4D Fiction

[Video] On March 20, 2012, ByoLogyc Inc held an exclusive 20th anniversary party at the Ingram Gallery in Toronto. See the video coverage inside of this ZED Toronto event, including a live opera performance and cutting edge biotechnological pharmaceutical products.

Chet Getram: “At ByoLogyc, you’ll not only be investing in one of the most profitable, forward-thinking biotech and lifestyle enhancement laboratories available, you’ll be helping humanity fulfill its deepest desires, and unlock its hidden destiny.”

The decision has been made. Come 2012, the ever-awesome ARGFest-O-Con will be finding its place, once again, north of the border – to be hosted in Toronto, Ontario!

Fourth and final interview in the Halo Tales grassroots storytelling series — A Fistful of Arrows, with Levi Hoffmeier. Levi shares his process for creation of the comic, and his passion for art, and of course for Halo.

Article number three in a Halo series focused on grassroots and fanfic storytellers is a Q&A with Jared Pelletier, the creator of the Halo film “Faith”, plus the official trailer.

Article number two in a series focused on grassroots and fanfic storytellers. In this article we hear from Mike Morgan, aka Dagoonite, a fan who executed the narrative-heavy ARG “Bzzt!”, all by himself.

First article in a series focused on grassroots and fanfic storytellers. In this article we hear from writer/director Peter Cooper, who is undertaking the creation of the Halo inspired live action film Operation Chastity.

Introduction to a series on the Halo universe and its thriving environment of fan and grassroots storytellers. Articles to follow are interviews with community members and Halo fans who have overseen the creation and execution of various Halo-themed story projects.

Who would have thought, so many years ago, that a community of gamers and storytellers, hobbyists and professionals, players and creators, would come together from around the world so often and so enthusiastically, to create an event as enjoyable, entertaining, and educational as ARGFest? Here’s my recap of the amazing time that was had and people who were in attendance at this year’s ARGFest.

This year’s ARGFest-o-con ARG Museum will be officially curated by 4D Fiction. Displaying artifacts from numerous campaigns along with other ARG-related items, this year it will also sport a bonus trivia competition. For those attending ARGFest, please also heed this call for submissions — The more we can display, the better it will be!

A look back at a point in my childhood that began my love for creative, interactive storytelling. How a period of playing imaginative, paper-based adventures with my best friend – hand-drawn mazes and maps we made for each other to explore and from which to escape – paved the way to what I’ve come today to know as ‘alternate reality gaming’.

Lost Zombies is a project conceived and executed by Skot Leach, which began with the goal of producing a community-generated film, a crowd-sourced zombie documentary, but ended up being quite a different beast. In the following case study, Skot highlights many key milestones in the project, lessons learned along the way, and how much it actually changed from the initial concept.

From “rabbithole” to “bobblehead”, here’s a sample construction of an experience through a full blown transmedia production, composed of multiple products and campaigns, numerous entry points and levels of engagement, and many platforms of delivery. Of course, in no way is this a complete or definitive experience, but only an example among endless possibilities. Presented without labels or buzzwords, this is one possible engagement, from beginning to …end?

Back in “the day” (mere years ago), there were these things called “ARGs”. I remember them: amazing experiences that involved their audience, told stories, had puzzles and games that were fun and made sense in their contexts. Now what was once just a single story told across multiple platforms has evolved into “transmedia”

Building the world in which an alternate reality game or transmedia experience can play out successfully is like planning and directing a single-shot film. What we can learn from the single shot film “Russian Ark” and apply to ARGs and transmedia experiences.