Playing the Lost alternate reality game, continued. This time I'm focusing on the Hanso Foundation website. If this is an indication, Web 2.0 storytelling is often grounded in dynamic web sites. At one extreme, such narratives can be seen as applying Web 2.0 methods (microcontent, constant change) to Web 1.0-ish sites (think ILoveBees).
The Hanso site has changed in several small but significant ways. Each of those changes constitutes a development of the story. "How do you play an ARG?" Answer: check for and track the changes, and reflect on them. (What's Gregory Bateson's definition of information, any difference that makes a difference?)
So looking into the executive bios sections (thanks, Kellie), we notice that one has been altered. Founder Alvar Hanso's entry appears to be defaced:
The site's corporate soundtrack changes to a grim, industrial, minor-key muttering. Notice that the image has been scribbled on, and that some of the bio text is faded or whited out. Notice, too, that the image caption's date has become underlined in good old hyperlink blue, which, clicked, leads to a series of pages, beginning with:
This is clickable, too, taking us to a series of new pages, using the Earth as seen from space for background. Persephone uses the previously-seen maze motif to sketch out Hanso's last half-dozen public appearances, then wonders aloud what happened to the guy, and who's running the Foundation?
The Newsletter section changes to say there is no change. The page is also a bit faded. Signing in using the old password brings up grim music, a still-further-faded page, and a string of text lines from Persephone explaining that there's no news.
What does this do for the storyline? Like watching a character drive across LA for an episode of 24, or waiting for Jonathan Harker's latest news in Dracula, it reminds us of the extension of a plot element in time. We infer and so construct some tension - and are impelled to poke around the rest of the materials.
Not much news elsewhere on the site. I can't get into the VIK program - the site claims the connection times out. The Joop corner is also faded. The maze-loop part remains the same (although I didn't catch the "Hanso Foundation, setting speed records for subverting authority" tag before).
Further note: I'm reminded of the lost executive plot from the excellent Matrix game.
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