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Butterfly Crush and the Dreamguides Alternate Reality Game
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Game Overview In contrast to a graphics based game housed at a web site, our innovative approach to game playing on the net is a little like the approach of street theatre to the city environment. Butterfly Crush and the Dreamguides is based on the novel, Dance Sisters, by Alan Clay about a female song and dance duo who overcome adversity and a Kings Cross cyber sex cult, to win a song competition. This has been adapted into a film script will be shot in 2009 and the online game will tell the backstory to the film. Audience Game Development The game has three components: the singing duo, Butterfly Crush, and their fan base, an online cult into virtual dreaming, the Dreamguides, (see the podcast below) and a group of disaffected cult members. We are currently developing the on-line components of the game. We are shooting a series of
videos/podcasts. The first videos will develop into performance footage
and music videos, as their success and online fan base grows. The first podcasts from the cult leader have been uploaded to Youtube and the cult network has been set up at www.dreamguides.net . This will provide a second entry point to the game, where people can "join our happy family." Cults traditionally have developed a group of disaffected cult members, who have fallen out with the group's philosophy and the Dreamguides group is no exception. They run a site at www.cybersexcult.com, "the watchdogs of the cyber sex industry." This will provide the third entry point to the game, "help us investigate the Dreamguides cult." In this phase of the game participants investigate the shady side of the cult's activities, following guidance posted on the site. Game Deployment The key to game deployment will be Pearl's threat to leave the duo as she becomes involved in the cult. This will motivate Moana to call for support from her fan base to "help save Pearl from the Dream Guides cult." This provides the initial entry point and the impulse to join the game. Game participants follow a trail of clues as they ‘help Moana
save Pearl from the cult’, and as part of this process they will get
text messages and emails from the cult. Participants
uncover irregularities in the cults presentation of its work and the virtual
dreaming practices. This is guided by Facebook posts and txt messages from
Moana and by postings on the Butterfly Crush web site.
As part of this they discover at www.virtualdreaming.org a research organisation dedicated to the promotion of this revolutionary technology. In this process they also discover the watchdog site, www.cybersexcult.com, and become involved in the "disaffected cult members' protests." The watchdogs have also created a site at www.dreamguides.info to warn prospective cult members, and the cult has started www.cybersecxult.info spreading disinformation about the watchdog site. This is designed to encourage game participants to look a little closer at some of the stuff they find on the net. The three strands of the game will come together in online forums hosted by the cult. Cross Media The book, Dance Sisters, is available in Print On Demand, and we will be releasing an e-Book edition of the novel, prior to the film’s release, which will be given away as a promotional tool. An album of music from Butterfly Crush will be released with the film and individual tracks will be available for download in the lead up to the game being deployed. The music downloads, video podcasts, and e-Book give away will create a viral marketing opportunity for the online game, as people forward these to one another. |
Production Schedule
- ARG
Game Development
| 2008 | |
| Oct | FaceBook pages
created for Moana and Pearl Costume design for Moana and Pearl and Cult Leader Set design for cult podcast Butterfly Crush podcasts shot |
| November | Butterfly Crush podcasts uploaded to YouTube |
| November | Virtualdreaming.org site uploaded to promote cult Early Butterfly Crush performance videos uploaded to YouTube |
| November | First cult podcasts uploaded to YouTube dreamguides.net social network created and uploaded Podcasts on “Butterfly Crush, up close and personal” uploaded to YouTube |
| December | Wikipedia entries for virtual dreaming created Ongoing cult podcasts uploaded to YouTube News items on the Butterfly Crush uploaded to YouTube www.butterflycrush.net social network created and uploaded to develop fan base Cult recruitment podcasts uploaded to YouTube |
2009
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| February | www.cybersexcult.com created to challenge cult Ongoing cult recruitment podcasts uploaded to YouTube Butterfly Crush performance videos at pubs uploaded to YouTube |
| March |
www.cybersexcult.info created by cult to misinform disenchanted cult members |
| April |
Employ game moderator |
| May | Screening of high definition podcasts in the market at the Cannes Film Festival
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| June - December | Ongoing
moderation of game: responding to emails and text messages from participants Ongoing cult podcasts which will be responsive to impulses from game participants Ongoing calls from Moana for help to rescue Pearl |
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last updated 14 November 2008
