Thank You! Awesome Robo!: Found On The Tape: New ARG

Found On The Tape: New ARG



Have you heard about Found On The Tape? I bet you haven't. This quiet viral campaign has caught my attention, but not many others. It hasn't been picked up by many sites, has very few views but is creepy as f***. I stumbled upon it by accident and still haven't figured out what is being advertised or what the campaign is for. Given that Paranormal Activity 3's viral campaign has been revolving around a VHS transfer company I expect that a connection could be made.

Check out the other 2 videos after the jump and make up your mind. Just don't watch it in the dark.

Fascinating: Rich Ross Makes Moves (and Movies) at Disney | Fast Company

Excerpt:

"...Ross's official title is chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, but he's really just a brand manager. He is responsible for protecting and growing the Disney brand, encouraging the creation of characters that can be distributed to consumers across a wide array of platforms (movie theaters, television, the web, digital devices, stage, CDs, theme parks, cruise lines, resorts, consumer products) and monetized around the world. Put plainly, his job is to make more money this year than last--that's the growing part. But if he's successful, he'll be asked to make even more the next year--that's where the protecting part comes into play.

This brand stewardship is the source of controversy surrounding Ross, Iger, and Disney in general these days. A lot of movie fans--ticket buyers, critics, and industry professionals included--hate seeing films reduced to such crass commercial terms. Hollywood still promotes itself as our manufacturer of dreams, relishing the cultural currency and aesthetic cachet that comes with the territory. Movie fans, too, have a deep emotional connection to the medium. One former high-level motion-picture agent laments that the brand focus at Disney now typifies the multinational, corporate way of thinking: "Nobody wants ideas and imagination anymore. They want presold products, and attendance is down because consumers are wise to it. The movie business has been taken over by nonmovie people. They're account executives and brand managers. That's why audience is declining. They don't know the audience." Of course, Ross and his colleagues can offer reams of data about who their audience is and what they want. But Ross is a newcomer to the film business who has been handed the keys to a storied movie studio. His roots are not only in television but in packaging shows for basic cable...."

Infographic: Billions of Dollarrrs in Pirates Booty!!! Popup-Icon

!!!! Guillermo del Toro Gives ‘inSANE’ Update, Describes Sandbox-Style Game » via MTV Multiplayer

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Excerpt:

""We've been working for a year. We have two or three more years to go. It's huge. I'm learning a lot. I'm going in with a really, really modest 'I'm learning' approach. I'm a huge gamer but going into constructing it, you have to be respectful of the medium. I'm learning a lot. Talking about the storyline for weeks. We've been designing the creatures, which are obscenely fun and unique. You haven't seen them ever."

As for the format of the game, del Toro indicated that it would be set in a large, sandbox-style world. This fits with some of Volition's past releases, like "Red Faction Guerrilla" and "Saints Row." "We had to build a sandbox, so we designed all the archetecture already," he explained. "We're developing in Champaign, Illinois, so it's a very short trip from Toronto, so I don't have much weekends. My life is pretty much 24/7 work, but we're giving it the proper attention. We've spent an inordinate amount of time into that project. It's because it's worth it, I think. You learn more, as a narrator, for this medium, than I ever expected."

Del Toro closed out our interview by confirming the tone of the game:

"It's Lovecraftian, it's really weird, but it's Lovecraftian in a very sick way, which I like. It's truely, truely entertaining. Full of action, but also a very shocking game. And Guy Davis and Francisco [Ruis Velasco]. Guy Davis, to me, is one of the best monster designers alive right now."

Great Post! TY! The Arrglington Jump - Quick and Dirty: Lessons on LARPs and What I learned at Wyrcon this year

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Excerpt from a great post by April Arrglington:

"On Game Mechanics:

It is fascinating to learn how LARPing design teaches you about manipulative storytelling, and how to sustain alternative reality on the fly. It not only helps you develop an ongoing character, but it prompts you how to build great flow in your play design. How to respond to unpredictability is an invaluable lesson to game designers of all kinds.

Furthermore, Rob McDiarmid goes onto analyze in Branches of Play the importance of player motives in LARP design that can help reduce unpredictability. I find that it’s very helpful to have this insight, especially when looking into things like monetizing, advertising, and promotions from different audience perspectives. Bellow is the illuminating Player Motives quick list:

1. As Audience: To experience a satisfying narrative.
2. Catharsis: To experience emotions through the character.
3. Comprehension: To figure things out. Solve problems and puzzles.
4. Competition: To win at something, or at least enjoy the act of competing.
5. Crafting: To create non ephemeral things (costumes, props, documents, etc.).
6. Education: To take away new knowledge or understanding as a player.
7. Embodiment: To make decisions based on character.
8. Exercise: To enjoy physical activity and movement.
9. Exploration: To experience the fictional setting.
10. Exhibition: To show off (costumes, props, acting chops, mad skillz, etc.) and get kudos.
11. Fellowship: To enjoy time with friends (also includes flirting and such).
12. Flow: To enjoy losing oneself in the moment.
13. Leadership: To be important to the player community.
14. Protagonist: To be important to the story and impact the game world.
15. Spectacle: To experience the awesome stuff (pretty costumes, elaborate sets, funny NPCs, etc.)
16. Versatility: To collect important things (spells, lore, favors, etc.) and have the right thing at the right time..."

Social Video Editing: Taking Video Storytelling to the Cloud Aug. 29, 2011 | Digital Media SIG

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From the site:

"Social Video Editing: Taking Video Storytelling to the Cloud with Creaza.com
From 2005 to 2010, online video grew at the phenomenal rate of 910%, compared to 114% growth for the internet overall, and 0% for television. Today, 60% of all web traffic is online video. It is clear that video is fast becoming a preferred means of expression.

Some enablers of this movement include: the availability of devices that allow video capture such as cameras, tablets, and mobile phones and the proliferation of social networks and video-sharing sites.What hasn’t been effectively conquered is the ability for people to shape their stories via easy-to-use and cost effective editing tools. In fact, most videos online are still in their original, raw, and unedited form. Video editing tools to date have been the domain of experts and required more powerful computing resources.

Creaza.com is focused on changing this. The company provides a cloud-based platform for video editing, collaboration, and sharing. By taking the video experience to the cloud, Creaza is bringing down barriers of cost and complexity and enabling anyone with a story to tell it using video. The differences include a focus on control in the creative process, versus the simple mashup, and uniquely enabling co-creation or social video editing..."

Yay! News! Pottermore: A First Look Inside Harry Potter’s Digital World | paidContent

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Excerpt (whoot!):

"...On entering the site, users begin to travel through the world of Harry Potter and the [Sorceror’s] Stone, following in the footsteps of Harry and learning new facts about his world as they open an account at the goblin bank Gringotts, travel up and down Diagon Alley shopping for equipment for school and choosing a wand. Unlocking new content as they progress through the storyline, they can click on and collect items for their “trunk,” build and evolve their profiles, adding their own drawings, collecting books and chocolate frog cards, learning spells and brewing potions. A Pottermore account can also be connected to a Facebook account, with users able to make friends—and even take part in wizarding duels once they reach a certain point on the website.

Comments from early users are already positive: “This is amaazing,” writes IceDragon, while another user praised the “Beautiful artwork!” “This is very cool. Very unique website. I love the extra content,” said CrimsonDream55, but NoxThorn88 “would have expected a little more action.”

“I think Pottermore has the potential to be a lasting focal point for the Harry Potter brand—The Leaky Cauldron for the fans. I think the fact that it incorporates new content, a social networking element, and is also the only place people will be able to buy the e-books will prove to be quite a potent combination. . . . Having the e-books there exclusively is a bit of a masterstroke in terms of ensuring people visit the site and engage with it, as is the way they are going to stagger the release of the content,” said Charlotte Williams from the Bookseller, an early user of the site. “It’ll be interesting to see whether it can act as a first port of call and draw new readers to the books, or whether it’ll more be used by existing diehard Potterites....”