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By Lara Sinclair
news.com.au
April, 19 2010
* ABC mails out "rabbit hole" into game
* Mystery can only be solved online
* Online now "mature enough"
THE Australian Broadcasting Corporation has launched its first internet-only alternate reality drama.
Alternate reality games unfold gradually through a series of clues, the first of which came on Thursday in the form or an ABC mail-out which gave The Australian a "rabbit hole" into the game.
Those on the list received an employee security card for a young scientist named Kyle Vandercamp and a handwritten note on Bluebird company letterhead with the following message: "Hi, I need you to look after these for me. Who knows what's going to happen with Bluebird over the next little while . . . One thing I know is I can't let this bird fly -- I've got to get the word out. K."
Committed alternate reality gamers immediately tracked down Kyle's blog, Climatron, which has posts that go back to October 2009 and contains much discussion of contemporary climate science.
They also uncovered his accounts on Flickr, Digg and Twitter and posted on YouTube a video from the USB attached to the security card that deals with a mysterious "project Bluebird".
Spoilers were quickly posted on alternate reality gaming sites.
Sam Doust, creative director of ABC Innovation, which has spent an estimated $200,000 over the past year to create the drama, says the idea for the project stemmed from a desire to explore ways of telling dramatic stories online.
"Like there was literature, radio and cinema, now online is mature enough to tell stories," Mr Doust said.
Although highly engaged participants will be able to decode clues found on various websites and social networks, those who want to follow the story at a more relaxed pace will be able to check into one or more of the seven or so purpose-built websites that will be unveiled to tell the story.
Bluebird AR was expected to appeal to 18- to 39-year-olds.
Mar Doust said deciding where to draw the line between real-world facts and the alternate reality storyline of the drama has been a work in process.
"At the start we thought we want to be (like) War of the Worlds," he says.
Many people thought the fictional 1938 US radio broadcast about a Martian invasion was real, creating panic and outrage.
"But you would get a lot of irate people," Mr Doust said.
"The ABC wasn't prepared to go that far (and not disclaim it).
"Then the internet community is so savvy that if you try to pull the wool over their eyes, it's a complete turn-off.
"You try not to break the fourth wall (the suspension of disbelief) ... but on every website, it is legally disclaimed."
Read more about Project Bluebird at The Australian
http://www.news.com.au/technology/project-bluebird-lures-abc-alternate-reality-fans-into-online-world-for-first-time/story-e6frfro0-1225855284763
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