ARGH! Update on Game III

Wow. So, we did our first live drop. What this entails is an elaborate set-up with a series of props, a mix of wardrobe and some volunteer actors.

Players in the game, if you are reading this... go to another page now. Spoiler alert.

We rented a stretch SUV limousine, put decals on the sides and back, created security clearance cards, registration forms, letters (signed by the puppetmaster) and a memo (signed by the rogue agent in the game).

Players had to go through 6 missions to gather all of the pieces needed to find where the dead drop was, including gathering 3 maps, 2 fortran style punch cards and two codes that were mixed up in order. Hey, the players wanted a challenge. Once all these were found, they had to figure out the passphrase to say at the drop zone.

The selection of the GPS location turned out to be a great spot, it was near a transit station and there was no cars in the parking lot. We had photographers hiding out nearby and even had a reporter with us, covering the event.

We were not sure what to expect as far as a turnout, but believed all we needed was one or two to share the experience online afterwards to create buzz. We had a small handful of agents make their way to our drop - including our test agent. As far as your typical events go, this would be considered a dismal failure. But, because the ARG has received so much attention online, from around the world, we are confident that we will be able to leverage some excitement for the client's opening in mid-August.

We have one last mission left and then we will be sending out some really cool rewards to the players. We will likely be leaving the game online for future players to play with some minor adjustments to some of the challenges... we made it relatively timeless for the most part. The legacy of this marketing initiative will be that we've created a challenging game for people that like games that will forever promote the client.

That's all folks - complete wrap up to come in August some time... I might post some drivel for you in the interim.