sign of the apocalypse #4462

camouflage bibles

death by serenade

on wednesday of last week, i ran an alternate reality game (ARG) for the Summer Institute at Wallenberg Hall's workshop on Using Videogames in Education. i based it loosely on Cruel2BKind and tailored it to my needs; i broke the 17 participants into teams, sent them out in the main quad, and then texted them with a secret weapon (serenade, compliment, wild laughter, poem) and an immunity. to add to the confusion, i brought in 6 more guests and briefed them separately. this made the whole experience much more fun because it meant that anyone in the quad might be part of the game.

after that, it was up to them to go out and attack and absorb other teams. i played puppet master by sending a few changes in weapon and immunity about halfway into it, and i gave two teams the option to choose a new weapon. several strategies were used; a few teams boldly attacked, some snuck around, and the ultimate winners laid low until they spotted the massive army of 17 attackers that was the result of all previous battles. i got some satisfaction from seeing the team that cheated (by sneaking into the control room when i wasn't looking and spying on the status board) go down in flames.

everyone had a good time and the ensuing discussion centered around how to use elements of ARG for learning. i definitely plan to do this again next year, if not sooner!