Project Description

From the beginning, I had two goals in mind: 1) The reinterpretation of a physical space, and 2) The narration of an immersive story. Secrets achieved these two goals, so I'm happy :D

Secrets is an ARG - Alternate Reality Game - with a focus on finding things. It took longer than expected to get this project off the ground, but the effort was worth it.

The plot of Secrets is roughly as follows: a girl named Claire enlists our help to find her secrets and save her life. By figuring out the clues she presents on her website, we gain access to interesting information which create a picture of Claire's plight: she has escaped from the Sigma Institute, "leaders in psiogenetics", who had kidnapped her because of her unique paranormal ability. Sigma had been conducting drug research and developped a drug called "Geneuphen", designed to grant humans psionic powers. A lot of things happen, including the teaming up with an amateur investigative journalist named Jess. After much sleuthing (which also reveals a lot about Claire's rather harrowing past) players are urged to find Pandora's Box, a key containing information that will stop Sigma forever.

Spanning two weeks and involving over twenty players, Secrets was my first foray into the world of ARGs, and I thoroughly enjoyed creating its reality.

On the creation of this project: all web design was done with TextPad, save for one site which was made using iWeb (but only because the layout was tricky!). Puzzles were developed over many months, so I was pleased when they came to fruction. [For example: clue five leads players to this sculpture:

and indicates that at 1:06, reading the inlaid silver disk the shadow lands on, like a Sundial, will give the keyword Hughes.]

Inspiration

Soon after I joined the D.O., I learned about the art of Letterboxing. The concept immediately intrigued me, but searching for letterboxing communities in Melbourne revealed a travesty: there is none, or at least any that are easily accessible via quick Google searches.

When it came to designing this project, my goal of integrating "realspace" into the game made me recall letterboxing and treasure hunts in general. The appeal for me lies in translating a virtual experience such that a physical element is incorporated. Aha! Combine letterboxing or puzzle hunting with narrative and story, using a variety of mediums - websites, Facebook, twitter, instant messaging, email, SMS - and, of course, the best platform of all: real life.

Oh yes, puzzle hunt! Melbourne University Puzzle Hunt also inspired this project. Our own puzzle hunt is launching next week, too.

Who will enjoy this the most?

The group of about 20 student players (I didn't get to meet them all) all attend my highschool. Feedback was positive :) I believe that those who enjoy puzzles, treasure hunts, narratives, or even just games in general would have enjoyed playing as well.

The Project

Secrets is an ARG comprised of two halves, both of which involve finding things. Players find keywords by following online clues which lead to physical locations. Keywords (which appear in various forms such as toilet graffiti, paper taped under desks, rewritten entries in a French dictionary, a license plate...) unlock information, such as contact details, new websites with mysterious information, diary entries, photographs, and more. Together, this information leads players through an exciting narrative interweaved with play. Players had to email a parascientific corporation to gain clues, interrogate characters for passwords via SMS, piece together the truth behind Claire's past and the cause of her kidnap and parents' demise by sorting through her memories, and more.

The main website for this project was http://harry-lee.com/secrets, also accessible from http://tinyurl.com/find-secrets.

To find out more about this project, send me a message or comment. There's a lot to explain, and I think I function better when responding to a direct question as opposed to rambling on and on :] Finally, I will not reveal the entire plot. The "ending", which ties up all loose ends, was placed onto a small USB memory key called "Pandora's Box", and was found on the final day of the ARG - and to everybody but the winner, the ending remains, fittingly, a secret.

Some photos ensue. (I should have remembered to document everything very thoroughly, but I was too caught up with the excitingness of it all.)

Screenshot. Changed a few elements from my initial idea, visible in my notes.

An early capture of Jess' twitter page.

Be sure to explore the main Secrets website: http://harry-lee.com/secrets (Try solving clue 4. You wouldn't know Mr. Sanborn at our school, but you can still arrive at an intermediatory answer, which may be satisfying for puzzle solvers.)

Wow, this project write up is a mess. I'm not too good at writing out big reports on things, so if you have questions, please ask - I'm happy to respond. =D