Introduction and LinksI discovered this ARG by going to the ARG subreddit. Listed on it was a post by user “Ultraman5000” titled “We are working on solving the risetomystery ARG by ScareTheater. If you live in near Royersford, Pennsylvania please comment or send private message.” This post links to the original post, which included a link to a video introducing the ARG as well as some baseline information and comments by other users participating in the ARG who made discoveries and found clues. I was immediately interest due to the fact that Royersford, PA isn’t very far from York and therefore it would be entirely possible to participate in the real-life portion of the ARG. I created a Reddit account so I could reach out to others in the Reddit thread, and I used the username apolloarg. The creator of the ARG seems to be a Youtuber called ScareTheater with a fan base a little over 100,000 subscribers large. The channel is mostly devoted to the discussion of horror content, such as interviews with the authors of famous Creepypastas (scary short stories found on the internet) and analysis of related content. This is more than likely not the first ARG they have orchestrated, as a comment by user “zack satcher” that reads “DAGH [****] NOT ONLY DID YA SCARE ME HALF TO DEATH, YOU GOT ME HYPED FOR ANOTHER ARG. This is gonna be fun.” The use of the word “another” helps indicate that there may have been several if not just one previous ARG. Original Video: “Top 5 Creepy Websites (Halloween Special)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYE-o7h_XjQ Reddit Thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ARG/comments/5aam4k/scaretheaters_risetomystery_arg_notes/ The Original Video: "Top 5 Creepy Websites"All of the hidden messages in the video were written in ROT-13, a specific encrypting language that replaces the letters of the words with the letter 13 letters after it. Once it gets to Z the language automatically restarts counting with A and continues from there. I’m using this website to decode. Video Description: V qrpvqrq gb perngr n zvav NET sbe Unyybjrra. Ubcr lbh nyy rawbl fbyivat vg! (Translation: I decided to create a mini ARG for Halloween. Hope you all enjoy solving it!) Also includes a direct link to the website: http://www.risetomystery.com/ Messages within the video:
The WebsiteThe website features 7 individual pages, each with different content. Page 1, “HOME”: Features nothing but a low-resolution photo of trees. Page 2, “ABOUT”: The only thing on the web page is text. The text reads “Website dedicated to the rising of the truth. Find the six, and the truth will be revealed.” Page 3, “2”: Another low-resolution photo, this time with the majority of the photo covered by leaves. The leaves are orange and green, signaling it was taken during the autumn, possibly very recently. Page 4, “3”: Low-resolution photo of a tree. A lot of the leaves on this tree are gone but there are a handful of leaves left that are still green. There is another similar tree in the background. Page 5, “4”: There is text on this page as well, the only thing written is “Nothing?” Page 6, “5”: This photo is also low-resolution but includes a much different image than the other photos. The photo is of a the back of a bench with a few trees surrounding it. In large red font is written “https://y” and is then cut off by the edge of the image. Page 7, “6”: This unique page reads the following text: “Chapter 2: The Big Secret of Dealing with People Almost every normal adult wants: 1. Health 2. Food 3. Sleep 4. Money 5. ??? 6. Sex 7. Well-being of our children 8. A feeling of importance” Underneath this is also a short form, asking for a name, email address, and message, all required. The button to send the form simply reads “send message.” I sent a message that said “What is number 5?” under the name “NUMBER 5.” To be cautious, I used the a temporary email from this website. The email address was [email protected]. The email was sent at about 10:46am on November 2. I didn’t get an immediate response and therefore I believe it’s safe to assume there is no automated response robot and that the creator of the ARG is actually responding to emails personally. When I checked back later, more people began posting on the Reddit thread. Apparently you only receive an email back if you have specific information in the text fields. The correct respondents got an email from Eric Wise under the email address [email protected]. They got an image, but none of the links to the image on the thread seemed to work, as well as a link to an unlisted video named “Time.”] Also, I googled the text found on the seventh page, finding a PDF file for a book called “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. The text on the last page matches a list found on page 37 of the document. The text on the webpage seems to be a paraphrased version of the list, of which the real name is The Big Secret of Dealing with People. The list goes as follows: Health and the preservation of life Food Sleep Money and the things money will buy Life in the thereafter Sexual Gratification The well-being of our children A feeling of importance. This obviously fills the blank as to what number 5 is: “Life in the thereafter.” This may very well be the “correct message” that was needed to be sent in the message in order to receive the link to the video. Uncovered Video - "Time:"This video is unlisted on Youtube, posted by the same account the ARG is from. To get the link to the video you had to send a message with the right text on the last page of the website. You would then get an email from from Eric Wise, under the email address [email protected]. Respondents got an image, but none of the links to the image on the thread seemed to work, as well as a link to an unlisted video named “Time.” The video itself is only 31 seconds long. It features similar imagery to the photos on the other pages of the website, meaning it was probably filmed at a similar location. The video is spent zooming in and out on a bridge. The recorder seems to be sitting at a small gazebo picnic area with wooden tables, surrounded by trees. There is ominous ambient noise in the background, and the video quality is very grainy and low-resolution, also similar to the photos. Redditors listened more closely to the ambient music and found no real hidden message. The real message of the video is the text overlayed on top of the footage itself. It has the coordinates 40.180397 -75.538307. When plugged into Google Maps, you are taken to a small park in Royersford, PA. The full address is Arch St, Royersford, PA 19468, USA. Royersford is located between Reading and King of Prussia, PA. which means that it’s not entirely out of the question to consider going myself. On the bottom portion of the video there is a time and date: November 19 1:00 PM EST. Posts in the Reddit thread speculate that this may very well be a fan meet-up with the Youtuber who created it, as he has a sizeable following. However, not all the information possible has really been found, and therefore it may be another portion of the ARG itself. The Meet-Up at Victory ParkTo my own disappointment I was not able to go to the location specified in the video “Time.” This was because the person that I was going to go with was no longer available, and I also ended up having to go visit my grandfather around the same time the meet-up would have been. Now, the reason I call it a meet-up is because after November 19, those who were actually able to go posted photos and a video (though I couldn’t watch it due to an error). The people on the thread were right: the end-game was a fan meet-up. Included in some of the pictures were photos of them all playing checkers together with the YouTuber himself, also known as Eric, Eric Wise as specified in the email you received after sending the right email. Apparently they also all went out to eat afterwards. There weren’t many details about exactly what happened, but that’s what I could piece together. Final ThoughtsIn all honesty, the real reason I was initally drawn to this ARG was because it seemed like I would be able to go to a real-life portion of a reality game. Even when I realised that the other Reddit commenters were more than likely right about it being a fan meet-up. However, in the end, I wasn't able to go, but that's not what makes me so disappointed about the end of this ARG. I think the real disappointment about it was that it had enough potential that it could have easily actually been taken further, but it wasn't. There was no true "ending" other than the fact it was a fan meet-up. I know the end game was supposed to be the fan meet-up, as it was a special event for Halloween, but I personally think that if Eric Wise/ScareTheater truly wanted to impress his fans then he should have gone all out. Actually, he probably didn't even need to go all out. He probably could have just gotten away with giving it a more proper ending, or thanking players/fans for their dedication and congratulate them since not all those who played the ARG were able to go to the meet-up, obviously. Even over a week later he hadn't posted a follow up video to signal the end of the ARG. That means one of two things: either Wise isn't a very good ARG host and doesn't stop to think about the etiquette of running an ARG, or the ARG isn't actually over. If it's the case of the latter, then that also poses a problem. In the few weeks leading up to meet-up there wasn't anything that happened in the Reddit thread other than conversation about what had already been discovered, so if the ARG truly wasn't over, he made it too hard to find new clues. The clues shouldn't always be extremely easy to come by, but they shouldn't be so hard no one can find them. In the case of the former, I think Wise should at least post a video on his channel about how the ARG is over so that players might have a little bit more closure and can move onto other things.
1 Comment
Anon
2/8/2019 01:45:02 pm
I understand that you are sort of on edge about Eric not posting a follow up video about the ARG but you don't have to be rude about it calling him a bad ARG host. If i'm correct this ARG was his first times ever hosting an ARG and i'm sure he was stressing about the whole thing trying to get things done.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMy name is Vincent Bennett. I am in a mass-customized learning program at my high school called Apollo. This is a website for my third project, revolving around the amiguous, complex world of alternate reality games, or ARGs. I will be posting reviews of different alternate reality games and assessing their effectiveness. ArchivesCategories |