The Pitch
Tagline: Really want to live forever?
The game: A life with out death was one thing that came to mind when thinking of the theme A Better world. Everyday more and more money is put into research for cancers, diseases and other viruses and illness. But what would happen if these where actually all cured? Scientists and medical professionals today are trying hard to fight death, to keeps us living healthier for long. But with the rapid population growth that is happening all over the world, question about weather these cures should be found or not along with other moral question are very relevant. This game is designed to get young people think about their mortality and their views on eternal life and medical research into it. It is hoped that through game play the player will have a broader understanding of his or her own ethical and moral ideals as well as information on a life without death. This game is not designed to either promote or disagree with the idea of eternal life, just intended to give informative thought provoking ideas to the player.
Dr Fredrick Van Housen has recently been doing some independent research on human mortality and believes he has come up with a pill made from regenerate jellyfish cells that will give the user eternal life. Dr Van Housen has gone missing and players must find him to ensure his research or pills fall into the wrong hands. The player is guided all over QUT Kelvin Grove and the web picking up clues and putting together the pieces of the puzzle.
This time frame for my ARG is very short as the urgency of the pills/ information getting out is highly important.
After all the clues have been put together and the opportunity to live forever is available, what will the player choose? Forever or mortality?
Will the pills fall into the wrong hands? Will Dr Van Housen be found? Will the player choose to live forever?
This is all up to the player and what they choose and discover.
Many people and companies are after the information and research Dr Van Housen is studying. It is believed the Dr was in hiding and has now been kidnapped. Discoveries as to whom and why he was taken will be gathered through the success of the tasks the player has to complete. These tasks include finding characters and asking or telling them specific things, grouping up with other players to solve puzzles and various other challenges
Anti eternal life group TrueLife have been putting flyers all over the Kelvin Grove campus advocating there views, these flyers are the rabbit hole into my ARG through the hidden link to their website on the flyer. TrueLife put the call out in it’s forums for help in finding Dr Van Housan, as they believe that he is not only in danger, but that his large amount of research has been taken and will be used to manufacture these pills and sell them to the public, causing devastating affects to the world. A Link to Dr Van Housen’s blog and Facebook also inform the player that he has disappeared. Some think he is in hiding, others think he has been kidnapped. Hidden coordinates and a time are found hidden in the blog of Dr Van Housen, which seem to be requesting a secret meeting with the player. But by the time they get there its too late. Dr Van Housans briefcase and papers sprawled everywhere with only a diary left the player must gather clues to ensure that safety of the Doctor and his research.
This ARG is set in Kelvin Grove campus and the web. It uses forms of media such as a Blog, websites, Facebook pages and flyers to immerge and work with the players. Real life characters also interact and engage with players throughout the steps of the game. The player thinks the aim of the game is to find Dr Van Housen and his research. But as the game ends their views of mortality will have been tried and tested and given one final question. Will you take the pill?
The players make all the decisions throughout the game and can decided how it will turn out. My ARG aims to draw players in through question asked on the Rabbit Hole, and use teqniques of immersion to really bring the players into this fast paced game, requiring them togive a lot of energy and focus to find clues, solve puzzles and discover more about their values and ideals than ever imaginable
Use case scenario:
1 – Poster placed around campus
2 – Discovers hidden url – Website
3. Looks through websites, reads forum
4- Links and info about Doctor Van Housan
5 – Doctors blog
5.2 – Facebook page posts about the Doctors disappearance
6- hidden coordinates and time
7 – at scene discover papers, briefcase, diary, - todays date in 3o m ins a meeting
8 – Meet at majestic Forrest with doctors assistant
9 – Get sent to library to look for book – discovers info about clue inside
10 – clue leads to a room in z block
11 – when in room in z block the projector screen will come on showing a video of the doctor, in part of the campus – it looks like it was filmed on and iPhone and is of him running.
12-the players must work out where he was when the video was taken and go to that location (somewhere in QUT KG)
13- when players find this location that will see 2 men patrolling the area in black security uniforms – scary looking men
14- if a player approaches these men they well tell them to leave immediately, constantly looking back over there shoulders and eventually walking away
14.2 if the player does not approach them the men will hold up walking talkies and say the area looks secure and start walking away
15 – the player follow the security guards to where the Dr is tied up – they walk away to patrol another area
16 – Player must distract the guards to get the Doctor
16 – players rescue the Dr who tells them where all the information/ findings slash prototypes of the pill are hidden
17 – once all of these have been gathered the Dr will ask to be taken in the library where he will thank the players profusely and as a thank you offer them each a pill (just a sugar pill)
18 the player will take the pill
18.2 the player will not take the pill
Visual Prototypes
