ME DO IT!!!
• Photo of Davis graffiti in abandoned subway tunnel used by homeless. Photo in conjunction with his letter from last week leads to public ID of next dropbox.

Near the Lear graffiti but much smaller is another tag in the same color paint: “72. Yum! Delicious Gouty Mint Gum!” (Franklin)

The bit.ly address to Dropbox 3 is: nelsonfranklin

Thursday September 22

• Dropbox 3
• Puzzle element to crossword question for dropbox file name.

A file full of crazy type, like the “All work and no play” manuscript from “The Shining.”  “85. He scares me the most” is written over and over.  (DeHumbert)

Tuesday September 27

• Puzzle element to public ID of next dropbox.

There are two options for puzzles here.  First is a movie poster for a retro movie house showing  “Bride of Frankenstein.”  “Frankenstein” is scratched out, and “Nexus’s Monster” is written in its place with “931” above.  Second is a For Sale type flyer, all black and white text on 8.5×11” paper, with the top part saying “For Sale: Bride of Nexus’s Monster / Gently used / Prone to purple prose” and the bottom pull-off tabs all saying “931.” (Cage)

The bit.ly address to Dropbox 4 is: dehumbertcage

There is a remote chance that players might randomly guess four letter words related to the game and enter in “Cage” early.  If this is the case, they could possibly find this dropbox as soon as they have “De Humbert,” which is 9/22.  I don’t think it’s too worrisome, but there’s an outside possibility that it could happen.

Thursday September 29

• Dropbox 4
  • “The last time I disliked someone so much….”
  • Puzzle element to crossword question for dropbox file name.

There’s a text file called “thelasttimeIdislikedsomeonethismuch.txt” in the dropbox with the following symbols: —………-..——..-…-….-…-……….-….-….-..-.-.-.– and the name of a book.  This is Morse Code with no spaces for “94 Famous British Library,” a fairly hard puzzle, but at this point the word will be three letters filled in and “Bodleian” will show up on a crossword puzzle solver site. (Bodleian)

Tuesday October 4

• Puzzle element to public ID of next dropbox.

Frustrated with the D.A., Munoz goes back to the Lear graffiti.  She pokes through the assorted trash on the ground and snaps a picture of a playing card that looks like it has something written in Davis’s handwriting:  “59 ’61 TEST SHOCK: WHO?”  (Milgram)

The bit.ly address to Dropbox 5 is: bodleinmilgram

Thursday October 6

• Dropbox 5
• Puzzle element to crossword question for dropbox file name.

There’s a file in the dropbox that’s a collage of pictures of Liev Schrieber, Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, and Jonathan Demme with a #401 above them all. (Manchurian)

Tuesday October 11

• Puzzle element to public ID of next dropbox.

The twins are back in New York and looking for answers. While Randall is at work, they go through his office.  Written on the underside of his desk blotter is a note: “39. Perform Alchemy on a Hero’s Name.” (Hammersgold)

The bit.ly address to Dropbox 6 is manchurianhammersgold

Thursday October 13

• Dropbox 6 – Violentlemming clue to bus depot – bit.ly that takes them to forum profile for someone who’s a security guard or bus driver for central terminal in NYC – dropbox also needs security code

In Dropbox 6 there’s a fabricated 911 call transcript (since ViolentLemming goes with clue number 911).  “911” should be in the file name.

• Operator: 911, what’s your emergency?
• Caller: What’s grosser than gross?
• Operator: Sir, I…
• Caller: What’s meaner than mean? What’s MKULTRA-er than MKULTRA?
• Operator: You’re going to have to get off the line.
• Caller: That’s fine, because that’s all I have to say. I’ve said it all now. No more breadcrumbs.
• SESSION ENDS

(ViolentLemming)

Going to bit.ly/violentlemming takes the player to a hidden page. There’s also a note:  “Locker has a Wordlock.  FIGURED out the GRID NUMBERS yet?  Or have you not had a chance to REFLECT on them?” (Combination is BIOT; characters can help if needed.)

Founding partner of a full-service transmedia company that creates custom campaigns, solutions, and community building for businesses looking to branch out from the traditional. Established 2009. Dog Tale Media

Client: Ford, via Dog Tale Media/Undercurrent.

With  team,  handled  social  media,  support,  challenges,  and  other  tasks  for  interactive  reality  show.  FocusRally.com

Culture Hacker for The WorkBook Project – Co-host a weekly podcast and contribute articles on transmedia, ARGs, and other items of interest.

Article- SXSW: What ARG Makers Can Learn from UI Designers

My visit to South by Southwest Interactive took me to a lot of talks on Transmedia – a term, by the way, that was the most overused and under-understood of the conference (Felicia Day even went on a particularly apt rant about it on Monday). Most of the “Transmedia” panels just didn’t seem to get it – there was no takeaway, there was a lot of gobbeldygook, and in one bizarre case, there was a futurist who seemed to be discussing how in 6-10 years we will all be watching programmed television. But I digress.

I ended up going to an exceedingly dry-titled panel on a whim. I couldn’t bear to attend another Transmedia panel because the term had lost any meaning to me, and “Having Fun Yet? 10 Usability Heuristics For Games” sounded like the presenters had a good handle on their topic, at least. But what I found there completely blew me away and this panel took the crown for my favorite panel of SXSW Interactive 2011. These design maxims may be old hat for programmers, but I have never heard them applied together like this for ARG development, and there they are highly relevant.

1. Increase interaction speed over time. Repeated tasks should get quicker. Make frequent transactions more easily available. There was a recent game that had information that was only accessible if you entered a username and password. The way the webpage was coded, the browser did not ask if it could save the information for you, so every time you wanted to check for new content (which showed up regularly) you either had to memorize the login or search your email for it. Not good design.

2. Avoid conceptually conflicting inputs. Be conceptually consistent throughout the game. This means that the evil genius hacker organization probably wouldn’t be using simple substitution, folks.

3. Provide immersive cues – ambiguity makes the connection between the player and their world less immersive. If you want a player to call a telephone number or email someone, telegraph that to them. Don’t make them fearful to contact your characters – “Is this in-game or out-of-game?” is not being immersive!

4. Distinguish active from inactive. Provide cues so that players know what they need to touch. If they’re supposed to be hacking into your character’s email, fine – make that clear. But if they’re not, save yourself some trouble by making that clear ahead of time.

5. Prevent surprise errors – and if the user does fail, make sure they understand why. Allow them to undo errors. The first part of this rule can be helped with careful vetting and playtesting. The second part, say if a player thinks that they need to email Character A with information when in fact it’s Character B they have to contact – simply have Character A nudge them in the right direction rather than ignore them completely, so your player isn’t shouting into the wind.

6. Be game-state aware. Provide the correct data to players at the correct time, and let them dig deeper to the areas that they want to find out more about. Practice progressive disclosure. Don’t be absolutely rigid in your game design. Some of the best and most memorable ARG characters started out as throw-aways, but players got attached to them, the designers realized that attachment, and they wrote much larger roles for the characters, creating a much richer experience for the players. Listen to your audience and adjust accordingly. As well, don’t overload them with all the information right away. Just as you read a book chapter by chapter or watch a movie a minute at a time, you don’t play an ARG all at once.

7. Reading is easier than remembering. Make objectives clear and memorable; don’t overburden with information. Reduce the players’ cognitive load. In an ARG sensibility this can be said as: provide a player summary site, and keep it current. ARGs are notorious for being complex, deep, and sometimes impossible to keep up with for all but the most dedicated players. Will you be the one who can come up with the system that lets the casual ARG player join in?

8. Remember real life. Provide quick and easy exits. Consider the environment your game is played in. Another game recently had a live feed that displayed for 24 hours. The designers did it because they wanted to include a global audience. But for those players who started watching the feed at the beginning, it was very hard to turn it off and go to bed. Even a small, tongue-in-cheek card to change viewer shifts would have helped the viewers realize that they could switch off and let someone else take their place.

9. Maintain flow. Minimize content breaks and cognitive dissonance. Does it all feel like one system? Don’t make content breaks feel like punishment. Some games release content on a set schedule and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. But it should be with a small sense of closure that the last item of the chapter is released, so that players don’t receive something highly provocative and have to wait a week (or whatever the timetable is) to receive answers. If they’re punished by time for seeking answers, soon enough they will stop seeking.

10. Ask, “What could I remove?” Don’t include information that’s irrelevant and don’t let bells and whistles overwhelm your project. In other words, consider the principle of Chekhov’s gun – never put a loaded rifle on the stage if you’re not planning on shooting it by the end of the play. One red herring? Maybe. A dozen? Not so much.

As you can see, these principles adapt extremely easily to ARG design, but I think they can branch out into many other fields as well. I’d like to give many kudos to Corey Chandler and John-Mark Josling for a terrific, old-school SXSW presentation that gave much food for thought.

Client: THQ, via Campfire.

Wrote future biographies and audio scripts to accompany launch of major video game.

Homefront Audio

Man’s VO over Radio Show Jingle:

The Liberator’s Central Broadcasting Station, the true voice of freedom for the liberated states of America presents: Enemy Watch

Gigi: Today’s Enemy of the Liberation is Adam Sessler.

Sessler is a dangerous incendiary who is highly armed and who commands thousands of other terrorist forces, making your safety uncertain every moment he is at large!

This Enemy honed his skills of persuasion and manipulation in his early years as a disinformation specialist on television.

When Post Peak happened, Sessler began denouncing good citizens such as yourselves who were struggling to survive among desperate times and placed your lives at risk by assisting terrorist groups to organize among you.

Today, Sessler commands hundreds of insurgent cells and is known to have killed over two hundred brave servicemen who were stationed in your country to safeguard your freedom.

If you or anyone you know has information about this enemy combatant, contact us immediately and receive a limited reward offer for a 10,000 calorie food ration card.

Do your duty, save your liberty.

Next on The Liberator’s Central Broadcasting Station, a new modern rendition of old classic…

[cue start of “Song of Kim Il-Sung” (sounds exactly like the 1950’s version):…fuzz out as music begins…]

Client: Cisco, via Juxt Interactive, via No Mimes Media.

Wrote video/audio scripts, blog entries, and other copy for a corporate building ARG for Cisco.

* Winner, One Show Merit Award – Other Branded Entertainment

(Click to see full-sized images)

Client: HBO via Campfire.

Wrote blog copy and video scripts for campaign promoting Season 2 of HBO’s “True Blood.”

* Winner, People’s Voice Integrated Webby Award, Effie Award

More videos from my scripts:

* Winner, People’s Voice Integrated Webby Award, Effie Award

1-900-BITE-ME

Video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLkGVcDkCMA

A late night commercial with sultry lady vamps asking you to

call up and have an intimate phone session with a “local,

single bloodsucker.”

INT. DARK ROOM – NIGHT

A FEMALE VAMPIRE wearing black leather is pacing around a

dark space that is empty of everything but a COUCH.  She is

holding a sleek-looking PHONE.

CHYRON at the bottom of the screen reads 1-900-BITE-ME.

SFX: A heartbeat.

VAMPIRE

(Speaking into the phone.)

I can hear the blood course through

your veins from here. I yearn for it.

SFX: Heartbeat speeding up.

VAMPIRE (CONT’D)

I want you. You and your blood and

your scent and your heat.

SFX: Heartbeat speeds up more.

VAMPIRE (CONT’D)

(Caressing herself.)

You speak to me, though I cannot

hear your voice yet. I need to hear

you. I have to hear you. Now.

SFX: Heartbeat speeding up.

VAMPIRE (CONT’D)

I can do things to you that you

never even fantasized about. Mere

mortals have no idea what is

possible with a vampire.

SFX: Heartbeat stops.

VAMPIRE (CONT’D)

(Extends her fangs as she

snaps her head to look

directly at the camera.)

Are you ready to learn?

FADE TO BLACK.

Client: Institute for the Future/United Cerebral Palsy/AARP via Writerguy.

Played character; vetted and responded to audience-submitted stories in a serious game. RubysBequest.com

Well, there are probably not many people left in Deepwell who even remember the Korean War, and certainly not many people running this website do. But I remember it clearly. I was a young woman then, and I was off at school in the next state over, and I had fallen in love with a boy in that town. His name was Frank, and he had brown eyes that were bright like a bird.

Frank had me to dinner several times that spring – spring of 1953, this was – and I got to know his parents as well as I could. His mama was a sweet thing, but his father was cold and hard and never cared for me.

Several things happened then in quick succession. Frank was called up for service to his country and was shipped to Korea. My school term ended and I returned home to Deepwell, where I wrote him every day and waited most impatiently for him to write back. And one day that summer I received a very terse letter from Frank’s father saying that Frank had been killed in action and that his mama had suffered a stroke from the strain.

At that time, being a state away was tantamount to living in another country. It would not be proper for me to travel unaccompanied to visit Frank’s mama in the hospital. Frank was gone. My only contact was with his disagreeable father, who was not inclined to give me any information at all. I desperately wanted to do something for her, but never felt so powerless in all my life. I was just sick with grief. That was when I joined the Altar Guild, by the way, and every week since then I have gone to church and offered up a prayer for Frank and his mama, who died later that terrible summer. I had to find out from a newspaper obituary.

So I am not without sympathy – I know what it is like to have someone you feel for be at a distance and ill and not be at their side to hold their hand and let them know you care. I am sure with the way young people move all over the place these days that these stories are increasingly common. Do you have one to tell?

Austin: “You’re Living in Your Own Private Branded Entertainment Experience”

Our panel engaged the audience in an ARG, then discussed methods and best practices.

Podcast available here.

Client: Verizon via Campfire.

Wrote blog, ad, and other copy for campaign promoting Verizon FiOS.

* Winner, 3 Mixx awards and AdWeek Buzz Award, Best Integrated Campaign

Netiquette Primer

You just received an email from your cousin Jane that has 50 people in the address field, contains a 10 megabyte video, and exhorts you to pass it on to everyone you know. Do you…

A) Reply to all and talk about the funny video?

B) Forward the video to everyone in your address book?

C) Pull out your copy of Switch Craft and make a voodoo doll that squirms when you poke it; put Jane’s name on it?

D) Have a conversation with your cousin about email netiquette?

The correct answer, of course, is D, but first you need to go armed with the facts before sitting your cuz down for a little chat. There were several ways her email message violated basic internet manners, but of course you can’t tell her, “Jane, you’re rude and have no concept of politeness!” because, as Miss Manners would say, that’s rude, too. Rather, what Jane needs to know is the facts behind what she’s doing and how she could be inconveniencing others. Here are the issues and solutions:

1. Not using BCC. Probably what Jane did was just send the message to everyone in her address book.

• However, she didn’t stop to think that not all those people knew each other, or were comfortable sharing their email addresses with strangers. Even worse, what if you end up like Suburban Turmoil and realize your acquaintances are forwarding jokes to your dad? I could see that going wrong in a hurry.

• Not only does this breach privacy, but if one of those 50 recipients gets a virus or malware on their computer, it can harvest your email address and start sending you even more spam.

• In addition, the other recipients can hit “Reply to All” and send a message to the 49 other people on the list saying “Oh yeah, right on, go Jane!” and then someone else will reply to all and say, “How dare you! I resent the implication!” and it just goes downhill from there. Your inbox will now be taken over for a week with Janespam.

Solution – Use BCC: Unless the list of recipients is very short and everyone needs to know who is on it, you should use BCC to send mail to several people. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy, and anyone whose address is in the BCC field will not see the addresses of the other people in the BCC field. They can see who is in the TO and the CC field.

Alternate solution – make a mailing list: If you will be sending mail to the same group of people over and over, you might think about making a mailing list so that you don’t have to remember all their addresses every time you need to send a message. You can do this for free with services like Google Groups or Yahoo Groups (Google or Yahoo ID required), and they will archive messages and sometimes have other features, like a places to upload files.

2. Huge attachments. Unless you’re using FiOS, which has no limits on the size of incoming attachments, most internet service providers restrict how big the messages you receive can be.

• If an attachment is too big, it can get bounced back to the sender with a cryptic message saying it was undeliverable, and now cousin Jane may think she doesn’t have the right email address for you anymore.

• If you get many large attachments in a short period of time and you’re not on FiOS or another service that has a generous mailbox quota, those attachments can take up all your room and cause all the mail you receive from everyone to get bounced back to its sender.

• If you go out of town and check your mail on a dial-up connection, you will spend all day and night downloading those 10 meg attachments and never be able to hit the beach.

Solution – Put it on the web: If you’re sending someone a funny video, chances are very good that you can find that video already hosted at YouTube.com. Hit the site and do a search. If you don’t find it, uploading a video to YouTube couldn’t be easier; just make an account, hit the “Upload video” button, and go. Once it’s uploaded, the site will give you the link you can use to share it with all your friends.

If you want to share large pictures, instead of emailing them, host them on a site like Flickr, Photobucket (both require registration), or TinyPic (no registration required). They are all very simple services to use: just like a camera, you point and click. Once you upload your images, merely copy and paste the location to your email message, and your recipients can go look at your excellent pictures at their leisure.

3. Chain mail. Maybe it’s our helpful human nature, but something about the words “Forward this to everyone you know!” turns even the most reasonable person into an email forwarding machine.

• Sometimes we helpfully forward stuff that’s just not true. The website Snopes.com is an excellent resource for checking to see if you’re reading fact or fiction• It may have been true… several years ago. Mars passed very close to earth in August – of 2003. Cold medications with PPA were recalled – in 2000. Sending out an email alert about them now is a little silly.

• What good is signing that email petition really going to do? Who’s going to collect all those names and make sure they’re legitimate? Are you sure they’re getting to someone who can change policy?

Solution – when in doubt, don’t. “Forward this to everyone you know!” is a code phrase for “Please let this email die.” Unless you’re dealing with something you know to be legitimate, passing on chain letters, petitions, and urban legends really sort of misplaces what could otherwise be well-spent energy. If you want to make a change, then call your congress critter or volunteer somewhere.

With these three tips, you and Jane will be well on the way to being the politest emailers in the family. Have your own pointers or pet peeves? Share them with me in the comments!

Client: EA Games via Deep Focus.

Developed puzzles for a campaign promoting a highly-anticipated video game.
NoKnownSurvivors.com

* Winner, 2009 Communicator Award of Excellence

Original puzzle design document

…and its execution:

Client: HBO via Campfire.

Wrote blog content; managed online community for campaign promoting HBO’s “True Blood.” BloodCopy.com

* 2009 winner, ad:tech Best Integrated Campaign

BloodCopy.com: What’s your name and what do you do?

Wanda: My name is Wanda and I’m unemployed. I used to work at the factory one town over, but it shut down a couple of years ago and I haven’t found work since.

BloodCopy.com: How did you feel when you heard about vampires living among us?

Wanda: I was terrified. I was just disgusted that them monsters are thumbing their noses at us like that.

BloodCopy.com: Thumbing their noses?

Wanda: Yeah, they’re just wagging their butts and saying, “We been killing you for thousands of years but now you can’t do anything to us because we’re making new laws just for us!”

BloodCopy.com: So that’s why you joined the Fellowship of the Sun?

Wanda: Yeah buddy. We can’t let these evil creatures live with us. You know what my neighborhood did last year when some meth dealers from outta state moved in? We went and shot target practice in our back yards every night and walked our dogs with our shotguns in our hands. We were firm, but fair.

That’s what we’re gonna do with the vampires. We’re gonna let them know that we don’t want them in our neighborhoods dealing death, same way we let them dopers know. Police got enough work to do. We like to think of us as a neighborhood patrol.

BloodCopy.com: Have you ever met a vampire?

Wanda: Hell, no, and I don’t plan on it. All I need to know about vampires is what the Fellowship taught me: they are bloodthirsty murdering freaks who may say they’ll drink this Try Blood junk, but they’re gonna kill our cats. And then our dogs. And then our children and brothers and parents and stop only when they run out of food. And we’re the food!

BloodCopy.com: How many people do you know who have been killed by vampires?

Wanda: I couldn’t say for sure because I think the doctors were in on it, but my mama supposedly had a stroke 20 years ago and she was the picture of health. She had smoked for 30 years and never got a speck of cancer, nothing, then boom, one day a stroke just kills her? That wasn’t no stroke. Some damn vampire did her in. This is why we got to keep them away from us normal people. They kill, Andrew! They wanna kill me and they wanna kill you!

BloodCopy.com: Okay, Wanda, thank you for your time.

Client: Random House via Deep Focus.

Developed puzzles for website promoting the next book in Eragon series. VroengardAcademy.com

* 2009 winner, Communicator Award of Excellence

Houston: “ARG WTF? An Introduction to the Concepts of Alternate Reality Gaming”

Introduced a sci-fi/fantasy crowd to the care and feeding of ARGs.

Austin: “Cross-Media Cross-Pollination: Mashing Up Video Games and ARGs”

Discussed lessons video games and ARGs can learn from each other.

Podcast available here.

Client: USA Network via Campfire.

Wrote video scripts, blog entries, forum entries, emails, newsletters, SMS messages, and other copy for campaign promoting season premiere for “The 4400.”

Some videos from my scripts:

A Pro-Promicin commercial:
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

An Anti-Promicin commercial:
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

Lavarra Feature

Promicin Ability-Dr. Frank PH Neutralizer

Promicin Doctor Bust

Promicin Sonar Ability-Bat Boy

Antis Burn Down Innocent Man’s House

Promicin Power – Sight

Promicin Touch Video

Promicin Dowser Video

(Images of casino; mockup of new questionnaire-taker identification card. The card should look like a driver’s license with a headshot, name, address, and “Audited” prominently featured; there should also be a cheery “Good luck!” that’s relatively large.)

Casinos Go Promicin-Free?
Mikki Grayson | Staff Writer

Las Vegas casinos are scrambling to deal with the effects of promicin. The city, famous for its tourism and gambling industries, has suffered a huge economic hit after a loose consortium of major casinos suspended operations for three days last week.

The unprecedented move was due to worries about the substance promicin, which is known to give special abilities to those who take it. The possibility of players with extra-sensory perception or telekinetic powers has casino officials running scared.

“It might have just been coincidence, but at the same time the promicin story hit the news, our casino’s take decreased dramatically over three days,” said an executive who would prefer not to be named. “I guess there were several possible causes, like people canceling their trips and so on, but we just can’t risk the chance of having some freak come in here and manipulate the cards or dice.”

Casinos rely on a house edge – rules that make gambling statistically more likely for the players to lose money – in order to turn a profit. But that house edge is dependent on equipment that hasn’t been tampered with.

“The Gaming Commission would be in here like white on rice if they thought there was monkey business going on. That equates to even longer-term closure,” the unnamed executive explained.

Shutting down the casinos was not a decision to take lightly. Even a 24 hour closure equates to the loss of millions of dollars in revenue. But for those casinos which have reopened, some say that the cure is worse than the disease.

The two largest casino groups opened their doors Friday to picketers and riot police after it was announced that they would require any potential gamblers to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. The information the casinos ask for ranges from a social security number to a lengthy physical and mental health history. Casino spokespeople insist that the answers are necessary in order to gauge the possibility of whether players might have taken promicin.

“We would have done a blood test instead, but the government isn’t allowing anyone to use that technology for non-governmental purposes yet,” said the unnamed executive. “This is the next best thing we could think of that would let us stay open and keep those promicin-users out.”

Public reaction is profoundly angry. “I never would have spent my hard-earned dollars coming to this town if I thought they were going to demand my most personal information,” said tourist Miles Bradford from Indianapolis. “Doesn’t the Constitution say something about ‘unreasonable search and seizure’? Where the hell is privacy these days?”

Others agreed. A crowd estimated to be 1,000 strong marched south on The Strip Saturday night, completely blocking traffic for three hours on what is normally the busiest night of the week. In some spots, things got ugly. The Las Vegas Police Department reported arresting 109 protesters between the hours of 8-10 PM, for charges ranging from disorderly conduct to vandalism.

Until Monday, those who consented to the questionnaire were issued plastic wristbands to be worn for the duration of their stay. Casinos quickly regretted the decision when several thousand counterfeit wristbands were confiscated in North Las Vegas on Sunday evening. Since then, casinos have been issuing special Players Club cards to questionnaire takers, but plans are in the works for a standardized identification card. The new card will not only be available to those who fill out the questionnaire at casinos, but also at the airport and bus station. However, the thought of giving out such personal information to lowly-paid transportation workers concerns some.

“Yes, you might give this information to your doctor, but medical practices are highly regulated by law and physicians could lose their licenses if they disclose your details. There’s no such law for the casinos. These people [who are collecting questionnaires] didn’t even have background checks,” said Jackie Kellner, a practicing attorney in Clark County.

It would appear that many agree. Airlines have reported a 40% drop in traffic to McCarran International Airport. The Convention Center has had over half of its upcoming bookings cancel.

Casinos? Some experts estimate that profits are down as much as 50%. The anonymous executive echoed the sentiments of many in the gambling business when he said, “I wish to God I never heard of promicin.”

Client: ITVS via Writerguy.

Vetted/ranked/responded to hundreds of user-submitted written, audio, and video entries. WorldWithoutOil.org

* 2008 winner, SXSWi Web Awards, Activism

Chuckles Manifesto

Just what in the heck makes a good ol’ Texas boy who works at an evil big box store think he can help save the world (also known as “Mama told me that tunafish had gone over, but I ate it anyway”)?

This morning when I woke up and looked outside, I saw the yard full of glossy black grackles. It seemed like something… I dunno – an omen? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately on a certain glossy black substance, and now I’ve got these birds looking me in the eye, watching to see what I’d do next. They didn’t know which way I was going to jump – and honestly, neither do I. But I feel like I’ve got to do something, and soon.

You all know our story by now… airport snowstorm, mysterious stranger in what seemed like a tuckered-out and unguarded moment, dire-sounding prediction about an oil shock on April 30. I think some of the Eight took it more seriously than others. I know I scoffed at it, mostly. For all I knew it was some darned viral marketing thing like you read about in the papers. But there was that little spark deep down inside me that wondered if it could be true. In legalistic terms, I guess I could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the dude was hoaxing us. So the eight of us – eventually ten – decided that we would throw it to the wall of the internet and see if it would stick. The internet’s a real funny place; almost a scary place. Just about anyone can put in their two cents’ worth, and anyone else can read it. Immediate, widespread publicity, not filtered, just out there. And some really amazing things have come from that, haven’t they? Instant fame, instant notoriety, instant gratification. And in a lot of cases, there’s been an upswell of online activism that’s caused big changes in society. Just ask Dan Rather. What better place to start a conversation with the world about its future than on the ‘net? Some of us were gung-ho. Some of us were nervous about retaliation. Some of us were ambiguous. But in the end, we decided that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and we let y’all know about our airport experience.

A couple of months ago I was pretty apathetic about the whole darned thing. We’ve gotten along just fine this far – what could possibly happen to make the world go to hockeysticks in a handbasket? But the more I read, and the more I lived in 2007, the more concerned I got. I’ve watched gasoline prices climb to $3/gallon. I’ve read reports that indicate that big oil countries just aren’t producing as much as they used to, even though demand and prices are on the rise. I’ve read blog posts by a woman who survived post-Katrina New Orleans and knows how rough we’re gonna have it if something happens to the oil. I’ve read about Warren v. District of Columbia, which states “a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen.”

Do you hear that? Does it scare the pants off you? Because it petrifies me. Courts have ruled that Uncle Sam has no obligation to give you squat.

So here’s what we need to do, people. We’ve got to learn to work together. We’ve got to learn what we need to do to become self-sufficient. We’ve got to research how to live in the case of losing our oil. And we’ve got to get a game plan in place yesterday. What will you do when and if it all comes down?

It’s a tough question to answer. The scenario is almost unimaginable. I’ve done a lot of primitive camping, but I know that when I come home I can pop a TV dinner in the microwave and have a hot shower. I take that for granted. Don’t most people? But now I know that it’s up to me to do everything I can to make sure I keep those gifts, those luxuries, available to everyone. It’s up to me, and it’s up to you.

How will you save the world?

Client: Magnolia Pictures via ARG Studios.

Wrote two characters for campaign promoting the U.S. premiere of Korean film “The Host.”

The dog days of summer have brought me a rabid grief. Sorry to wax all personal, but I lost my dad this week and I’m feeling particularly rough around the edges – although Jon, as usual, is his wonderful, healing self. He even flew to Pittsburgh with me for the funeral.

My dad had been through his share of hardship, especially after my brother died, and I always wished I could pay him back for what he gave me. He was my protector and it nearly cost him his life. His life, that he spent providing for me and my brothers. It seems like all we gave in return was heartbreak.

One night when I was in high school, I was helping out at the bar. This guy came in. He’d been there before several times. Each time he came back, he was exponentially worse. It started out okay. I was used to being flirted with. If you’re a girl working in a bar in the midst of steel workers and college students and nobody pinches you on the ass, something’s probably wrong; have you checked your deodorant?

But this guy, he was different. He moved from a wink and a playful pinch into uncomfortable-land really quick. I’d try to take his glass and he would grab my hand and smile at me – with that smile. _That_ smile. In a crossword puzzle “_That_ smile” would translate to “leer,” but leer doesn’t even do it justice. His depraved, lingering grin had its own gravity, and I could feel its weight on me everywhere I went. And you know what? It was exciting. Oh God, I hate to admit it, but it was. I was just a kid, really, what, 16? 17? Here was this burly man who was so masculine that I could practically see the testosterone flowing around him, like the stink-marks around Pigpen in the Charlie Brown comics. And he wanted me. I started to see myself as a sexual being; I was something desirable to the opposite sex. And I started to play the game. I said things that were far too daring. I was not prepared to put my money where my mouth was. He even said, “You know, it’s girls who say things like that who get in trouble.”

Red freaking warning, BAIL OUT, EJECT! Flashing neon signs, right there. Did I heed them? No. I skipped merrily down the path into the dark and tangled forest, matching leer for leer, flirt for flirt.

It was a while after closing. I was doing the final sweep-through. I had a big bag of trash to take out to the bin. He was there in the alley and offered to help me. I said yes. He took the trash from me and threw it aside. He kissed me roughly and put his hands all over me and I wanted him to, and then -

Well, then it went too far. He went places I wasn’t prepared for him to go. I asked him nicely: “Please move your hand from there.”

He laughed.

I told him: “Move your hand.”

He didn’t.

Well, what the hell did I expect? I led the guy on for months. Of course he thought I’d back up what I had been saying. He thought it was part of my game, my spiel, my routine, I bet you say that to all the boys, but there were no other boys, not then. He laughed at me and didn’t stop.

I didn’t want to cause a scene; he was, after all, a customer, and one who paid (and tipped) very well. I had just resigned myself to losing my virginity in the trash-strewn alley behind the bar when I saw a familiar head peek out of the building. I screamed, “Daddy!” and he took one look at what was happening and came riding over on his white horse and rescued me like I was a princess in a fairy tale. The guy must have been 240 pounds to my father’s 170 and topped him by a good six inches, but Daddy fought nobly and bravely and the guy left me alone and went to work on my dad. Beat him to a bloody pulp and then he spit on Daddy’s face as he lay on the ground, a great big tobacco-sauced wad, and said, “Well, I’ll never drink _here_ again.” And he calmly strode off, thumbs hooked in his belt loops, out of this story.

My dad was in the hospital for 4 weeks afterwards. That’s one cycle of the moon. Not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but in other ways it was forever. And in even other ways, I don’t think he ever left the hospital. Maybe it was brain damage, maybe it was loss of face, maybe it was disappointment in me, but my daddy was never the same again. And I grew up and flew the coop and I hadn’t visited him in months, and I thought I would have the chance to tell him I loved him again while he was alive, and I didn’t, and that really sucks all to hell.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

Wrote news and feature articles relating to ARGs. Interviewed game designers. Covered interactive conferences. Scouted for news items. Filtered news tips. Assigned stories.

The white-hot spark of a YouTube user named LonelyGirl15 has set the dry timber of the summer Internet community ablaze. Ostensibly the video blog of a teenaged American girl named Bree, the 23 videos posted so far have chronicled a budding romance with a boy named Daniel, but there’s a twist: Bree’s family is very religious, she is home-schooled, and she has pledged a “purity bond” with her father. Even stranger is the fact that Bree’s religion is never named, and in fact on various comments on YouTube she has said that it is not mainstream – “We’re not Christian or Buddhist or Hindu or anything like that.” There’s also a mysterious picture of famous occultist Aleister Crowley on Bree’s bedroom wall, above a candelabra which she’s vehement that Daniel not light. And wait – that Crowley picture is new – it used to be something else (could that possibly bear a resemblance to Baphomet?) A dark twist, indeed.

Buzz has it that the videos are too pat, too scripted, and too professional looking to be anything but some sort of viral campaign. Indeed, the clues are there. Bree initially gained an audience by making engaging and humorous videos featuring popular YouTube users. She’s very cagey about revealing any personally revealing information about herself, often completely dodging uncomfortable questions. Perhaps more telling is the fact that a vanity website under her name was registered on May 12 – almost two weeks before she showed up on YouTube. Those following the saga wonder how she knew she would become an Internet sensation before posting a video (her excuse: Daniel did it to tease her).

Even more interesting than the videos themselves has been the reaction around the Internet. “Is she or isn’t she?” is a common refrain, not to mention a (very civilized, of course) small rebellion on Wikipedia about the deletion of the LonelyGirl15 article. Fingers are pointing in all directions as to who might be the mastermind. Two comments on Metafilter implicate Haxan Films. Mike Monello from Haxan originally thought it could have been Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman promoting Cathy’s Book. Another Metafilter comment questions whether Brian Clark from GMD Studios could be involved. Indeed, Clark looked like ripe pickings, especially given his interview with ARGN where he said:

What new technology or ideas would you like to include in future ARGs?
Video community. I’m starting to think that discussion boards are an interesting way to do community but not the penultimate. I’m really looking forward to doing an ARG project where the basis of player community might be more immediate or visual, auditory. Look at what people are starting to do with video blogging. I start to wonder if there are ways for the community of players to communicate with each other beyond just the written word.

Others suspected Brian Flemming, who has been taking a keen interest in the ongoing saga. Indeed, when reached for comment on the possible Clark/Flemming connection, Brian Clark responded, “One should be careful in taking a denial from Brian Flemming at face value. Never have I met a more accomplished or fearless reality hacker: there’s no doubt the government has files somewhere with both our names and notes like ‘didn’t intend to crash Asian stock market’ because of the reality hacking in ‘Nothing So Strange’.” However, Flemming has since issued an unequivocal denial of his involvement, and Brian Clark says he doesn’t know who the puppetmaster might be.

So the question remains: is she or isn’t she? Certainly, the Internet is no stranger to crying “Fake!” on honest-to-goodness real people, but the clues stacking up in favor of Lonelygirl15 being the front for a viral campaign are nothing to sneeze at. If this is, indeed, a marketing campaign, it is reminiscent of the Who is Benjamin Stove? ARG, in which the sponsor wasn’t revealed for months. Either way, Lonelygirl15 has made some serious ripples in cyberspace and gotten people talking about everything from videoblogs to viral marketing to how Wikipedia should be run.

Client: Dreamworks via Chelsea Pictures.

Vetted 100 puzzles designed for campaign to promote the release of a feature film.

Testing Notes:
Text: “Due to the exhaustion of traveling so fast, Vern can only maintain this rate for four days, after that his speed is cut by 1/3 till he can rest.” This is a run-on sentence. The comma should be replaced by a period: “Due to the exhaustion of traveling so fast, Vern can only maintain this rate for four days. After that his speed is cut by 1/3 till he can rest.”

“…how far will each turtle be from the Vern’s starting point after fifteen days?” has an extra “the” in it. The text should read, “…how far will each turtle be from Vern’s starting point after fifteen days?”

Puzzle: The math problem works out as indicated: 34 and 38 miles. However, it’s a bit tricky since one would assume that if Vern and Mern are both traveling to the same destination, they would be walking together. After Vern catches up with Mern on the 11th day, Vern is too tired to walk fast and can only go 2 miles per day while Mern is fresh and can walk 3 miles per day. They will get separated during their trip, which isn’t immediately apparent from the text.

Client: ARG Studios (Dave Szulborski).

Wrote the character of Sarah Wyatt, a librarian and artist. Designed and remodeled websites. Manipulated images, installed blog software, managed email and websites.

Still hard at work, still poring through the remains. I just don’t know what to do with everything. Pack it up? I may need a few more boxes than originally thought, but the rain the other day was a setback. No roof, no roof. I’m just so tired.

Still, I like to tell myself that the rain was a sort of a cleansing. It’s not artificial or chlorinated or pressurized or pumped. It merely falls in a patter that ranges from barely audible, to fingers tapping on paper, to a shower. And I am thankful that it washed some of the guck away with it. Take it down the road, Rain. We don’t want that crap around here anymore. Cleanse the wound and move on.

I will count my blessings, dammit. I have many blessings.

My blessings are the rain. My blessings are my friends. My blessings are the encouragement via email that fills me with warmth like a sip of brandy on a winter night. My blessings are my health.

Why does health always come last when one counts blessings? “Well, at least you have your health.” Ok, Self, you’ve got to stop falling into negativity. (At least I’m talking to myself again.)

My blessings are a recovered mask. My blessings are the sun on my face. My blessings are the books that are left.

I have many blessings. I have many blessings. If I keep saying it, I will remember it. Maybe even believe it.

I have many blessings.

Client: Team Omnifam (Independent ARG).

Blogged, wrote newspaper articles, incidental site content, tweaked images, installed blog software, and proof-read material.

Sick Child Gives Other Kids Hope

Hylie Atkins is no stranger to hospitals. The twelve year old has suffered for years from chronic illness. After a miracle cure, she wants to spread a message of hope to other children.

Diagnosed at birth with anemia and emphysema, Hylie has spent months of cumulative time in hospitals. While there are efforts to keep the children’s areas bright and cheerful, Hylie thought that sick kids could use a more personal uplift. With funds from a toy store and volunteers from her family, she has now delivered over three dozen teddy bears to kids in area hospitals.

Recipients are thrilled with their gifts. Jenna Hopkins, 7, suffering from an advanced case of leukemia, says, “Hylie is so nice. She didn’t even laugh at my hair. I named my bear ‘Hylie’ after her. It will be something for my mom and dad to hug when I’m not here anymore.”

Other children echo the sentiment. Ennis Chapman, 11, says, “Some of my friends laughed at me because I have a teddy bear. I don’t mind, because Hylie made me feel better about my cystic fibrosis. She was real sick too, and she got better.”

As for Hylie, her prognosis looks good. A grant from Ann Arbor-based Methusalabs has provided Hylie with a drug called Lifloxin, which has turned her near-fatal illness almost completely around. Hylie plans on collecting more bears for other kids. “Sometimes treatments can be very painful,” she explains, “and it’s nice to have something to hold. Teddy bears don’t even mind if you cry a little. They just absorb your tears and you can keep hugging them.”

A lesson for us all, perhaps.

Client: Dave Szulborski (Independent ARG).

Played four characters, including obsessed killer. Wrote poetry, emails, and editorials. Designed puzzles, installed/customized blogs, proof-read, and managed sites.

warm breath, moist and meaty
a dog’s pant, puffing against your face
your scent changes as you grow scared
bitter blue, hint of onion
the sauce that tops a gourmet meal
and I am hungry.

Client:Dave Szulborski (Independent ARG).

Played Ed Vargas/Amanda Graves. Wrote blogs, emails, IM/phone scripts, puzzles, poetry, news articles, and site content. Proof-read content and created websites.

Police Say There’s Nothing to Investigate

-Cambridge, MN September 24, 2003

Despite local residents’ reports of unusual activities and strange lights in the abandoned areas of the Cambridge Mental Hospital, local authorities have declared that there is nothing to worry about, the Cambridge Chief of Police’s office said on Tuesday.

A brief investigation was mounted following several calls from Cambridge residents reporting lights in the windows and vehicles entering the grounds of the Cambridge Mental Hospital. The hospital itself is currently mostly shut down and has not been fully operational for several years. Currently the hospital is slated for demolition and new construction projects are supposed to take place on the grounds within the next few years. In a statement issued jointly by the Isanti County Sheriff’s office and the Cambridge Chief of Police on Tuesday, September 23, officials claimed that the activities seen were part of the demolition planning crews and, “There really is nothing to investigate.”

Local Residents Not Convinced

Local residents are not all convinced. The Isanti County Sheriff’s office declared that much of the concern had been stirred up by a recent visitor to the area who had been asking several questions and spreading rumors of wild and illicit activities in the hospital. The County News was unable to identify the visitor at press time, but interviews with several residents who wished to remain anonymous indicate that she told a convincing tale. Those interviewed were uncomfortable giving out any particulars on the story other than the cryptic comment, “We don’t need that type of publicity in our fair town”. Sheriff Bobohead strongly discounted any of the visitor’s statements or residents’ reaction, saying, “I could go to Seattle and tell everyone I’m the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte, but that don’t necessarily make it true.”

Reporters from the County News visited the facility after the statement issued by the Chief of Police’s office on Tuesday, but were unable to find any evidence of anything happening recently other than the usual remnants of teen parties. Predictably, the Cambridge Mental Hospital has been declared a “haunted house” by local children and police are often finding kids on the grounds during the weekend, despite the presence of an on-site caretaker. Attempts to interview the caretaker were unsuccessful.

Authorities cautioned that entering the buildings could be hazardous as they have not been maintained and could be structurally unsound. In addition, trespassing could result in arrest. The property is privately owned. A celebrated drug bust occurred in the main hospital building three years ago, when officials arrested three youths who had been dealing in marijuana at local schools. Over one pound of marijuana was found during the raid.

Anonymous Source Says There’s More to Story

An anonymous caller to the County News offices on Monday evening indicated that officials would discontinue the investigation. The caller stated that there was more to the story than officials were saying, but would not go into specifics. The County News suspects the caller may have been the aforementioned visitor to the area.

Officials stress that there has been nothing out of the ordinary going on at the hospital, but said that anyone with concerns is welcome to call the police office if they think they see anything worth reporting. “Most likely it’s going to be one of those kids smoking something bad for them,” says Sheriff Bobb.