If you're the kind who sees a conspiracy behind every rock, EA.com has the game for you. UFO chasers and grassy-knoll types alike will swoon for Majestic, a "persistent world" game due out next month. Wired News got an early look at Majestic during a private media briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles last week.
You don't play Majestic, as the folks at EA.com are fond of saying, it plays you. The game is an online-only affair, distributed via download from EA.com. Much like a television show, Majestic is planned in "seasons." The first season contains nine monthly episodes. As with most addictive experiences, the first episode is free. Thereafter, subscribers will pay $9.99 per month to support their Majestic habit.
The game begins with some very strange goings-on at a high-tech firm. In what is possibly the most innovative story-telling concept to date, the game unfolds little-by-little. The player receives fragmentary information via phone, fax, instant message, e-mail, Web page, PDA, and cell phone. Viewing realistic newscasts and eavesdropping on webcam conversations are also part of the Majestic experience. As the lead character embroiled in a deepening mystery, you'll need to uncover clues, solve puzzles, and search for answers.
"Majestic offers the opportunity to explore storytelling in a completely new and different way," according to Neil Young, vice president at EA. "It uses common, everyday devices that are connected to the Internet through which to tell its story."
The game's incredible creep-you-out factor lies in its pacing -- and in your lack of control. If a character tells you he'll call you tomorrow, he's not kidding. You'll have to wait a day to get his information. Faxes may arrive without warning, and instant messages may pop up onscreen when you least expect them -- maybe even while you're at work. You might answer your phone only to be greeted by a frantic woman whose call is suddenly disconnected. Unlike every other game you can think of, Majestic doesn't wait for you to decide when it's time to play.
Hundreds of websites devoted to advancing the Majestic story line have been registered by EA.com. Players will use these to hunt for clues and root out important information. Further blurring the line between game and reality, players will find links to genuine websites embedded within Majestic's fictitious ones. Realistic-looking news sites will carry actual updated stories, with Majestic-related material interspersed.
If you stumble down a blind alley, don't worry. Majestic will sense when players need help finding clues. It will also contact subscribers who haven't been around to play for a while. There should be plenty of human help available as well. EA.com anticipates the evolution of a thriving online community of Majestic users who will support one another with hints and advice.
Enabled in large part by the 1999 partnership between Electronic Arts and America Online, Majestic takes advantage of AOL's popular Instant Messenger. No AOL account, however, is needed in order to play Majestic.
