Illustration by Sean McCabe Unlocking your favorite show's hidden story line.
For the ordinary couch potato, "Godsend" was just another episode of the TV series Heroes. But for vigilant viewers, the three-second glimpse of a business card from shadowy Primatech Paper was an invitation to step into the show's universe. If you called the 800 number on the card, you quickly found yourself headed down the rabbit hole of Heroes' first alternate reality game. Those who made it through learned a secret about a key character in the show.
Alternate reality games, or ARGs, play out like elaborate scavenger hunts. Participants solve mysteries by following a series of puzzle-laden clues, bouncing from Web sites to email to SMS to phone lines to the analog world. Until now, the games have been a staple of marketing campaigns looking for geek cred (the first one was run in 2001 to promote the movie AI). But as ARGs have gained in popularity — the ilovebees campaign for Halo 2 attracted nearly 2 million players — TV and web serials have adopted them to amp up diehard fans with backstory extras.
"There's a rich opportunity to follow story lines you wouldn't otherwise be able to," says Joe DiNunzio, CEO of 42 Entertainment, which ran the ARGs for AI, Halo 2, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (and may be running a game on this very page). "There's no question in my mind you're going to see more of that."
Inside 3 Alternate Reality Games
Heroes 360
An automated answering service directed viewers who called Primatech to apply for a job. Applicants received emails from other employees that, along with text messages, sent them to Web-based puzzles. Once solved, these revealed background details about Mr. Benett's decision to turn against his employer.
LonelyGirl15
Viewers of the online series are asked directly by the show's characters to aid in puzzle-based tasks. (They can also pick up on subtler clues within each episode.) Players who assist the cast are acknowledged on the show; those who publicly reveal clues and answers sometimes end up aiding the show's villains.
The Lost Experience
During the final episodes of season two, Lost creators ran ads for the Hanso Foundation. Viewers who called the onscreen number were routed to a Web site to find a possible Hanso conspiracy. Those who solved the puzzle learned the origin of the Dharma Initiative and other secrets (no, we're not going to reveal them).
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