06.27.08
Posted in Update at 7:40 pm by SpaceBass
We are pleased to announce that a generous friend of ARGFest-o-Con has stepped up to not only Sponsor the entire planned ARGFest-o-Con line-up of events, but also to host a screening of the premiere of the upcoming movie, The Dark Knight (which may be of some interest to some of you Harvey Dent and Joker fans out there). Our kind patron is none other than:
PUPPETMASTER
Please remember to thank them when you spot their representatives at the Conference in Boston! And thanks to everyone else who expressed an interest in Sponsoring panels or events. While these have been provided for by 42 Entertainment, Lurker sponsorships are still available and will help kick-start our funding drive for next year’s ARGFest-o-Con.
The Dark Knight Screening
The group screening of The Dark Knight premiere is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. on Friday, July 18th. Once you’ve registered for the Conference and received your Confirmation Code showing your payment has been received, head over to the Survey page to sign up for the show. Tickets will be provided by 42 Entertainment but seating is limited to 75 persons, on a first come, first serve basis.
Logo Design Contest
Got l33t design skillz? Check out our logo contest, upload your best shot to Flickr or to the Wiki, and gain a chance to win a free T-shirt with your design on it, if yours is selected by our secret panel of judges, consisting of a dartboard, some scraps of paper, and a broken beer bottle. Okay, it’s more of a judging system. And it works! Deadline for entries is July 5th.
Schedule Updates
We’ve updated the Schedule to narrow down the times a bit so you have a chance to plan your weekend. We’ll be adding more detailed descriptions of the panels and presentations in the near future.
Speaker Updates
The panels and presentations have been rounded out and we’ve got a great group of Speakers coming to Boston to share their knowledge and experience with the collective.
In the morning, we’ll hear about ARGs and Extended Media Experiences from Evan Jones, Lance Weiler, Yomi Ayeni, Blair Erickson, and Elan Lee and about Serious and Independent Games from Ken Eklund, Alice Leung, Dave Szulborski, and Brian Clark. Susan Bonds and Alex Lieu from 42 Entertainment will showcase Year Zero, and discuss ARGs and the Future of Entertainment.
We hope to have a representative from the City of Boston on board for a discussion about Live Events with Jane McGonigal, Catherine Herdlick, and Greg Trefry and we’ll hear about the expansion of Alternate Reality Gaming into the international arena from Patrick Moeller, Alexander Serrano, and Geneviève Cardin.
ARGFest fans requested a panel on how to make the jump from Player to Puppetmaster, which will be ably staffed by Michelle Senderhauf, Andrea Phillips, Steve Peters, Lindsay Mills, Jan Libby, and Jonathan Waite. Now, how much would you pay?
But wait, there’s more! What if we told you Dave Szulborski had graciously agreed to deliver our Keynote address? You’d be crazy not to register now!
And that’s not all! We’ve asked Elan Lee of Fourth Wall Studios to attempt a brand new role for us this year: Grand Inquisitor. We’ll just let you stew for a bit about what that might mean and ponder ourselves whether or not such a special role might require a great big fancy hat.
In Conclusion
Did we mention the signup page? Because you should check that out.
Permalink
06.18.08
Posted in Update at 2:11 pm by Giskard
Just a quick reminder to let you know that the deadline for booking a hotel room at the Boston Radisson at the reduced ARGFest rate of $189 per night is June 26th. We’ve managed to extended the number of rooms available at this reduced rate, so there are still plenty of rooms left, but remember to book before June 26th!
Head over to the Booking page right now for more information!
Permalink
06.01.08
Posted in Update at 1:06 am by Giskard
In the past weeks, we’ve been working hard on all the different elements on the ARGFest schedule. We are on the brink of being able to announce the awesome lineup of speakers and panelists we have in store for you for Saturday’s conference - we’re working on confirming the last few as we speak, but the current list is already impressive!
Since it’s only a little over 40 days until july the 18th, we’re now opening up registration for ARGFest-o-con 2008! Registering is easy, go to the Registration Form, fill it in and click proceed (See Registration Page for details). Conference attendance is subject to a registration fee of $25 and attendance at the optional Friday night cocktail party requires an additional surcharge of $15 (this will cover all food being served during the cocktail party).
We look forward to seeing you at ARGFest!
If you are making use of our special offer for reduced rates at the conference hotel (the Boston Radisson), please make sure you also fill out the hotel survey!
Permalink
03.11.08
Posted in Update at 2:51 pm by Giskard
Currently, the ARGFest planning committee is working on a ton of stuff we hope to be announcing in the near(ish) future. Naturally, getting a conference schedule together is a big part of our efforts. We have a lot of good leads and hope to be presenting you with the awesomest lineup of speakers in the history of ARGFest!
We already have the following confirmed speakers for ARGFest Boston lined up:
- Dave Szulborski, who we know from, among other things, Chasing/Catching the Wish fame and Audi’s ARG Art of the Heist. More recently, he has been working on applying ARG-mechanics to train the military.
- Ken Eklund aka Writerguy, whose innovative production World Without Oil just won a Web Award at SXSW.
- The lovely Jane McGonigal, who, in 2005, spoke at the first conference portion of ARGFest-o-Con and is continuing her tradition of being a panelist for ARGFest into 2008. She is currently McSweeping the McWorld with her latest game, Find the Lost Ring.
- Apart from the three mentioned above (who were already announced during episode 50 of the ARGNetcast), we can now also confirm that Frank Lantz and Greg Trefry from area/code will be speaking at ARGFest! The folks at area/code have been doing awesome stuff in the field of cross-media entertainment, pervasive gaming and urban gaming and we consider them an inspiring addition to the ARGFest panels!
These speakers already make for a really promising conference, and they are just the beginning! You will hear more on the conference schedule soon.
Besides the conference, we’re also working hard on making ARGFest as fun and entertaining an experience we can. On Friday evening, we’re kicking off with an ultra-cool Meet & Greet Cocktail Party which you will soon hear more of, and for Sunday we have put together a four-track program of suggestions on where to go and what to do when you have a day to spend in Boston. This way, we hope to offer something for everyone!
Permalink
03.03.08
Posted in Update at 12:39 pm by xnbomb
One of the nice things about the ARGing community is its ability to recognize a challenge, then self-organize and respond to it. In that vein, consider the following example: There has been some concern about the possibility of an insufficient level of awesomeness at ARGFest 08. I know, I know … that sounds incredibly far-fetched. But nonetheless, some feel that we need to be prepared to defend, nay, to preserve the awesomeness of ARGFest.
With that in mind, consider The Society for the Preservation of Awesomeness at ARGFest 08. Who are these shadowy figures who will preserve all that is awesome in this ARGFest, and perhaps ARGFests to come? That’s for you to find out. If this sounds like an issue that matters to you, follow the link and learn more. And perhaps become one of the few, the proud, the keepers of the awesome; the last line of defence.
Permalink
03.02.08
Posted in Infotainment, Update at 8:21 pm by SpaceBass
Well everything went off today with the ARGNetcast totally without any sort of hitch whatsoever. Hooray for technology! Just ignore that bit about “technical issues;” if you weren’t there live, it never happened. And it wasn’t a trap either, we swear.
Okay, so the Netcast didn’t work out exactly perfectly, but we’re still confident that it will be posted anyway, and likely in short order, like hashbrowns on a Waffle House griddle (which, sadly, don’t exist in Boston). Both smothered and covered during our chat were a few of the people who have so far agreed to speak at this year’s ARGFest, and some of the details about the upcoming venue. We hope that you find all of this as exciting to listen to as we did making it, although that might be asking a lot.
In the meantime, we’ve added some basic information to this site for you to peruse, including a skeleton weekend schedule (enticing!), a zombie hotel booking page to hypnotize you into staying at the venue (oooo shiny!), and a scary mummy hotel tracking survey because tests are…scary! Wow, that seemed funnier before we typed it. We’ll do better next time. We almost promise.
Permalink
02.27.08
Posted in Infotainment, Update at 8:26 am by SpaceBass
Things are heating up at ARGFest HQ! ARGFest-o-Con 2008 is scheduled to take place the weekend of July 18 to 20 in Boston, Massachusetts. But you probably figured that out already from the header at the top of the page. We’d tell you more right now but instead we’ve been invited to announce the venue and other early information at a live, town-hall style recording of ARGNetcast Episode 50. ARGFest planners will be on hand to answer your questions (if possible), so if you have or can install Skype by then, join us!
Never fear, however. This site will keep you updated on planning progress as well as registration and booking information. Add us to your RSS reader or keep checking back get the latest down low on the party in beantown.
Meanwhile, we have also begun inviting prospective speakers for this year’s conference. Got someone in mind you’d like to see there? Help us out by offering your last minute suggestions in this thread at Unfiction.
Permalink
02.25.08
Posted in Welcome at 7:23 pm by SpaceBass
This site is hosted by Unfiction and maintained by the users, moderators, and admins of the Unfiction forums. Join us, and together we will rule the galaxy.
Or something.
There’s also a handy wiki!
Permalink
