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There were a few media entities we targeted, but we did not target many. We want to see how far and how wide this game can grow without spending a ton of money on marketing the game. So far it feels like we’re doing a great job. The new site has hundreds of unique views in several different countries, and growing daily.

The key to the school portion of this project is player challenges through the development of media for the rest of the players to enjoy, activities that revolve around events in this fictional universe, and fellowship challenges that we intend to try to do some good with when possible. In order to get the most out of the activities, the environment needs willing and active participants … and the more participants the better the enjoyment for all. So start spreading the word to your friends or anyone who’s ear can be bent. Tell them about the school for creatures who are seeking to fit in with our society - tell them about the interaction they’ll receive from characters in this immersive fiction… and then if you told them about it through a blog, vlog, or whatever other means - tell us and it may end up in a special section of the player created student yearbook.

Note: Those of you who are googling St. Laudine’s Academy because you got a letter and now you’re reading this blog - please visit this link for registration codes for the http://mycampus.stlaudines.org website: SIN registration codes

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If you’ve found an Easter Egg in the game - feel free to comment and discuss it with us. You might be surprised where some of the most subtle of easter eggs may be found.

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Fact 1: A number of players have put together a good resource of information regarding the game at the aporia agathon project wiki: click here. The resource requires input from the players and some information may not be 100% correct - that’s just a disclaimer though a quick glance of everything seems pretty accurate at the moment.

The rest of this post may be considered spoiler information for some so I’ll make you expand a page to tread the rest

Fact 2: We’ve promised to send mailings out to people who registered for the game. I have heard some comments regarding the fact people have not received them. We’re not yet ready for that stage of the game. Currently players are experiencing the earliest stage of the game which introduces them to a storyline that builds up the universe for which this reality resides.

Fact 3: Our audience was introduced to quite a few characters prior to July when we promoted the game through promotional videos and letters the players found during the lagtv event. One of these individuals, Barret Harper, is a military doctor who served in the Army during the second world war. One of his duties took him to a Nazi prison camp where he met a young girl who he aided through an ailment she was facing. Recent documents show Barrett as a member of the Air Force, an event that happened in 1947 when the Air Force was officially formed.

Fact 4: Diego is going to a school with Jan, Mary Kate, and Elisandra. His sister, Isobella, doesn’t go to school with them but is friends with many of Diego’s friends. Isobella and Sarah thought they were being attacked by a man in a park.

Fact 5: This man turned out to be Michael Surry (Mikey) who is a private investigator who had stumbled across the wrong “Sarah” during an investigation. He had been hired by another Sarah’s parents to find out what weaknesses she had (if any) with her online social networking profiles. His investigation brought him to Isobella and Sarah, who when scared really boogered his mind. I can’t get too much into why this has happened yet as much of it is speculation, but I can say pay attention to the videos and listen to what’s being said (even if you have to watch them over again).

Fact 6: There have been 5 organizations the audience has been exposed to. The first is the students (who beyond being students intend to start up a student organization: SEALs) who the players have interacted with on youtube. Second is the mysterious Awlyn who players have seen reference to, but are still learning who and what they are. Third is the Dragon Council who are the governing body for the Awlyn and are very strict in every faucet of the awlyn life (these three organizations are tied to each other somewhat). Fourth is the rebellious group run by Amun, who helped Mikey overcome an ailment he faced after confronting Isobella and Sarah. Fifth is the organization that has been involved in the abduction of many awlyn over the years (recently connected through Barrett to the US Government via the Air Force).

Fact 7: Eyegasm-design.com plays a big role throughout the game in keeping information connected to one source. This is done in an effort to help keep confusion through gamejacking to a minimum. When players find characters or websites throughout the game there will be some sort of connection through either eyegasm-design or other methods to verify they’re supposed to exist within the game. As players find characters on Youtube, they’ll be added to the favorites/subscriptions of the aporiacme account.

Fact 8: Players discovered a cipher wheel (I call it a Shadow Wheel) which is similar to the Jefferson cipher wheel. We had intended on finding a supplier to make a wheel for purchase by our audience, but we could not get the price under $200. Fortunately players have made a software version of the wheel ( Available here through the player wiki). The wheel is used by Amun’s organization to send super-d-duper secret messages to each other. Thankfully players figured out how to use it themselves so they too can take part in the process.

Fact 9: As the developers of the game, we’re trying to make the game as accessible to players everywhere as we can. Fortunately there are ways we can do that through the game mechanics without having to go to every city players are in and do live events. Unfortunately these game mechanics haven’t started playing out yet. As players get the mailings we are sending out (soon), they’ll be able to register for a website and begin taking part in those game mechanics. This may require some players who find themselves lurking and watching the game unfold to become a little more active than they may be accustomed to.

Fact 10: Around the time the mailings are sent out, Jason Chrest will be interviewed by LagTV to discuss some of the atmosphere players should expect as the game develops. We’ll talk about SLA’s game mechanics while avoiding any particular aspects regarding the story the players are being confronted with. This interview will happen live on one of the Monday or Friday shows at LagTV. Be sure to check them out whenever you have the opportunity to.

We’re really enjoying our time with the game. We’ve been trying to keep the game at a moderately slower pace for the many people who have registered for the game and mentioned the fact they were new to the genre. We welcome these new faces and the 400 or so other people in over 30 countries who have been keeping up with the game. We love you guys and you all make the time we put in everyday much easier to do. We look forward to continuing the experience with all of you for the next several months.

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I had the opportunity to sit down with another developer and we discussed much of what the two of us were doing in our current projects. This discussion was very similar to the keynote Dave delivered to cap off the panels on Saturday. As as cross-media designer I am more of a story-teller than a game designer. A game for any purpose whether it is developed for brand awareness or solely for entertainment purposes needs to have a creative story attached to it.

Our current project is completely independent allowing us full creative control over everything that happens within the game and the attached story. As I had discussed with the other developer, the most entertaining part of the development process was sitting down and creating a universe for our story to exist in then designing the approach for allowing players to immerse themselves in this story.

The power of being able to create your own intellectual property and universe for your story is what draws many artists into what it is they love doing. For many artists the reward is in seeing the audience’s reaction to what you have created. Fortunately for those of us who create these cross-media experiences we get to experience the audience’s reaction (both good and bad) as they experience it live.

This project has allowed us to create a universe which we can expand upon through various mediums. Movies, novels, and even television shows can realistically exist within the universe while all remaining their own intellectual entity. It will be entertaining and rewarding if we are able to inspire any of our audience to create their own story within this universe.

On a side note, it appeared that quite a few people were slightly put off by the term “serious” when dealing with games that approached serious topics such as Ken Ecklund’s World Without Oil. With this current project we have incorporated an undertone to the game which is along those serious lines, but we wanted to ensure any of the critics of the term “serious” that we are focusing on the entertainment of the story. We feel this allows the audience to embrace the serious nature while not feeling as though the serious nature is being forced down their throat.

So, many of you may ask what this serious aspect to the game is. As I mentioned, it is a theme that is underlying the game. It is a simple passion of mine to allow people to be intrigued by the thought that they can look at the people around them for who they are rather than what they are. So as you enjoy our most recent development, keep the thought in the back of your mind that while you meet someone new whose appearance makes you apprehensive - it is not the what they are that counts, it is who we all are which makes our experiences with each other so enthralling.

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Thanks for your patience,
Jason

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We’ve made some modifications recently with our staff and are proud to have a few new members on board. I can’t name them just yet as that would spoil some of the atmosphere for many of you, but I can say that each of the new members on the development staff are experienced and wonderful people to work with. Though I do get harassed a bit more over my poor grammar.

With the addition to the staff come some changes in the initial launch phase of the game. I’m not going to say anything about the launch phase other than the fact it has changed somewhat, in a most positive fashion. We have, also, determined which of our staff will be available during ARGfest and are looking forward to a lunch on Sunday the 20th. If you’re coming to ARGfest and would be interested in attending lunch with the staff, feel free to contact me through our contact link and let me know so that I can make sure everyone is accommodated (please let me know before Friday the 18th).
We’re no longer planning lunch due to time constraints for our staff members who would like to do some sight seeing while in Boston.

Last but not least - We’re diligently working on a t-shirt design for our staff to wear to ARGfest (Graphic to be released as soon as it is completed). If you’re interested in purchasing one of the ACME shirts at ARGfest to help support the Aporia Agathon Project, please let me know by Wednesday the 9th of July (Size and contact information). I will be selling the shirts for $19.99 and will deliver and accept payment at ARGfest. The initial shirt order will be placed locally to ensure the shirts will be ready in time for the conference. After returning from ARGfest we will take the design to cafepress and make the shirts available to everyone with a $5 mark-up (all proceeds going toward the development and production costs of Aporia Agathon Project).

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There’s opportunities for you to become involved behind the scenes too. We’re still looking for a few actors and some video production/editing help. If you live in or close to Houston please feel free to send us a contact e-mail with some information about yourself. If you’re an actor please include a picture and/or a link to a short video clip of yourself. If you’re interested in video production/editing please send a sample of some of your work. Thank you for your interest!

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The individual who sat down with us for our Q&A is pretty well known in the ARG community, her name: RedHatty.

So if you want to know our answer to questions such as:

When will “Summer” start?
How do you all like working on this project?

Then keep reading.

The following questions we selected from audience submitted e-mails:

The game is forecast to start this summer; when will “summer” start?

This is a good question, but we can’t really answer it with an exact date. The reason we can’t is because we want people to be somewhat surprised when they begin receiving the launch materials. This will let our audience feel a sense of “reward” when they realize that what they have or what they’re doing is related directly with the Aporia Agathon Project. Some players may realize it immediately as they haven’t registered to receive anything from anyone else, but the material will hopefully let them second guess themselves.

Can you give us any clues to the final name?

I cannot give away very much about our intended name for the game. Our audience has received a few clues regarding the name, allowing them to know that it starts with an “S” and ends with a “y.” Telling you now what we intend for the game to be called would be cruel. Players will be able to come up with their own name for it once it launches and can completely ignore our preference (or can even just stick with Aporia Agathon Project). When we ran Ny Takma there was a completely different name we had in mind for the game, but the players latched onto Ny Takma.

We’ve seen some of the characters already; what was the process for casting the characters or bringing on staff like?

We are still gathering some actors for a few roles, but these will be done locally for the convenience of our video production team. The current ones (such as Diego’s actor) were found through good fortune and good fortune alone. Many people who frequent the Unforums may have noticed the PM recruitment thread. This has been a good resource for us for finding actors and other individuals. Though we’ve gotten some good people this way, it’s a difficult process of finding the right people. Diego’s actor was a great hire who had actually come to me for advice about joining another team. I didn’t know him personally at the time and looked into what he had to offer; next thing you know, he’s on the team and he’s a perfect fit for one of the characters we were working on.

The other development staff came through the PM recruitment thread or were people we had worked with before (or who e-mailed us when we mentioned that we were seeking volunteers). They are all volunteers for this project, with the only promise for compensation coming through a learning experience,recommendations for work with other developers, and the potential to work with Aporia Cross-Media Entertainment, LLC on any corporate sponsored games we may handle in the upcoming years. For example, our lead writer for this project has done an amazing job with her work on the game. Her contributions to the creation of characters, scripts, and everything else she does for the game is something the rest of the staff has grown to truly appreciate. I have high recommendations for her for work with other developers if they come looking for someone.

This new ‘online learning environment’ platform, how long ago was this conceived and how long has it taken to develop this aspect of the game?

This has been one of the most difficult ventures for us in the development of the game. There are a number of interfaces available for similar approaches, but nothing we’ve found has met our needs. The online learning environment approach allows players to become more immersed with the characters they’ll be interacting with. Jason conceived this approach last August while brainstorming ways to make an ARG that can really feel as though it is an Alternate Reality. Jason used some of his experience from the past few years completing his Business Management degree through the University of Phoenix to formulate an approach to this aspect of the game.

We’re using this as a strong backbone for the entire game. It affords us the opportunity to approach a number of player involvement concepts that many other methods of supporting a game don’t allow for. This should be a great experience for the audience and for our staff, though we do admit that a corporate budget would make possible much more for our audience than is currently possible with our independent budget.

How has this slow teaser approach worked for you?

So far it has been a very rewarding approach for us. Selfishly, we get to feel some of the fruits of our labors rather than sit in our dark corner and silently work on the project. Beyond that we have received a large number of responses from players who have been somewhat skittish about joining in on other games for fear of utter confusion. One of our goals has been to be able to attract these new players to the genre and allow them to feel comfortable getting into the game, which we hope in turn helps them feel more comfortable getting into more games.

The number of individuals who have sent their physical addresses has been outstanding. We have received interest from people in thirteen different countries around the world. Being able to track the interest level helps us to gather our own information regarding where we can target specific happenings within the game’s environment. We want to make sure everyone feels as though they could have been involved in one way or another and knowing where they are located helps us with this.

Now let’s move on to the Q&A session with RedHatty!
*note this was performed in IRC and edited for content (grammar may not be proper)*

Jason: what we’re going to try to do is just let you come up with some questions about the game, ourselves… whatever - we’ll try to answer the best we can and I’ll try to let everyone opine

RedHatty: okay so let’s start with the basics, How do you all like working on this project?

**Staff members have been assigned with Letters for names for privacy**

B: How do I like working on the project: It’s been so much fun to see how the team has evolved and solidified from last year, especially now when we’re getting so close to the real launch. (and dribbling bits of content to the players is fun, too.)

C: I have been loving it. I’m just really grateful to Jason for giving me to opportunity to hang out behind the scenes. It’s been an extremely rewarding experience so far, and I’m thrilled for launch.

Jason: Personally, I enjoy the relationship with the staff so far. Everyone’s been great to work with. The thing I look forward to the most is seeing the player interaction/reaction to the content of the story we’re releasing.

RedHatty: how many of you are having a 1st PM experience?

C: I’m having a 1st PM experience, as is M

RedHatty: I thought you were C

C:

Jason: I think it’s B’s first go around behind the scenes as well, though I’m sure none of us over here can tell

B: This is my first time working behind the scenes on an ARG. I… did not expect to be doing as much as I am with this game, so I’m especially thrilled with all that I’ve had the opportunity to do so far.

RedHatty: so, early on, we were givin a hint about an online learning experience/environment - can you give the fans a little more about that yet, or is it still top secret?

*reposted same information as above*
Jason: This is one of the most difficult approaches for us in the development of the game. There are a number of interfaces available for similar approaches, but nothing we’ve found that meets our needs. The online learning environment approach allows players to become more immersed with the characters they’ll be interacting with. Jason conceived this approach last August while brainstorming ways to make an ARG that can really feel as though it is an Alternate Reality. Jason used some of his experience from his past few years of completing his Business Management degree through the University of Phoenix to formulate an approach to this aspect of the game.

We’re using this as a strong backbone for the entire game. It affords us the opportunity to approach a number of player involvement concepts that many other methods of supporting a game don’t. This should be a great experience for the audience and our staff, though we do admit that a corporate budget would make possible much more for our audience than we can currently do with our independent budget.

I don’t know if we can elaborate more on the player’s involvement in this.

B: Plus, there’s a couple of things in the “learning environment” that will encourage the players to go out and do stuff in the non-virtual world.
B: (I can say that right?)

*Yeah I suppose so since it now has been included in the blog!*

RedHatty: How about puzzle development? I know that it is a major part of the fun in ARGs, with this team is there a main puzzle creator or is it a collaborative effort?

B: definitely collaborative

Jason: Puzzle development is something we look at integrating in a very natural means through collaboration between all of us. Currently we’ve got a rather interesting puzzle the players are working on solving in some of the teaser content we have released. I feel they’ll be pleasantly surprised when they realize how easy the puzzle is even though the fact that there is a puzzle in what they’re looking at isn’t very obvious at first glance. Some may even kick themselves for missing it, but when they figure it out they’ll be rewarded with more background information.

B: I don’t know if any one of us is strictly a puzzle creator.

C: I’m definitely not a puzzle creator, can’t even solve puzzles, let alone create them.

Jason: I guess I’d be the main puzzle guy

B: I keep thinking of EE’s safeget puzzle - it melts my brain over and over and over again

RedHatty: That’s very interesting, different than many other PM teams, it will be fun to see how the puzzles evolve in your project

C: Yeah. We’re also trying to avoid unnecessary ROT-ciphers, and some of our ‘challenges’ will be a lot different than standard ARG puzzles. (Oh, wait, can I say that? XD)

RedHatty: sure you can - prepare folks for thinking outside the box

B: I think while we want to have puzzle content (’cause that’s fun for our players), we want to really give them a good story and interaction.

Jason: Most definitely, the story is the biggest aspect of our approach and any puzzles we have must fit the character that introduces it and the purpose for that particular moment of the story.

RedHatty: I take it that character interaction will be a large part of this game

B: A very large part. We have a large number of characters with various levels of interaction possibility.

C: Yeah. Character interaction will play into the game in terms of big picture stuff, as well as with a more personal relationship between the characters and players.

RedHatty: For the inquiring minds, how much time has been put into this project so far? from original concept through pre-launch?

Jason: a lot - lol

B: since last summer, right Jason?

RedHatty: no elaboration on that?

Jason: It began last August, but we’ve had various episodes of downtime, such as in February I was deployed to Guam for a month. We were able to continue production on some aspects of the game, but for the most part it was a slow month

RedHatty: 9 months, wow - you’re having a baby with this one

Jason: we hope so

B: puppies, maybe

Jason: lol - hopefully we don’t lose anymore pups. The one thing I want to point out about the amount of time we’ve spent on the game is that it has been primarily focused on generating a fictional history for a large number of individuals. To make the story as plausible as we can for the players with as few holes as possible.

RedHatty: without giving too much away, can each of you tell me what has been the most memorable or significant part of the development so far (each personally)

B: For me, it was writing a script, handing it over to C and G, and then watching them put it into motion and coming up with a finished product. That was a bit thrilling, especially since I’ve never done any script writing before.

C: Most memorable part of development so far for me has been working with the team and watching something be created from scratch and then come together into something that can be released. We all had a hand in the LagTV puzzle trail, for example, and seeing our efforts come together to create a positive experience was, for lack of a better word, magical.

Jason: I don’t know if I’ve had a most memorable moment, but I do know that the most significant moments has been every time I’ve brought on someone who just floors me with what they do. M hasn’t been given a script YET, neither have some of the actors, so I am in anticipation for that. When B began writing and putting her thoughts to paper I was absolutely stunned and amazed that I was able to get such a talent to volunteer on this project.

C agrees that B always amazes us with everything she does.

B: What they are not saying is that I am also a slacker sometimes. They’re way too nice to say that.

Jason: Then I ran across C in the PM guide chat when he was asking me for advice on whether or not to join another PM team. I stole him away and then I’ve been floored by his ability to thoroughly interpret what his character is supposed to do/say and I’m SO glad I didn’t brush him off like I had originally intended.

B: Seriously, C has been amazing.

C: Um, B is the least slackerish person on the team.

RK: I’m probably the most

Jason: RK is mostly busy with school - so excusable

B: well, we haven’t given you a lot to do yet, RK. Your time will come… oh, yes…

M: yeah…my most memorable moment was trying to do a theology paper…but I can’t focus. THE T-REX.

C: Oh, wait, we can’t talk about the t-rex yet! :p

B: …t-rex?

C: Shhh! It’s even a secret from the other team members!

Jason: lol

M: Well my idea was shot down by C today.

*There will be no T-Rex’s unless we allow M the opportunity to wear T-Rex laden clothes*

RedHatty: you seem to have a very good repertoire between you all, I am sure that helps when things are not going as well as hoped

B: everyone is so easy-going, and no one takes stuff personally, so we all sort of encourage each other. We haven’t really hit a crisis point yet, but when everything really gets started, I’m sure we’ll be tested.

RedHatty: this is a sponsored ARG, right? any info on the sponsor or again, is that top secret?

Jason: The ARG is sponsored by… each of us individually

RedHatty: really? Is this a grassroot effort?

Jason: it’s an independent development under the banner of Aporia Cross-Media Entertainment. We have no financial backing beyond our own contributions to the game itself, a true labor of love.

RedHatty: Ah yes, the ever punny ACME label - let’s keep Wiley Coyote far away

C: However, we are lucky enough to have a small sponsorship for an event this summer. And that’s all I can say about that.

Jason: Yes we do have opportunities for sponsors to assist with various events, such as one coming up in mid-summer

RedHatty: How long is this ARG anticipated to run?

Jason: The game is anticipated to run between 10-12 months, with short breaks allotted at various points

RedHatty: wow, that’s a long one - how does that kind of long term commitment affect each of you in real life?

C: Well, it’s going to be my Senior year in High School, so better now than a year from now when I’m just starting college.

B: It means I have to work on my other projects concurrently with this one, but I think the year is going to go by quite quickly.

Jason: For me, this is what I love to do. I come home and I’d rather build an ARG than play games (the majority of the time) on my XBOX 360. It is also an effort to position myself to do this work full-time, so I call it an investment. Family comes first though, so I try to ensure I spend enough time with the wife and kids without alienating them. It is working out pretty well so far.

RedHatty: so, what interesting teasers can you share (other than the few you already have?)

* Jason sticks his thumb to his nose and wiggles his fingers teasing Redhatty

RedHatty: ROFL

B: The line between the good guys and the bad guys isn’t going to be totally straight or completely visible at all times.

Jason: her answer is better than mine, but as a reminder to players who have looked into Isobella’s little place where she talks with Diego - there is a good bit of story information waiting to be discovered with the information she’s made available to them.

RedHatty: good teaser! Has there been anything that has hindered the progress of the game other than deployments?

C: Jason’s deployment actually allowed us to have at least one interesting thing in the game that we wouldn’t have otherwise, though that’s pretty vague.

B: that’s true

RedHatty: hmmm, that said a lot without saying anything

B: I think there’s been a lot of “Oh, hey… wouldn’t it be cool if we did ‘x’ or ‘y’” - and the storyline and back story are flexible enough that we’re able to incorporate ideas into it that we didn’t have originally.

Jason: yep and we almost lost a PM to a situation that we couldn’t have even dreamed up

B: Oh yes, that.

Jason: We had a tornado roll through my town and nearly drop a bus on my house, the bus landed on the top of the school about 100 yards from my house. Nobody would have believed that as an excuse to terminate the development of the game though.

B: I was dreading that post… “Well, folks our head PM was killed by a flying bus, so we are not being able to deploy the game…” Players would have been, “Yeah, right!”

RedHatty: now for a shameless plug from my end - come visit www.wiseoz.com, try the puzzles, play the games 7 visit my circle of interest - nutrition & remedies

C: Link: http://www.wiseoz.com/nutrition

The conversation continued off track after this with some talk about the New Orleans Saints half-time show, some discussions related to Sammeeeees, and a discussion about who all will be going to ARGfest in Boston this summer. Redhatty is planning on going as are a good many of the staff members for this game. We must warn players though that unless we’re at a specific event for the game to please treat any of the actors they may run across at ARGfest as actors and not as their characters – we’ll try to make any separation of the two as clear as possible.

Red, thank you very much for your time and curiosity. For our readers who read the blog in its entirety we hope you enjoyed our discussion and we hope you were able to become further acquainted with our staff.

p.s. We’re not as arrogant as some might believe when reading the text of the website the players have found. The attitude on that website is rather tongue in cheek, and their services are only available for in-game content

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Coming this week we’ll be sitting down with one of our audience members for a player interview of the staff here at Aporia Cross-Media Entertainment. We’re looking forward to it.

Another note for those playing OLP - if you haven’t noticed, the story revolves solely around player responses. The conclusion isn’t too far away though and we hope you enjoy the little diversion.

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