James Ingrahausen Reports: ARG World Rocked To the Core

CYBERSPACE -- The Alternate Reality Gaming world was hit with a bombshell of mountainous proportions this past week when it was revealed that community member Sin_Vraal has had a secret agenda since aligning himself with the various figureheads of the genre. Information from reputable sources was obtained by Guysguise.com this past week which outlines how Sin_Vraal is not simply a member of the ARG community, but instead, a corporate shill, interested primarily in advancing the projects in which he has, and continues to, work for.

The aftershock of this announcement has been swift and far-reaching. The team at A.R.G. Planet, headquartered in Italy, has been scrambling to get in touch with their contacts in Europe for possible international connections. Webmaster Bill Shaw at Deaddrop has expressed shock and dismay that he released any of Sin_Vraal's articles on his website. And Kevin Clarke at The JadedMedia eXperience has suspended Sin_Vraal's membership and is denying any connection between JMX and Vraal.

In the information Guysguise has obtained, several companies and ARG promotions, as well as mainstream productions, have admitted to using Sin_Vraal to promote their ventures. At press time, the list of these entities was still being assembled, but we can confirm that L3, JMX, and NoahBoddy are all using Sin_Vraal for nefarious purposes, while Lockjaw, Push, NV, and Majestic used his services while their gaming experiences were active. He has also been pushing Celebrity Mole: Hawaii in many message boards and chatrooms. Guysguise.com has hired a noted forensic puzzlemaster and ARGer to examine past ARGs such as the Beast and Publius Enigma for signs of Vraal tampering.

An unofficial poll in a Collective Detective chatroom shows that several people were "100% certain" that Sin_Vraal is a shill. Some chat participants went as far to say that Sin_Vraal could very well be a PuppetMaster for one or more of the upcoming ARG endeavors. Although this rumor is unsubstantiated, that isn't stopping some individuals of distributing it at the only message boards dedicated to ARG. This most recent rumor about Vraal comes about with his 'solve' of an L3 puzzle. Players of the up-and-coming ARG question his intelligence, and are asking for an explanation as to how he came up with the solution on his own.

As Guysguise.com gets more details about this bombshell, the site will be updated. for the time being, the confusion of the situation continues to ripple through the community.

by James Ingrahausen

This Is Not An Article About Chasing The Wish

CYBERSPACE -- If this was another article that was dedicated, but certainly not connected with, Chasing The Wish, don't you think it would mention something about a character? I mean, last week's picture of Bootsy Collins might have been considered a clue to how the game will begin, but we really can't see how. No, I think this is just another tongue-in-cheek article about an ARG we are all waiting patiently for.

But connections can be made between CTW and another successful ARG that is currently running, Chasing the Fish. As players of that ARG are painfully aware, the goal is to find the mysterious angelfish, and take it into captivity. While the task seems fairly simple at first, the angelfish is very elusive, and players find themselves finding more trout than anything. However, once a player finds the angelfish, the payoff is definitely worth the journey -- a one year subscription to the next pay-to-play ARG.

Will you be the player that finds the six-finned angelfish? Or are you going to be knee-deep in trout by the time someone else catches up to it? Only time will tell. And as we all await the Chasing The WISH journey, I guess this will have to satisfy our appetites.

by James Corgan