The Lost Experience
So what exactly is the LOST Experience? It's a game. And interactive alternate reality game that started this past Wednesday when they ran a Hanso Foundation TV ad during a real commercial break. A game that I knew nothing about. I guess I was so busy analyzing each show that I missed the announcement of the game. Damn! Damn! Damn! I'm always late to the table! At least I did jump in fairly early. The story line of the game will stay true to the show, but will go more in depth and introduce some new characters...one being Persephone, who seems intent on taking down Hanso from the inside and exposing the company for what it really is. There is no prize for solving the game, but the writers have promised that players will learn extra deep dark secrets of the island.
I posted an earlier link to The Lost Experience. This is a supplemental website that coincides with the game. It is not an official ABC sanctioned website, but I do believe it is run by The Tail Section, which I have found very informative and reliable. I don't foresee them posting false information.
In the E! Online article that I will post below, they say that anyone can play the game, even if you have never seen the show. The information given will be different on each continent, so the key to solving the mystery will be to share info with each other. Feel free to ask or share via this blog, or visit my MySpace page.
Here's a little something to get you started:
- The U.S. phone number for the Hanso Foundation is 1-877-HANSORG (426-7674)
- When you call, click through the various options. You should hear the hidden message from Persephone and it will provide you with the password you need for the Hanso website.
- For those who don't have the time or patience, the password is: breaking strain.
- Sign up for e-mail on the Hanso site and you'll see what happens.
- Once you have entered the password, you will be able to search for Easter Eggs.
- Happy Hunting!
Here's the E! article:
ABC Gives Fans a "Lost Experience"
by Natalie Finn
Apr 24, 2006, 6:20 PM PT
ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns. The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure-hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost's signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.
The Lost Experience will require players to trade email messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and Websites to gather all the necessary clues.
The game's premise will be rooted in Lost history, but ABC said that you don't need to have watched the show to get in on the game, which will feature new characters and delve deeper into the manipulative Hanso Foundation that was introduced in season two as the benefactor of the button-pushing Dharma Initiative. (Well, watching a few episodes beforehand couldn't hurt...)
There is no grand prize for those who manage to piece the puzzle together, but ABC promises that those who play will end up learning some of the island's better-kept secrets.
"Cutting edge technology has vaulted us into a new era," ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said in a statement. "Audiences are demanding greater depth of content and more creative ways of storytelling."
In a savvy stroke of synergy, the game's first clue, in the form of a toll-free number that you must call, will air during a May 3 Lost episode. The first clues for Others in the U.K. and Australia are being released May 2 and May 6, respectively.
One of the most exciting parts of the Lost Experience will be the interaction it fosters among people all over the world, according to Michael Benson, a senior VP at ABC. He said that Lost's writers, not ABC marketers, were responsible for plotting the game's course. More than 20 broadcastes on five continents will air the series of clues in different ways and ABC would like to see fans reaching out to each other to stay up to date on the latest Lost Experience info.
"We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way," Lost writer and executive producer Carlton Cuse told the New York Times, "and there were certain stories that Damon [Lindeloff] and I were interested in telling that don't exactly fit into the television show."
Luckily the worry that something might not fit hasn't stopped them from adding a host of complicated back stories, symbolism and numerical puzzles to the show for fans to writhe in exhilarated anticipation over.
"We purposely design the show with a big amount of ambiguity so people can theorize about what a certain scene means," Cuse said. "This allows the fans to participate in the process of discovery."
Cuse also offered viewers a tip for starting the Lost Experience off on the right foot:
"Watch the May 3 episode very carefully. You can TiVo it, but don't skip the commercials.
"You have to give the audience something to connect to," Benson told the New York Times. "I want to prove to the audience that this is something they will enjoy, that is organic to the show. I don't want the audience to feel like 'they are just selling to me or marketing to me.'"
This is not the first time that Lost has sent its faithful to other media platforms in search of answers. To up the eerie factor, the show's team created a website for Oceanic Airlines, whose doomed Flight 815 made our castaways Lost in the first place.
"What we discovered was that by creating additional content for this show, we could creative a marketing tool that would have fans more invested in the program, and if it was cool they'd share with their friends," Benson said.
ABC also announced earlier this month that it is making new episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias and Commander in Chief, available in May for free online viewing, although fans will have to sit through ads that they can avoid if they download commercial-free shows for $1.99 per episode from Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Lost, which has averaged 15.4 million viewers this season and is one of iTune's most popular TV downloads to date, will leave viewers staring into the dark hatch of summer hiatus with a two-hour season finale May 24.
I posted an earlier link to The Lost Experience. This is a supplemental website that coincides with the game. It is not an official ABC sanctioned website, but I do believe it is run by The Tail Section, which I have found very informative and reliable. I don't foresee them posting false information.
In the E! Online article that I will post below, they say that anyone can play the game, even if you have never seen the show. The information given will be different on each continent, so the key to solving the mystery will be to share info with each other. Feel free to ask or share via this blog, or visit my MySpace page.
Here's a little something to get you started:
- The U.S. phone number for the Hanso Foundation is 1-877-HANSORG (426-7674)
- When you call, click through the various options. You should hear the hidden message from Persephone and it will provide you with the password you need for the Hanso website.
- For those who don't have the time or patience, the password is: breaking strain.
- Sign up for e-mail on the Hanso site and you'll see what happens.
- Once you have entered the password, you will be able to search for Easter Eggs.
- Happy Hunting!
Here's the E! article:
ABC Gives Fans a "Lost Experience"
by Natalie Finn
Apr 24, 2006, 6:20 PM PT
ABC has devised a way to keep fans of its hit show confused, guessing and on the edge of their seats during the lazy days of summer reruns. The network announced Monday the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure-hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost's signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.
The Lost Experience will require players to trade email messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and Websites to gather all the necessary clues.
The game's premise will be rooted in Lost history, but ABC said that you don't need to have watched the show to get in on the game, which will feature new characters and delve deeper into the manipulative Hanso Foundation that was introduced in season two as the benefactor of the button-pushing Dharma Initiative. (Well, watching a few episodes beforehand couldn't hurt...)
There is no grand prize for those who manage to piece the puzzle together, but ABC promises that those who play will end up learning some of the island's better-kept secrets.
"Cutting edge technology has vaulted us into a new era," ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said in a statement. "Audiences are demanding greater depth of content and more creative ways of storytelling."
In a savvy stroke of synergy, the game's first clue, in the form of a toll-free number that you must call, will air during a May 3 Lost episode. The first clues for Others in the U.K. and Australia are being released May 2 and May 6, respectively.
One of the most exciting parts of the Lost Experience will be the interaction it fosters among people all over the world, according to Michael Benson, a senior VP at ABC. He said that Lost's writers, not ABC marketers, were responsible for plotting the game's course. More than 20 broadcastes on five continents will air the series of clues in different ways and ABC would like to see fans reaching out to each other to stay up to date on the latest Lost Experience info.
"We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way," Lost writer and executive producer Carlton Cuse told the New York Times, "and there were certain stories that Damon [Lindeloff] and I were interested in telling that don't exactly fit into the television show."
Luckily the worry that something might not fit hasn't stopped them from adding a host of complicated back stories, symbolism and numerical puzzles to the show for fans to writhe in exhilarated anticipation over.
"We purposely design the show with a big amount of ambiguity so people can theorize about what a certain scene means," Cuse said. "This allows the fans to participate in the process of discovery."
Cuse also offered viewers a tip for starting the Lost Experience off on the right foot:
"Watch the May 3 episode very carefully. You can TiVo it, but don't skip the commercials.
"You have to give the audience something to connect to," Benson told the New York Times. "I want to prove to the audience that this is something they will enjoy, that is organic to the show. I don't want the audience to feel like 'they are just selling to me or marketing to me.'"
This is not the first time that Lost has sent its faithful to other media platforms in search of answers. To up the eerie factor, the show's team created a website for Oceanic Airlines, whose doomed Flight 815 made our castaways Lost in the first place.
"What we discovered was that by creating additional content for this show, we could creative a marketing tool that would have fans more invested in the program, and if it was cool they'd share with their friends," Benson said.
ABC also announced earlier this month that it is making new episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias and Commander in Chief, available in May for free online viewing, although fans will have to sit through ads that they can avoid if they download commercial-free shows for $1.99 per episode from Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Lost, which has averaged 15.4 million viewers this season and is one of iTune's most popular TV downloads to date, will leave viewers staring into the dark hatch of summer hiatus with a two-hour season finale May 24.
posted by Tripp at 11:18 AM
1 Comments:
Go to Joop's Corner on the Hanso site.
Click the link to send Joop a message "here".
On the next page's display, first watch the image - labeled as a "live webcam" - of Joop. I could see there's other images superimposed, but I couldn't tell what it was. When I came back, there were other images superimposed also - thin, scratched markings, not of words or real shapes (I know I've seen them before).
Enter your message to Joop, then click Send.
Several pages follow. As you move your cursor around the page, notice when it becomes the "hand" cursor - or a corresponding cursor, if you're customized - to indicate you can click that area. Notice the page while you are clicking.
I can't describe what I saw - but a map looking page. The page highlights circles - click each circle as it appears. Two circles show a connection line. When you see a red circle in the middle, click that.
then, some familiar text (if you've read all of Tripp's blog ).
Please tell me if I am not supposed to be sharing what I'm seeing. I don't want to give away secrets or anything - so let me know, please!! Also, you may see more than I see or something different - "they" may change it.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!! Now, can I please get back to work??!!
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