MeiGeist ARG
"I really wanted a chance to work side by side with technologists. The outcome was great, I was inspired by their application of forward-looking ideas into actual technology. They seemed to welcome my input of creative ideas from an outsider's viewpoint" Hazel Grian, Licorice Films
An ARG is an interactive narrative that uses multiple media and game elements (blogs, text messages, email, live events etc), to unravel a story over a set period of time, like a treasure hunt, which players must engage in and share information to get to the end.
ARGs have intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real-time and evolves according to participants' responses, using characters that are actively controlled by the game's designers. Players interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and often work together with a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life and online activities.
In 2007, Watershed and Arts Council, England awarded writer, director and comedian Hazel Grian a £10,000 research placement at HP Labs, the result was Alternate Reality Game Meigeist. Blending fiction with reality, 30,000 people around the world took part in the game, referring to it as ‘the funniest game of all time!” and “the ARG event of the year!’
The first publicly funded ARG, Meigiest was nominated for a Media Innovation Award in 2008 and profiled in Creative Britain, the Government’s white paper on the Creative Industries.
Since completing the placement Hazel has worked as story and script writer for KateModern the successful interactive drama hosted by Bebo, and as a writer and consultant for the British Red Cross HIV Awareness campaign. Hazel is now based in Watershed and HP Labs’ Pervasive Media Studio in central Bristol, developing a large scale GPS Mediascape with
Alternate Reality Game elements called The Sky Remains to be launched mid April 2008.
