Pitching The Barlow Enquiry to a panel was an exciting experience as it allowed us to receive information from people who have the knowledge and the experience of planning and executing a transmedia story. We explained the various aspects of our project, from the core characters such as Williams James Barlow and Attcius Barlow. We explained how we would use Atticus as a catalyst to engage an audience, showcasing our intended use of his blog and various social media platforms. We also highlighted the crux of our ARG and how we will involve a real world audience to help solve our mystery.
The feedback we received was helpful as the panel had a greater sense of scope and capabilities for this type of ARG. These are a few of the main points we received from the panel.
We were advised to create multiple other fictional, modern characters or use ringers to stoke the flames of audience connection and curiosity.
Focus on the bridge between 1901 and 2016. There is a 115 year time gap and many things could happen during this time. This could be another party who had previously researched The Right Hand Man during the interim which could lead to exsisting research for Atticus and the real world players to find.
Attention to detail is necessary for the real world discoverables
Do not talk down to the audience as we need to let them drive the narrative so they can feel fully engaged. If we are spoon feeding them information, they will not have the drive to investigate but if we provide a small amount of clues, there will be a lack of entry points.
The direction we aim to take with Project Brief 4 is to create an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) around the mysterious identity of a long dead (fictional) serial killer named ‘The Dead Ringer’ who was active in the year 1901. Named for the way the his victims were found, the killer murdered five people and was never brought to justice, yet a few suspects were believed to have been ‘The Right Hand Man’ and our main character Atticus Barlow will provide the clues for the game as he begins investigating in the year 2016.
Based around the personal journey of Atticus Barlow, The Barlow Enquiry will allow players to follow the journey through his blog and socialmedia platforms as he researches the events of 1901 surrounding the five deaths of prominent social figures in early 20th Century Melbourne. The character of Atticus Barlow will be the audience’s connection point to the story as he details his progress through the case and his personal life. The central focus of the project will be the creation of an in depth and three-dimensional person in Atticus Barlow as this will help the audience connect to the game. Allowing the players to have insight into Atticus’ emotional journey will provide a way for them to invest in the game. After the death of his grandfather, Atticus has retreated away from the outside world and began researching his family tree until he came across his great-great grandfather, William James Barlow, who died under mysterious circumstances in 1901. When Atticus makes the connection to the infamous serial killer, he tries to get the public to help solve the mystery to gain peace and acceptance of his current situation, if he achieve this he can find the confidence to move on.
Another entry point will be the mystery of who is ‘The Right Hand Man’ a serial killer who murdered five people in the year 1901 but was never caught. Players will have clues laid out for them over the course of a few weeks through Atticus Barlow’s blog. As he discovers them he will post the information for the followers to help them piece together the mysterious identity.
To further the ARG elements of the game, we will create another fictional user of the blog who will also have a vested yet unknown interest in the cold case. They will comment on Atticus’ blog, adding further evidence from their own investigations and will be the catalyst for the real world component of the investigation. They will have some documents that will aid the audience’s investigation but remain anonymous, providing clues to lead players to a location in real life.
My role in the group will be to manage Atticus Barlow’s blog and social media accounts, creating a real persona. To do this I will not only focus on the case but build up his social life, posting pictures on Instagram and tweeting about how he is feeling about the break up and the case. I will also manage the calculated release of information to provide enough clues for players to mull over, riding the line between too little information that they lose interest and too much that they solve the case too early.
My group for this project are really dedicated to creating a fully immersive and well put together experience and we are all clear on and are comfortable in our roles and we are excited for The Barlow Experience to take shape.
After watching Starting From… Now!, High Maintenance and The Guild, the draw of creating a web series over traditional television, especially when working with a budget constraint, became clear. The episodes can be as long or as short as needs be. High Maintenance is now being developed for HBO and this has come after using six seasons of content to prove there is a market and a strong creative team behind the project for HBO to invest in. I have watched a few web series but my favourite is Jake and Amir. Released on College Humor’s YouTube channel weekly over eight years with videos ranging from 2-5 minutes in length. As a comedy show, a large fan base grew and latched onto running jokes and references as the show cultivated a niche slice of popularity on the web. Being a web series allowed for the creators to write and shoot the show without any studio interference and dictate when they wanted to end the series. Having a show based on the internet led to utilisation of transmedia properties to create jokes stemming from the episodes, such as the creation of the website onealmond.com based on the core conceit of the episode “One Almond”.
Web series storytelling is a more personal experience for smaller audiences to connect with and unlike television programs which reach and involve a large audiences diluting the experience, web series connect with their audiences by existing on a platform they share with the people watching.
