For about two months, video game fans have been in turmoil, the reason? Behind what seems to all intents and purposes an independent horror for PlayStation 5, something bigger and more interesting seems to be hiding: perhaps it is the sequel to Silent Hill, one of the most terrifying games ever, perhaps it is the new game of the visionary Hideo Kojima who he often enjoys disguising his projects so that they are not recognized as such until the very end. Or maybe, and this is the detail that has driven thousands of fans out of their minds, both at the same time.
The case of Abandoned
The independent horror, the spark that sparked this sort of mass hysteria, is called Abandoned. Its creator, a certain Hasan Kahraman, tried to attract the attention of the public by letting them believe several times that there was a connection with the Silent Hill of Japanese Konami. The fact that, perhaps by sheer coincidence, the unknown designer’s initials are the same as the hugely popular Kojima, who in the past really worked on a new chapter of the series that was painfully canceled, has given way to a search for clues that continues. even today, after months of twists and turns and as many frozen showers. We have reached the point that, if Hasan Kahraman himself denies any involvement, as he has done several times, the public instead of putting their hearts in peace seeks further confirmation in those words of denial. This spasmodic search for hidden meanings, impossible connections. , which will hopefully lead to the official announcement of the dream game, however, has solid foundations: it has already happened in the past.
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What are Args?
It is a kind of viral marketing called ARG, Alternative Reality Games, and it has its roots in the eighties, to really take root only in the early nineties, when the Internet allowed millions of users to collaborate together and simultaneously. ARGs are games made up of clues scattered between different media, until they inevitably also extend into real life, in a tangible context. Everything can start, for example, from the text hidden inside the booklet attached to a music CD, or from an anonymous message on a forum on the Net, and end with a big revelation, after a thousand days of investigation, communicated by a telephone that rings in the middle. of a city at a certain time of a certain day. To be in the right place at the right time, you must have followed all the clues and connected all the proverbial dots.It looks like science fiction, or the plot of a thriller, and actually even Hollywood has noticed the ARGs by dedicating to them the compelling The Game, directed by by David Fincher and Michael Douglas as the protagonist, who deserves to be seen even just for the great finale.
The case of Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell
After all, not all ARGs have one: the one organized by the music label EMI between 1993 and 1994 for the launch of Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell, called The Publius Enigma, has in fact remained unsolved. The one of Pink Floyd, of which the members seem to be completely unaware, starts from a post published on the official newsgroup of the band, continues inside the promotional box set of the album, has to do with an airship flown over some cities and ends abruptly during the live on July 18, 1994, with the colossal stage lighting system briefly lit up to display the words ENIGMA PUBLIUS.
And that of I Love Bees
One of the best examples of Alternative Reality Games comes from the world of video games, and is the ARG called I Love Bees, created in 2004 by specialists 42 Entertainment to pave the way for the debut of Halo 2, the most important game of Microsoft and its Xbox. I Love Bees was a tremendous success, with engaged users being able to receive phone messages, emails, and be encouraged to travel to find new tracks in order to carry out the investigation. At the center of the plot of I Love Bees, a mysterious artificial intelligence that tries to contact users through several hidden messages, the first hidden in a jar of honey sent to an ARG veteran and at the end of the first cinematic trailer of the game which appeared to be been hacked or damaged.