Beyond Reality: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming

344 Pages·2005·42.07 MB·English

by  John W. Gosney

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Cowit Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p (1).
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/drexel/Doc?id=10087001&ppg=1
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THOMSON
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Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p ii.
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m
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y fw. For MDG and the beautiful reality we share together.
ed in anright la I love you very much.
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Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p iii.
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m
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ed in anright la ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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erved. nder U. W riting a book is similar in many ways to slipping into an alternate real
su ity, as you must rearrange your otherwise happy, carefree life and focus
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All ris per other little things like your family, your job, and life in general need to be addressed.
ed. use So when things get crazy, you need a great editing team to pull you through and I was
ratair fortunate enough to have just that with this book. All of these individuals are absolute
orpoept f professionals, and even though I'm acknowledging their efforts directly, r really can't
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gy, Iner, ex Ith wanillk g tihvee mit emnyo ubgehst. sBhuott, .i n an attempt to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude,
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nolblis First, I'd like to thank Emi Smith, acquisitions editor, for believing in the crazy idea
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Tece p of a book on alternate reality gaming in the first place, and for supporting it (and by
rse m th default, supporting me), as it was written during a sometimes very stressful period.
ouro I have worked with Emi before, and her professionalism and "cool nature" can make
05. Csion f all the difference in helping to ensure a project turns out right. Thanks, Emi, for being
0s so great to work with.
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yrigout Dakin works and has an active interest in emerging higher education concepts, and
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Cowit his ideas and suggestions for improving this book's content have been innumerable.
And like everyone else I am thanking here, Dakin agreed to work under some very
tight deadlines but came through with flying colors. Thank you, Dakin!
iv
Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p iv.
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Acknowledgments v
Next on the list is my project and copy editor, Marta Justak. What can I say about
Marta, other than she is simply terrific. Marta's ideas and suggestions for content were
also innumerable, and her skill in editing has made this book far, far better than it
otherwise would have been without her involvement. Marta also gave me a tremen
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dous amount of encouragement as the book moved to its completion, and her sense
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eprble "stay the course" to its completion. Cathleen, good luck in that Ph.D. program, and
e rca I hope we can work together again sometime soon.
y not bor appli Finally, I'd like to give some very special thanks to my family- Melissa, Genna,
MaS. Jackson, and George-for giving me the support, encouragement, and love to finish
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Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p v.
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m
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ed in anright la ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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erved. nder U. IOhn w. Gosney is currently the director of information technology for the
su Indiana University School of Dentistry. John has worked in both the publishing
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All ris per ket analysis and forecasts to guidebooks on a variety of topics. John is also associate
d. se faculty for the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts (Indianapolis campus), where
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rpopt f novel pedagogies and the integration of various technologies including blagging, Web
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gy, Ier, e the larger inter-textual relationships found within everything they read. Through his
oh teaching and research, John is also interested in how technology-especially Web
hnolublis based technologies-can further enhance the delivery of curriculum to both sec
Tece p ondary and post-secondary students, across a broad spectrum of subjects and issues.
rse m th John received his B.A. in technical writing and psychobiology from Purdue University.
ouro In 1996, he was awarded an M.A. in English from Butler University. When not work
05. Csion f ing, he enjoys spending time with his family and furthering his reputation as an expert
0s in all things popular culture.
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Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p vi.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/drexel/Doc?id=10087001&ppg=7
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MaS. Introduction ..................... •..... •.....x ii
erved. nder U. chapter 1 Unreality: A Brief History of ARG ..... .. .. .. •...... 1
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All ris per From Turkish Newspaper to Iowa Dinner Table .... .. ... .. .. .8
d. se But ... ls It All Just a Marketing Trick? ..................... 10
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ratair From Witches to Mind Control: The Immersive Marketing
rpopt f Connection . .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..... .. . .12
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gy, Ier, e A Heist, a City, and a Bunch of Bees .24
hnoloublish ARGT Aaknicnegs tAoRrsG: A"on nE xthteen Rdoead dH"i sto.r.y. ...........................................22 86
Tece p Using ARG to Develop Critical Thinking Skills ...........3 0
rse m th A Novel ARG Concept ...................... .......3 1
05. Cousion fro FSuumtumrea AryR G. .D.ir.e.c.ti.o.n.s. ............................................•....................33 24
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ht © 2permi chapter 2 Beyond Reality: Approaching an ARG .... •. . •. ....3 5
yrigout Finding an ARG ...........................•......... .36
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Cowit Introducing "The Art of the Heist" . .. .. .. . .. .. ••. .. . .. .. .3 7
Discovering the Heist .. ... .. .. .. . ..•.•.... . .. .. .4 1
Mixing the Virtual with the Physical .... . ..• .. ... .....4 9
Moving Ahead with the Heist .53
Summary . .. ... .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. ..• .. .. . .. .. .5 4
vii
Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p vii.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/drexel/Doc?id=10087001&ppg=8
viii Contents
chapter 3 Past Reality: An Annotated ARG. Part I ............5 5
The Evolving Mystery of Evan Chan ..................... .56
Connections: Visiting the Salla Family Homepage ........6 1
The Deepening Mystery of Evan Chan .. .. ...... .. .. ... .. .6 6
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or The Anti-Robot Militia ................................6 7
y fw. Solving the "Chemistry Elements" Puzzle ...... •..........7 0
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ot bppli The Game Enters the Real World .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. . .. .8 0
y nor a An Escape, a Temple, and a Tearoom .....................8 2
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All ris per The Death of Jeanine Salla . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ..•... . .. . .. .9 9
d. se Game Over: The Passing of the Mann Act ....•..•. ....... 100
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gy, Ier, e Background: What Is Route 66? .. .. .. . · . . 106
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ourse Techrom the pu BeatHL Beotaw'sc kRthgoerlol : RuBnoedug:t ieUn n6n6idn eAgrR stGhtae nI sdG Pianrmges eMe nat.ret.din. .B lackford ......·· ...... 111111135
05. Csion f The FBiersat uCtylu oe:f TChoell aMbaorrtainti vBe laPclakyfo rd. .W..e.b. S.i.te. ........................... 11 2127
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© 2rmi Enter the Fax Machine ......................•........ 124
ht pe In Summary: What Do We Know Now? .........•........ 129
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Cowit chapter 6 Route 66 ARG, Part II .. . . . .... . .... , . .• ..• . .... 131
The Adding Machine ..... ••. .... .•.. ..... •.. .. . .. . 132
Of Mugwumps and Beats .... •. ..... •. .......•........ 138
Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p viii.
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Contents ix
Monday (Monday), Tuesday, Wednesday .........••....... 142
At the Cadillac Ranch ..... .. ................••• ......1 48
It's All About Synchronicity ............... .••••••......1 54
In Summary: What Do We Know Now? . ........ •••......1 58
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y fw. chapter 7 Route 66 ARG. Part III (Conclusion) .. . . ..•. .• .....1 59
ed in anright la C1,h2a,r l3ie .'.s. EGasoyo das TAoBnCig (hCt om..p.u.te.r.s.) .......................•.•.•..•••••............ 116670
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duop The Teachings of Don Juan .............•......•• _ ..... 169
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eprble First Group Postings ....... ............... •• . ..... 170
e rca Second Group Postings ............. .... .•.•• . .. ... 173
ot bppli Regrouping, and ... a Breakthrough ....•...... , ..... . 174
y nor a ARG Endgame .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ..... .. .. , ... ......... . 179
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served. under U. chapter 8 CAr iPticoaslt -TAhRinGk inAgn aanlyd sCiso ll.ab.o.r.a.ti.ve. .P.la.y. ........•.........•... ._. . ._._. ..1 18812
ghts remitted TRheainl-kWinogr lldik aen da CVliortuudaml aInkteerr ac.t.io.n.s. ...............•••....• ., .•................ 118846
All ris per Taking Route 66 on the (Real) Road ......••.............1 87
d. se Summary ....... .. ... ....... .. .. ...................1 89
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gy, Ier, e Thinking (Critically) About ARG·Related Web Pages ..... 193
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hu Step 1: What's the Point? ................ .. ........ 196
Tece p Step 2: How Is the Point Being Made? ................ 198
rse m th Essentials of Web Design ...... . .......... .. . .••......2 01
05. Cousion fro GPleanceinrga l aHnTdM MLa Pnaigpeu lLaatiynogu Itm Taagges s ..............•.........•..............22 0091
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© 2rmi Working with the <img> Tag . .. .. ... .. .. ......... . .2 10
ht pe Working with Image Alternate Text ..... .... •....... 213
yrigout Strategies for loading Images Quickly ... ... ..... .....2 15
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Cowit Image and Text Formatting ......... .. .•...........2 21
Adding Space around an Image ...... .. .•........... 225
Working with Page layout ........••••••.• .• ..... .2 26
Gosney, John W. Beyond Reality : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming.
Boston, MA, USA: Course Technology, Incorporated, 2005. p ix.
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