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Urban Hunt - Another Alternate Reality Game?
An anonymous reader writes "Mysterious murders in an abandoned mental hospital, a strange device that reads and records people's dreams, poetry written by dead people, and a reality TV show production company that has pushed the envelope too far and may have a dark secret they are desperately trying to protect. Just what the hell is going on here? It started when "Casting Call" notices for a new reality TV show called "Urban Hunt" began showing up on several popular reality TV fan sites. A secret message encoded into the autoresponder applicants received led to a urban legends website which featured a story about a failed reality TV show called "Dread House" supposedly set in an abandoned mental institution. This appears, on the surface, to be another Alternate Reality Game like the notable and previously Slashdot-mentioned ilovebees Halo 2 ARG, but there are elements that make this game possibly the most realistic and believable yet. So, is it even a game at all? Help us try to get to the truth at the Unfiction forum and game-specific Wiki set up to discuss the conundrum."
Wow, and hour later and only two posts. Apparently this topic is too scary for Slashdot. Then again, maybe it's just not Stuff that matters.
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
I've been poking around this for a while. This is an elaborate mystery game that is unfolding across a couple of hoax web pages.
The plot, from what I've gathered, has something to do with an abandoned mental hospital where patiens were experimented on. The experiments had something to do with dreams. There's also an underground sewage network beneath the hospital that seems to factor into this tale.
The website for the fake TV reality show production company appears to serve as the launch point for this game, as well as offering subtle, hidden clues. But other than for these things, the site itself and the other two reality shows it describes are probably red herrings.
I'm thinking this is going to turn out to be some sort of version of that mystery game that EA did that played in real life.. hmm..
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
Yet Another Web Based Advertising Blitz.
Come on Simon! An anonymous user submits a story about how strange postings on the 'Net may be part of an ad blitz for a game, and you post it.
Hmmm. I wonder. Could the submitter of the story perhaps be employed by the media company driving the blitz? Could the submission to Slashdot be an attempt to drum up even more buzz?
Nahhh. I must be paranoid.
Come on guys - at least make the bastards PAY for space on Slashdot!
www.eFax.com are spammers
Recently manhunt got blamed for some psycho killing another kid... why arn't games like this blamed?
Games are games and need to stay where they are, when you start crossing the barrier between Mario jumping on mushrooms and abuse of mentally disturbed people you cross the line.
Things like this get into peoples heads (Urban legends style) and "a friend of a friend" type things. If it's on a console or on the internet we can shrug it off, but when you start throwing in real life stuff the line blurs so much that people who have violent urges may see this as a real event..
This maybe the kinda thing which people could blame for real life murders and looking at Slashdot it's getting more known and mainstream (I love bees for example).
I like muppets.
The real Alternate Reality game is found here.
I really WANT to get involved in a game like this. It looks pretty interesting. But I'm reluctant to invest time into it, because I know that the whole thing is almost certainly just be some viral marketing thing, and that by getting involved, I will just be encouraging their evil marketing ways.
Is it possible to have a puzzle like this that ISN'T an elaborate advertising scheme?
& I wish I knew the password to your heart . . . &