It struck me yesterday…

by Flynn J Taggart, Wednesday, February 13, 2013, 03:42 (4326 days ago) @ Ragashingo

The cell phone "axon" mechanic was only a part of the experience and could be replicated in other, more modern ways now, assuming the desire/money was there to design a new ARG around it. Many of the axon phone hunters from back in the day actually had cell phones they used to keep in touch with folks who were sitting at their computers and could relay information (like passwords for example) later on in the game. The main difference between now and then is mostly like you said; less payphones, but more importantly, more internet-capable smartphones. An "i love bees 2" could be made that partially used the few existing payphones, but you could expand it now to participating retail stores/malls, or anyplace with a wireless hotspot (whether they were actively participating or not).

The original experience could be improved upon, it's just a matter of if anyone with the same level of cash will want to invest in it again.