Archive for Games
Exterminate ! Exterminate !
I came across a trailer for a Wii game on You Tube and I have to admit it is pretty impressive. Wario of the ‘Wario Land : Shake it‘ game manages to destroy your entire You Tube window (to see for yourself go check out the Experience Wii channel on You Tube).
It’s a dream come true… oh come on… don’t tell me you never dreamt of exterminating both You Tube and your internet connexion when your video wasn’t loading. Admit it.
One Ring to rule them all… One Ring to find them…
The Olympic Games are proving to be once more a huge marketing opportunity for new campaigns. McDonald’s, the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants and official Olympic sponsor is proving it with a stylish alternate-reality game .
A while ago 50 players around the world received a box with clues in form of posters, postcards and cryptic messages. The theme was the 1920’s Olympic Games (in Antwerp, Belgium) and a mysterious disappearance.
March 3, 2008 : Find her…
August 4, 2008 : Save the world
(Save the cheerlader, save the world ? sorry wrong serial)
Anyway…
The following week, participants were able to visit the blog of the mysterious Ariadne, a young lady with a severe memory loss and an Esperanto tattoo written on the arm, who is apparently lost in Fellowship-of-the-Ring-the-movie kind of landscape.
Players have to search the internet for more clues on maps, Flickr Photos, You Tube videos and blogs… Ariadne is indeed not alone. Other individuals are lost as well : Diego from Argentina, Lucie from France, Noriko from Japan…
The scope of the game is quite unprecedented. All the blogs (and therefore clues) are in different languages. The characters claim they speak very little English but you can still communicate with them by email and get help from fellow players. A active community (let’s call it a fellowship, it only seems appropriate) is already keeping busy. A wiki has been created here.
The game is meant to end on the 24th of August for the Olympics closing ceremony, hinting that the big finale will probably take place in Beijing. McDonalds wouldn’t disclose any costs but an ARG campaign like that one is not really meant to be a real ROI. Not an immediate one at least. The scope of the campaign and the discretion of the brand might prove to be very effective on a long term especially with the youth market.
So far more than 150,000 players have started deciphering the message.
I just want to finish with the Terms of use for the LostRing Game : “You agree to immerse yourself in solving a global mystery and help us in our mission to bring the world together through play”
Let’s hope it finishes with less bloodshed than the Lord of the Ring Saga. I find the reference a bit disturbing considering the controversy growing around the choice of China for the Olympics.
Source : The Lost Ring, NY Times, Guardian, Avantgame, Despoiler, Wired
