I have been working on the more abstract elements of the project, composing text, designing mechanics and puzzles.

I’m a little overwhelmed with the anticipation we’ve observed, and I hope that we are able to produce something that will live up to the expectations of our audience.

The original reason for my introduction to the project was my experience with writing interactive fiction, so as well as ARG-style elements, the end-product may also have some of the characteristics observed in adventure games.

Unusual? Yes; I think that what I want most is to create something new. Of course, the hard part is doing that while still making it recognizable to your target audience, and not getting carried away with your own cleverness.

Of course, it could work the other way. Perhaps we’ll draw in some new players to the sub-cultural bubble.

But in some ways the really avant-garde work has been going on elsewhere – in the realm of the ARG, or alternative reality game*. Here, proponents like 42 Entertainment and Darklight Interactive create interactive experiences by placing information around the internet, on faked websites, forums and Wikipedia entries, encouraging players to work together to decipher the clues.

Maybe it is partially all the coffee I just consumed, but my heart is racing!  Our relatively small company has just been recognized on the international scene.  And in the same breath as one of the largest companies in the ARG industry.  We are extremely proud and frankly more than a bit surprised.

In the meantime, despite unfortunate distractions of our real lives — I continue to battle a chronic illness (which I write about in my other blog Novel Patient) and David has had to find a new job on short notice — we continue to move forward on Rachel’s Walk.  We’ve been working on all aspects of the game, but in particular Owen has been putting in a lot of hard work on writing copy for activities players will be able to do within the Dream Engine.

Much to my CPU’s dismay, I continue to render and render and render some more.  And in honor of occasion, I’d like to leave you with another small taste of what I’ve been working on.  Another “screenshot” from the game if you will.  This is one of my personal favorites, and I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Fairy River