4th Wall
My MFA thesis for Parsons Design and Technology Department was called 4th Wall. It is self-contained, casual Alternate Reality Game (ARG) that explores the expanding boundaries of interactive narrative in the digital age. The game lives entirely within an alternate reality that is created by several fictitious organizations and characters that exist solely online. Unlike traditional ARG’s this one tracks and saves a players progress using a MySQL database and PHP and Flash interfaces. I was assisted by Eric Chung on the project.
The project was presented as part of the “Keeping it Casual” Panel at ARGfest in Atlanta, GA in 2010.
An ad for Pantazon that gets disrupted by theyknowweknow
4th Wall Installation at Parsons
Mapping the entire user experience took some time and energy, but was well worth it.
UX Whiteboard Sketch
User experience refined and mapped
Players must interact with these sites in order to solve the mystery of a missing reporter named Paige Stein who works for the Daily Informant online news organization. I built a site for the Daily Informant that streams live news from 4 different RSS news feeds and mixes it with news stories that are in the cannon of the game.
The Daily Informant
The players encounter a story on the front page about Paige going missing while working on a story about an unethical pharmaceutical company called Tyger Pharmaceuticals. The paper is asking for readers to help locate her.
Tyger Pharmaceuticals Home Page
If they fill out the contact form on the site, they will be emailed by Sam King, the Editor of the Daily Informant. He asks players to help find Paige by filling out a letter found in the wreckage of her apartment. The letter outlines her story about Tyger Pharma. The problem is that there are six missing key words. Players must pick up where she left off to find out what they are.
Letter from Paige
When the player gets a clue correctly, they are sent another email that will lead them to their next clue. The missing clues are hidden in the content of the sites in the game. As the players discover more about Paige and her story, they discover other organizations including the mysterious Metatonic Society…
Metatonic Society
…and theyKnowWeKnow, a conspiracy theory group dedicated to finding out the truth.
They Know We Know
Players must also interact with web-based games and videos to get further information to fill out Paige’s letter and discover the real conspiracy.
Paige Chat Video
A video of a chat between Paige and Sam King also offers clues to the players.
Chemistry Diagram Game
A game where players must match up pieces of a chemical diagram.
Cipher Game
One of the last in-games in the project involves using a cipher to discover the truth of the relationship between Tyger Pharma and the Metatonic Society.
Full project site here.