ELI_ARG - 1 Resources

Overview

At the 2009 EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Annual Meeting, attendees were thrust into the world of alternate reality games (ARGs) during a conference-wide effort to uncover clues left behind by a researcher in distress. Starting at the opening session, attendees learned that Professor Rufus Bluth would not be showing up for his scheduled concurrent session. Instead, he implored the audience to follow the clues to find his research before they did. For the rest of the meeting, attendees followed clues left on Bluth’s research site and throughout the meeting space to piece together what, exactly, he was researching and who was out to destroy him.

More than 200 people watched the initial Bluth plea on YouTube and attendees contributed more than 100 edits to a wiki dedicated to the game. Nearly ever page of “hidden” content was discovered by attendees, who worked with one another to crack a series of clues that included riddles, QR codes, anagrams, hidden photographs, ISBN numbers, and garbled audio files.

Game Elements

Alternate reality games (ARGs) weave together real-world artifacts with clues and puzzles hidden virtually any place, such as websites, libraries, museums, stores, signs, recorded telephone messages, movies, television programs, or printed materials. ARGs are not computer or video games, but electronic devices are frequently used to access clues. Players can meet and talk with characters in the narrative and use resources like postal mail, e-mail, the web, or the public library to find hints, clues, and various pieces of the puzzle.

During the 2009 ELI Annual Meeting ARG, players searched a fake faculty members Web site for clues, eventually uncovering more hints through the faculty member’s blog, Facebook profile, de.liciou.us page, and voicemails from characters in the game. As the game progressed, players also worked together on a wiki page to piece together the clues and their meaning.

• Professor Rufus Bluth’s Homepage
• Bluth’s YouTube Channel
• The Bluth Blog
• Bluth’s Del.icio.us Page
• The Player Wiki

“Behind the Curtain” Webcast

Webcast Title: Behind the Curtain: The Making and Execution of the ELI Annual Meeting Alternate Reality Game

Time/Date: 1 pm U.S. Eastern Time, Friday, February 20, 2009

Speakers: Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Simmons College; Barbara Draude, Middle Tennesee State University; Barbara Truman, University of Central Florida; Francisca Yonekura, University of Central Florida; Bryan Alexander, National Institute of Technology in Liberal Education; Cyprien Lomas, University of British Columbia; and Carie Page, the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

Summary: Alternate reality games (ARGs) weave together real-world artifacts with clues and puzzles hidden virtually any place, such as websites, libraries, museums, stores, signs, recorded telephone messages, movies, television programs, or printed materials. At the 2009 ELI Annual Meeting, attendees were thrust into the world of ARGs during a conference-wide effort to uncover clues left behind by a researcher in distress. Starting at the opening session, attendees learned that Professor Rufus Bluth would not be showing up for his scheduled concurrent session. Instead, he implored the audience to follow the clues to find his research before they did. For the rest of the meeting, attendees followed hints and riddles left on Bluth’s research site and throughout the meeting space to piece together what, exactly, he was researching and who was out to destroy him.

Behind Bluth’s disappearance was actually a team of remote collaborators who worked together to build the game’s overarching narrative and weave together a series of physical and virtual clues to conceal the various pieces. Through riddles, images, and audio files, the “Bluth Crew” created a complex tapestry of content, designed to foster interaction and collaboration between attendees and to demonstrate the possibilities for game-based learning. During this one-hour webcast, go “behind the curtain” with the team, learning about the phases of the game’s production and how you can scale a similar project on your campus. Attendees are also encouraged to share their own reflections about participating in the game.

Archive of Webcast: https://admin.na3.acrobat.com/_a729300474/p38092506/

Resources

• The Game Reveal at the ELI Annual Meeting
• The ELI Annual Meeting Program Page
• Constance Steinkhueler’s General Session Presentation, Virtual Worlds as Naturally Occurring Online Environments
• ELI Resource Page on Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds
• The 7 Things You Should Know about ARGs