Anyone looking through H3's ARG for nostalgia's sake?*IMG*

'Cause I sure is.

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No I don't seriously think it's Destiny-related, but it made me smile. What with this new Destiny ARG, I decided to flip through the old Iris materials for old time's sake, and came across this.

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Looks like a Sun to me.

The sphere'd object that is used in Destiny that is hovering over Earth is a lot smaller.

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It's definitely the sun. As I said, I don't think it's Destiny related. Just saying it was similar enough to bring a smile to my face.

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To be honest I'm not. I don't really remember much of it. I was ready and expecting another ilovebees sized ARG and Iris, for me at least, didn't live up to it. Iris was the one with the starmap showing the stars blinking out as the Forerunner fought the flood by premature stellar implosion, yes?

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Personally it's making me want to listen to the I Love Bees story instead.

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… that nobody can ever do anything quite like ilovebees ever again. Because the rise of the cellphone and the decline of the payphone. Made me a bit sad even though I was never closer than 100 mies from the nearest phone. :(

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...the closest we could get today is using an app specifically made for the ARG and having to go to co-ordinates, but that takes a lot of the magic out of it. Though they could involve more fans that way, like you not a single pay phone for ilovebees rang in my state.

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we have Jane McGonigal to thank for ilovebees.

...at least you can play SuperBetter ;_;

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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.

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The problem I see with doing something similar is that the infrastructure was already in place for ilovebees. Anything now a days would have to be something that was purposely distributed for the game. Getting everyone to download an app, or setting up voip phones at McDonalds hotspots just doesn't have the same cool factor as tracking down repurposed phones that existed for years or decades before the game was conceived of.

Could a great ARG be done with having people gather at a place to do a thing? Sure! But ilovebees will forever be unique because the world doesn't operate like it used to.

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Your suggestion is similar to what Google has done with the Ingress ARG.

They've very effectively interlaced the actual Ingress game, which is an Android app, with the ARG that runs from nianticproject.com. There have been multiple dead-drops that pop-up all over the world, and then the game itself kind of forces you and your teammates/enemies to gather in the same locations to capture different areas on the map.

It's incredibly well-done, and seems like they learned a lot from ILB while designing all of the game and ARG mechanics.

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ilovebees will forever be unique because the world doesn't operate like it used to.

That's pretty much it. It was a unique experience, and was also original for its time. Nothing will ever be able to match the experience of ilovebees. Anything that follows will have to proudly find its own way, beyond connecting to the narrative itself. It's unfortunate, but it's also one of ways that's makes me incredibly happy to have been a part of ILB, and that it was ultimately what got me into ARGs :)

Heck, even the ARG world itself has undergone so many changes that nothing these days really is the same as anything years ago... if only because they're more visible today, there are more legal concerns for the creators, there's a LOT of hype around anything being given the label "ARG" - even if it's not an ARG. Really, look at anything "mysterious" happening with Halo for instance; instantly an ARG, or people reminiscing about ilovebees (with Iris pulling a close 2nd :P)

Those were the days. But they are gone... Whatever happens now may still be adventurous and exciting, but it won't be no ilovebees! *sigh*

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Anyone looking through H3's ARG for nostalgia's sake?IMG