ARG Netcast, Episode 24: The Szulborski Show

ARG Netcast, Episode 24: The Szulborski Show [ 44:22 ] Play in Popup | Download

Host Jonathan Waite (ARGNet) and returning panelists Lindsay Mills (TorGame), Geoff May (ARGNet) and Celina Beach (Unfiction forum moderator) are pleased as punch to have Dave Szulborski, noted ARG designer and immersive marketing consultant, to the program for the first time since Episode 15 from ARGFest. The ARG News of the Week returns, as does the “Who Should Do an ARG?” segment from last week. Subscribe to the ARG Netcast feed through this link or via iTunes. Contact us at our special netcast email address, netcast@argnetcast.info with your tips, suggestions, concerns and submissions. Call us on the ARGNet voicemail at 630-274-5425.

ARG News of the Week

• Rumors are swirling about a possible ARG promoting an upcoming MMORPG called The Secret World. A mysterious poem left in the hands of a Eurogamer writer brought people to darkdaysarecoming.com, which includes a puzzle that, when solved, leads to a message boards and artwork for the game to be released by Funcom.
• Violetunderground.com has updated three times in the past week and fans of Perplex City will be pleased that there are two new web sites at perplexcitypost.com and apolytoninstitute.com. Information on Violet’s site suggests a tie-in with the BBC, and some players are speculating that there may be a connection to the ongoing Frozen Indigo Angel promotion.
• Entertainment Weekly has mentioned the Heroes 360 experience and the game creators have promised to step up game play. A new site, YamagatoFellowship.org, has appeared and “will lay crucial groundwork for next season” according to EW.
• The Come Out and Play festival has migrated overseas from New York to the UK, as the Hide and Seek Festival is going on this weekend in London. The festival will include games such as London Poetry and Cruel 2 B Kind, according to Jessica Price at ARGNet.
• ARGNet writer Geoff May was contacted through AIM in what appears to be a game launching attempt. The game, dubbed Love Nevr Dies, includes blogs, MySpace pages and YouTube videos so far. Keep up with details and development at the Unfiction forums.

Special Guest Q&A
Dave Szulborski answers a variety of questions, which focus on topics such as:

• How he started making ARGs, specifically Chasing the Wish
• What he thinks about the Grey Wethers puzzle saga
• How he was brought into the Art of the Heist creative team
• What sort of time commitment was needed to produce CTW
• The recent reappearance of TuringPrinciple and the Egg Movie

Who should do an ARG?
Dave Szulborski believes that novels are an underused medium for ARG delivery, and has House of Leaves in mind as a pet project, while Geoff May would like to see an ARG for the House television drama.

Thanks for listening!