Alternate reality game

From The Secret World Wiki

An alternate reality game, or ARG, is a type of media that blends real life into the fictional game world, making use of real world tools and information. Because The Secret World has a modern setting, it's perfect for using past events, history and people to enhance the lore and storytelling feature of the game.

To date, the main element of the ARG has come from several characters getting in touch with the community and asking for help solving riddles, or providing clues through messages.

In the game, ARGs will take another form as investigation missions which task the player with doing research out of the game world to solve puzzles. Weekly puzzles have been mentioned, where the first faction to solve them gets a faction-wide buff.

[edit] Pre-Launch ARG events

This is a list of the ARG events the community has been involved in pre-release, in chronological order. The reward for solving the ARGs has varied from learning more about the characters and their background, to the release of game information and lore.

Dark Days Are Coming	May 2007
The Photo	May 2007
They Are Coming Back	April 2009
Code Name: Wagtail	April 2009
Two lines twine	May 2009
Inside the Box	May 2009
At the Door	June 2009
Something in the static	September 2009
The Dark Places	January 2010
The Fool's Journey	January 2011
Gather the pieces	August 2011
CoV systems malfunction	August 2011
The Fool's Journey, Act 2	November 2011
A Friend's Gift	March 27, 2012

[edit] Timeline and result

1. Dark Days Are Coming
   1. A letter is mailed to several gaming websites, it leads to the discovery of a webpage about the game and the forums.
2. The Photo
   1. A friend contacted all registered forum members with a document from AB.
   2. This introduced the story of Roald Amundsen and Nicolas Belmont
3. They Are Coming Back
   1. We met Apis, a forum member, who posted a link to a video. The video was then taken down by A friend.
   2. The encrypted text in the video led to a test from the Sanctuary of Secrets.
   3. The test was passed, one of the final clues was the historical/mythical oracle Melissonomoi.
4. Code Name: Wagtail
   1. We actually meet AB who turned out to be Aveline Belmont; she called in the debt created by the community when they assisted A friend which put her in danger.
   2. Aveline is the great-granddaughter of Nicolas Belmont
5. Two lines twine
   1. Forum member sveinjt posted pages that are copies of originals written by Nicolas Belmont
   2. The translated pages provided information for Aveline Belmont who had a box.
   3. Melissonomoi posted an 8track and a tweet, "the key, the lock, the key, the lock.
6. Inside the Box
   1. Solving the puzzle produced the location of the key.
7. At the Door
   1. Melissonomoi sends a tweet about the lock
   2. Aveline makes contact again. She has the key and the lock but did not know how to use them. "They" are after her.
   3. Aveline disappears through the door. The Sanctuary of Secrets website is compromised and began to broadcast static.
8. Something in the static
   1. Images began to appear in the static before, during, and after PAX 2009. New screenshots and a CGI trailer were revealed.
9. The Dark Places
   1. We were introduced to The Dark Places who led us to Kingsmouth.
   2. Twitter accounts for Carter, Danny Dufresne, Deputy Andy, and Sheriff Bannerman were discovered. As was the blog, Monsters of Maine.
10. The Fool's Journey
    1. Apis contacted the community, the Sanctuary of Secrets was compromised after Aveline went through the door.
    2. Melissonomoi becames more active, speaking with the community via flickr, twitter, and 8tracks.
    3. An article appeared on CryGaia that, after translation, explains who and what the roles of Apis, the Sanctuary of Secrets, and Melissonomoi are.
    4. Apis particularly identified community member Nyte and claimed that 11 others will be identified to speak for Apis over the next year.
11. Gather the pieces
    1. Community members that participated in a CryGaia sponsored event, received puzzle pieces. As the puzzle was recreated the image of a scarecrow emerged. On the back, a poem was deciphered and a word, coronis, was translated from Theban letters.
12. Council of Venice systems malfunction
    1. A leaked letter introduces us to F. Monticiano.
    2. The Dark Places makes contact again, eventually introducing the Phoenicians.
    3. Leaked emails introduce Elais Berbera (New Carthage public relations), Elissa Hanna (Phoenician Council representative), and Sienna (Council-Consul).
    4. Melissonomoi chimes in with a tweet perfectly timed to muddle the waters between the ARG and the scarecrow puzzle
    5. The community is asked to select an ambassador and create a list of questions to ask The Dark Places. Tests are given and passed. A FAQ is posted and both The Dark Places and Melissonomoi return to silence.
13. The Fool's Journey, Act 2
    1. Updates to Melissonomoi's twitter and 8tracks accounts revealed communications to an unknown person.
    2. Something occurred in Greece, the Sanctuary of Secrets and Melissonomoi are no longer safe and are being hunted by multiple groups including the dominate factions.

[edit] Character relationships

Many of the ARG characters have limited interaction. The image below is an incredibly simplified attempt to map them.