A smart alternate reality game as an internet based drama

Well, what exactly was that 5th Day? One answer is that it was a combination of two developments in the area of the Internet: Alternate Reality Games or ARG and the series of Internet based dramas. Whatever explanations we may give though, a visit to the 5th Day will answer all your questions.

What is impressive about this internet game is that in just a few months it earned over 55.000 fans and the site received over 145.000 visitors. These fans created a live forum and even organized a real meeting amongst themselves in an effort to solve the mystery one hour quicker!

Also impressive is the fact that no large expensive campaign was launched to popularize the game. It first appeared in May 2007 with a teaser and on some blogs and the public responded instantly. Of course many Media forms were used, both traditional and otherwise, not only for the communication of the game, but also for the resolution of some riddles.

More impressive still is that the 5th Day was an entirely Greek production of Typical Mutations which combines interactive adventure with the challenge of solving puzzles which lead players from one level to the next. The production included hours of well-shot video and many internet environments were created for the sole purpose of supporting the plot of the game. Essentially it was a kind of series, like a TV series, complete with scenario and characters in the form of weekly episodes, just like the public are used to following on TV. The only difference being that here the player could take part in the development of the game and help the characters solve the mystery.

The basic characteristics of 5th Day were as follows:

The game was mainly played on the Internet, but not exclusively. During the game the players were invited to search for clues and gather information from the real world.
The game did not appear to be a game, on the contrary all its web pages seemed to be real. The events which the players followed and took part in had an internal flow to which the series remained consistent. This literally means that if the world of 5th Day said that someone was important you would see journalists, media and companies within the game refer to the important individual in the appropriate way even if you had not heard of him/her.
The player influenced the story. In some specific points the actions of certain players directed the development of the game. It was impossible to tell beforehand of course, which were these specific points.
The game was in the form of episodes.

The 5th Day began on October 2007 with the sponsorship and support of Sony Ericsson Hellas.

The plot of the game
Last year's Gazpacho Festival conquered the world! The biggest festival in the world took place in Crete. Gravity Oven were the stars of the festival and people thronged to see them. Then suddenly... everything changed. John Neilos, the leader of Gravity Oven, disappeared!

Source: goculture.gr