A Word Of Warning.

This topic has 93 replies, 47 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 7 months ago by Andrew Kasch.

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    • #6401
       The Creators
      Keymaster

      The Lust Experience was NOT responsible for any of the messages located in the Red Door this evening.  

      It appeared as though a great deal of effort was put into the messages and we appreciate all fan activity and enthusiasm so we held back until it was revealed that the message contained narrative plot points that many in the community believed were canon. This and the possibility of taking players to another location are why we finally had to step in.

      This is the second time we have had to appear from behind the curtain due to player safety in a week.

      If we begin to have to clarify what is in game and out of game because of copy cat messages and moments we will find ourselves constantly breaking the suspension of your disbelief for concern of everyone’s safety and fear that they maybe lured out of our very controlled parameters.  

      Let us take you into the darkness, stop trying to turn off the lights for yourself.

      • This topic was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by The Creators.
    • #6403
       Kimberly Stewart
      Participant

      Thank you @thecontroller. Wise words as always.

      In other words, fanatic fans and/or trolls, don’t be assholes. Jesus.

    • #6404
       Tucker Barkley
      Participant

      Whoa…. thats a lot of work to f*ck with people.

    • #6405
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      Weird, but thank you @the-creators for clarifying this… Incredible for someone to go through all that effort just to troll everyone. They are only making it more difficult for us to enjoy the real story Lust is trying to tell.

    • #6406
       Winston Smith
      Participant

      Well, that was unexpected.

    • #6407
       GoldTongue
      Participant

      so weird! — I can just imagine how insulted the creators were when they saw that poorly drawn Alpha Omega emblem.

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by GoldTongue.
    • #6409
       Alejandra Acosta
      Participant

      Someone has too much time in their hands…to whoever it was:
      don’t ruin the experience for the rest of us.

    • #6410
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      So who’s the calculated asshole? Not cool.

    • #6411
       Taylor Winters
      Participant

      I would like to urge the community to let The Creators tell the narrative that they want to tell. Please don’t ruin it for the rest of us.

      Also, I love the use of the “Puppet Master” image as your avatar, @the-creators.

    • #6413
       Addison
      Participant

      Very well put, thank you @the-creators. Sucks this even had to happen..

    • #6414
       Meghan Mayhem
      Participant

      I just wanted to put it out there (as some of you may know) that @Chelsea and myself did do a fake note drop to the Losers Party last week, but we did so in a very simple playful way and owned up to the recipients within literally minutes of the drop.
      We had absolutely zero to do with this. Whoever did this tonight went through an *extensive* effort to deceive and do this game jack and we sincerely hope that we did not “inspire” the culprit.
      This is fucked up. This is disrespectful to @the-creators and just cruel to the participants. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to the community.

    • #6415
       Kimberly Stewart
      Participant

      In the past there have been fans who put quite a lot of effort making lengthy coded youtube videos and such. It’s not unheard of, but at least those other incidents were harmless and not pretending to be canon type info.

      But what about @the-creators’ profile pic! Cute (but deadly) little guy… Puppet Master II, Torch.

    • #6416
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      While the effort put into this is staggering, whoever did this should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

      This is ridiculous, you just got a bunch of peoples hopes up that they were chosen for some event and ended up wasting their entire night and/or potentially putting them in harms way.

      I am furious.

      To the shit head(s) who did this, leave and never come back. You are no longer welcome.

      To those misled, please do not leave The Experience. There is so much to offer and everything has literally just started (tip of the ice berg). Last year was legit one of the greatest expeirences of my life playing this ARG with these fine people.

      Do not let this disappointment from outside sources sour your involvement with Lust.

    • #6417
       Sean
      Moderator

      Making some puzzles as a tribute and a fan creation, making it known what it is? You’re cool.

      Attempting to pass off your puzzles as the Creators’, and causing people to waste time and effort on your lie? You’re a dick.

    • #6419
       Daniel
      Participant

      Oh my gosh. That’s such an asshole move. Thanks for stopping it before it got out of hand, @the-creators

    • #6420
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      This is beyond fucked up.

    • #6421
       Maranda
      Participant

      Seriously disappointing, what happened tonight. @the-creators, thank you for bringing this to our attention before things got too out of hand. You’ve kept your promise to us from your previous message about player safety being the number one priority.

      I just hope that the person who was responsible for the deception was indeed a genuine community member (and will stop doing such things in the future) and not someone who sought out to sabotage for the sake of sabotage.

    • #6422
       Chris
      Participant

      I’m very sorry to be asking at this point, but how did the night actually end? There’s a gap between what people were posting and this message. Were people just waiting for a car to arrive and then eventually gave up, or was there a more definite indication prior to this post?

    • #6423
       KINGKILL33
      Participant

      This is just fucked. Whoever thought this would be a funny or cool, it’s not. It’s disruptive and doesn’t do anything except turn people sour from what LUST is supposed to be for us. Also, I think some of you are getting way too over eager and possibly breaking the barrier of what’s in game and what’s not. Just my two cents, not that it really matters anyways…

    • #6424
       Kevin
      Participant

      Thank you @the-creators for stepping in and making sure everyone is safe. While it’s a shame you had to step in in the first place, it’s definitely comforting to know just how much your focus is on making sure everyone in the community is safe.

    • #6425
       Lawrence Meyers
      Participant

      I’m not convinced. Theory in the works….

    • #6426
       Neil
      Participant

      @larry we are in the same boat. It’s hard to word the theory.

    • #6427
       Sage
      Participant

      Yeah, I just told my husband about this, who’s been listening to my re-hashing offhandedly, and the first thing he said was, wait I thought the creators weren’t involved anymore?…

      What the what??

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Sage.
    • #6428
       Lawrence Meyers
      Participant

      [EDITED: Take this with a grain of salt. As @izryn just mentioned, this may not be in-game. As always, be aware of your own safety and those of others]

      Re-Edit: The only game-jacker is somebody in this community. If that’s the case, and I am wrong, then shame on you.

      Nope. I don’t buy it. Here’s why:

      1) Too elaborate. WAY too elaborate.
      2) Not enough time to execute the plan, certainly not with…
      3) The amount of detail. Coptic letters? Shit pulled directly from the internet that – what? – somebody just happened to come up with at random, or knew about the Coptic alphabet and it’s relation to the Gospel of Thomas?
      4) Too specific. The Gospel of Thomas – which is all about self-awareness. The perfect storyline that fits into the theories we are developing.
      5) Relies on too many complex hoops to be jumped through. There is simply no way a game-jacker could have anticipated or known this to degree of detail that it would be decoded. UNLESS they knew us so well, or perhaps me so well, that they knew I would offer up that clue. Only the creators would know this.
      5A) Game jacker? Seriously?
      6) These were not nefarious clues. They pointed to the good in people, the exact opposite of Noah’s dark path. Thus bringing to light to the concept of—
      7) The Creators having Shadows. If DLB and CS were “kicked off” and we know Shadows exist, then it stands to reason that the message we just received was from the REAL DLB and Clint because…
      8) Clint answered an Email I sent him the other day. So the exact day he surfaces, this shit happens? After vanishing w/o a trace for 2 weeks?

      Were people going OOG to investigate? I’m not up on that part of the story. If so, that’s why they had to step in.

      This was perpetrated by a party that, i believe, were acting in our best interest. A “good” party. I believe “The Creators” who just posted…

      Are not The Creators.

      But Shadows….

      Because….

      “When they stop believing you, that’s when you know it’s started…” [Thanks @meghanmayhem]

      Buy your lightning rods. By the pricking of my thumbs….

      [EDITED: Take this with a grain of salt. As @izryn just mentioned, this may not be in-game. As always, be aware of your own safety and those of others]

    • #6429
       Maranda
      Participant

      @larry I’m not sure if it’s wise to interpret The Creators’ message as in-game and to theorize on it as such. They’re committed to player safety, and I think their statement should be allowed to stand as-is without being subject to doubts, even in the name of crazy just-for-fun theories.

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Maranda.
    • #6433
       Lawrence Meyers
      Participant

      @izryn Yes, thank you. I’ve edited my post to reflect your thoughts.

    • #6434
       Alejandra Acosta
      Participant

      They’re not gonna fuck with everyone’s safety, if this is “in game” it would be hard for us to believe them in the future and they know that. It’s best to walk away from this one otherwise we are risking having this whole thing shut down.

    • #6435
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      I think it’s a plausible theory @larry, but if @the-creators are frauds then why trust anything that’s happening? I will admit this has soured my feelings a bit, but I trust The Creators (whoever they may be) have an interesting story to tell, and breaking the 4th wall to give us important information is perfectly fine to me. It actually makes me trust them more.

    • #6436
       Sean
      Moderator

      Let’s be very clear about something. @the-creators have NEVER been in-game. They are the word of God. If they wanted some message like that, they would have used one of the other accounts. @the-creators has ALWAYS been out of game, full stop, end of message. They NEED to be because the moment that account gets used in game, they lose the ability to end threads decisively.

      Let me address concerns one at a time

      1) Too elaborate. WAY too elaborate. – I disagree. It’s a standard cipher. I could have shat one out in less than a day. ARG’s have been using shit WAY better than this for years
      2) Not enough time to execute the plan, certainly not with… – Not enough time since when? The Red Room meeting has been planned for a long time, this letter could have been done in an hour
      3) The amount of detail. Coptic letters? Shit pulled directly from the internet that – what? – somebody just happened to come up with at random, or knew about the Coptic alphabet and it’s relation to the Gospel of Thomas? – See above. It’s a standard cipher with some shit drawings on it. Wouldn’t take long.
      4) Too specific. The Gospel of Thomas – which is all about self-awareness. The perfect storyline that fits into the theories we are developing. Game jackers have a tendency to follow along with the games they’re trying to jack. They would likely have some knowledge
      5) Relies on too many complex hoops to be jumped through. There is simply no way a game-jacker could have anticipated or known this to degree of detail that it would be decoded. UNLESS they knew us so well, or perhaps me so well, that they knew I would offer up that clue. Only the creators would know this. – That’s just wrong, and you’re putting too much emphasis on your theory. The game jackers wanted attention, and they got it using some bullshit cryptic stuff and bible quotes are an easy way to do it
      5A) Game jacker? Seriously? – Yep
      6) These were not nefarious clues. They pointed to the good in people, the exact opposite of Noah’s dark path. Thus bringing to light to the concept of— – Game jacker. Wanted attention.
      7) The Creators having Shadows. If DLB and CS were “kicked off” and we know Shadows exist, then it stands to reason that the message we just received was from the REAL DLB and Clint because… – No point to refute here. Still game jackers
      8) Clint answered an Email I sent him the other day. So the exact day he surfaces, this shit happens? After vanishing w/o a trace for 2 weeks? – This was the most logical target for a game jacker. An in person congregation? Too tempting.


      @the-creators
      are NOT in game. They are, will remain, and MUST remain out of game. I bet my account on it. If they are in game at this time, I’m quitting right here and now. That is how much I am willing to bet on this.

      • #6439
         Lawrence Meyers
        Participant

        Great points, @thegilded and all. As someone who was not involved in Indoctrination, I am out of my league with regards to ARG. Moving on…

    • #6437
       KINGKILL33
      Participant

      @larry This is exactly what I’m talking about when people just don’t get the hints or refuse to listen. Once the creators jump in and tell us that it’s not from them, they mean it. They don’t just jump in and stop something if it’s not for an important reason. Just let it go, and focus on a real puzzle, from the real LUST experience.

    • #6440
       Sean
      Moderator

      No problem, @larry. Sorry, I may have come off a little too harsh there, too. But trust in @the-creators needs to be maintained for any of this to work

    • #6441
       Lawrence Meyers
      Participant

      Not harsh at all! I’m glad to know this. I’m just unfamiliar with how ARG works in general. And glad that your experience exposed the holes in my theory.

      I’ll stick to shit I allegedly know something about.

    • #6442
       Neil
      Participant

      Hey regardless of what happened tonight, nobody was getting into a random lyft to go anywhere. Everyone who was there had a great time. And for me on a very personal level, as I am dealing with some really intense things in my life, somehow clues pointed to me and pulled me out. It felt good to meet everyone tonight and everyone always had safety in mind. Thank you @brianamatopoeia for organizing this and I hope to see everyone again really soon. Y’all really helped me out tonight believe it or not. Fake or not.

    • #6443
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      Speaking of @brianamatopoeia, why haven’t we heard from her, or anyone else from the meetup tonight? I know it’s late, but no one is still up and reading this? I hope they’re okay.

    • #6444
       monkeymuffin333
      Participant

      I am extremely irritated at the turn of events this evening. Despite this, I still appreciate the faces I saw, the smiles we exchanged and the bonds of the community that were strengthened. With a bit of time that is how I will choose to categorize tonight. I look forward to seeing everyone again and meeting more of you in the future. <3

    • #6445
       Neil
      Participant

      @jared myself, the person who commented above you and the person who commented below you were both there. We are all fine. I promise

    • #6446
       Candace
      Participant

      @nking well I for one am happy for those clues because they brought you out to us! Haha it was such a pleasure to meet you!! I hope to see you around again soon 😀

    • #6447
       Shaun
      Participant

      I think the words from the​ creators were perfectly stated. I assume the warning has been heard loud and clear.

      Everyone appears to be ok, a good time was had by some, and the rest of us got a great dose of WTF for a Wednesday night.

    • #6448
       111error
      Participant

      Well this is just about the craziest and most bullshit case of game jacking I’ve seen in forever.

      @the-creators
      thanks for clearing it up.

    • #6449
       Hannah Schenck
      Participant

      WOW. I am in shock. I feel so awful for everyone who was able to make it out tonight and exert your valiant efforts to unravel another layer of the story and excitement, only to be misled and lied to by this person(s). I’ve only known this community for a short amount of time but our time spent together has been so valued by me and it would devastate me to hear any of you wanting to leave. Roll this one of the shoulder. Let’s not give this person(s) any more credit than they have already taken from tonight. You guys are warriors and @the-creators will take care of this community. I love all of you guys and as @thebuz mentioned: whoever did this, kindly see your way out.

    • #6450
       Masomoment
      Participant

      This is beyond fucked up and wrong, everyone looked so happy by the periscopes..

      i hope whoever is doing this stops.

    • #6451
       Russell
      Participant

      I am actually glad that I had other obligations tonight so I could not watch this as it was unfolding. Most of my immediate thoughts have already been expressed in this thread. I feel massive disappointment that a member of the community would show such disrespect for the experience itself.

    • #6452
       Yael
      Participant

      wow that was not nice way to wake up to this and what i saw the people red door should enjoyed more but not have their time wasted over a lie!

    • #6453
       Lukas L
      Participant

      Personally (although the outrage is understandable) I think we are being too harsh on the “game jackers.” Hear me out. The concept of an ARG is still very new to alot of people. I have seen this happen a few times. A player finds out about this really cool new thing. They invest so much time into it. They meet tons of new people, and see the excitement that an “event” brings to those people. Sometimes they get so pationate they want to bring some of that joy/mystery to the community. They devise a plan but don’t fully think of the possible repercussions because they are having g fun making something for pepole they enjoy and then get to watch the people they enjoy get excited. Although this was poorly thought through, I would hate to think that that person who spent all the time and effort on this in hopes of bringing said enjoyment is now reading all those people’s comments saying “leave”. It was a mistake. We are human. And hopefully if anyone else was having a simular idea, they will think twice. And know that even though you want to jump in and bring that enjoyment to people, it does more damage than good. To the ARG and the community.

      Or it is possible that it was just an asshole being an asshole. In that case the asshole was successful in his trolling so no amount of “get out” matters to them.

      But I really feel that the chances of the former out weigh the latter by alot. Hopefully a lesson has been learned and won’t happen again and we can all go back to getting our hearts ripped out. And not by eachother.

    • #6454
       Chloe
      Participant

      Just woke up to see this. Wow, some people are serious jerks. I watched the Periscope’s last night and everyone looked like they were having a great time, seriously messed up that someone would want to troll something everyone enjoys so much and force the creators to have to break the immersiveness of this whole thing to make sure people stay safe.

      Thanks @the-creators for all the great work you do and for making sure everyone stays safe, hopefully this will be the last time someone does something like this.

    • #6455
       Megan
      Participant

      For anyone who is confused as to why this is a big deal and why people are really THIS ANGRY about it, here are a couple of reasons why they might be (I’m not trying to speak for them, just highlighting the dead seriousness of this situation):

      1. THE ARTIST’S CREATION WAS FUCKED WITH – Yes, it might have been fan service but there are a lot of artists out there who do NOT like fan fiction and the like because it appropriates their characters/stories, which are THEIR creations, not ours. Honestly, I don’t believe that @the-creators are those people necessarily but it’s good to keep this in mind, ESPECIALLY when things are just getting started. The fans of Tension/Lust built the community, yes, but they did not build the work – that’s on the artists.

      2. IT MUDDIES THE EXPERIENCE – Are we now in a “boy who cried wolf” situation where every damn time something happens we’re going to question whether it was real or not? Do we constantly have to separate canon from non-canon? That pulls people entirely out of the experience, whose entire point is to be immersed and be present.

      Furthermore, I agree with @kingkill33 about the overeagerness. This may or may not be what he meant so please forgive me Mike if it’s not, but hopefully it’s along the same lines. The reason why we had gatherings last year was because we liked each other and wanted to nerd out together – NOT because we wanted to make something in-game happen. The FEW times it did happen, it was completely unexpected, which made it awesome, because attention was elsewhere, guards were down, and Tension had unexpectedly intruded into our lives at times when it wasn’t supposed to.

      Please, please just let them tell THEIR story at THEIR intended pace.

      3. SERIOUS, VERY SERIOUS, SAFETY & TRUST ISSUE – And this, THIS, is what makes me fucking furious. I’m going to address this under the assumption that this was done by someone here and not an outsider, and that it was perhaps meant as fun, or attention seeking. But perhaps you need to consider what exactly it is you have signed up for and most importantly CONSENTED to (yes, there’s that word again, but it’s critical to this experience).

      I have explained Tension and its events, and things that happened specifically to me, to a lot of people in my life and they think I am fucking NUTS. And they are not wrong. And what I tell those people is, this is what I knowingly signed up for, this is what I consented to, as an adult, and I trust @the-creators fully to not put me in a situation where I could actually be in real physical danger. THIS IS CRITICAL TO THIS EXPERIENCE. If we can’t trust that whatever is happening is 100% from @the-creators then we can’t fully dive in. If we have to pause and second guess everything then that 90 second window expires. I don’t want to have to tell Talia that no, I will not allow her to place a hood over my head in downtown LA because then I can’t see where I’m going or whether anyone else is coming up behind me. When you give the kind of consent we have given, to allow this experience to take over and penetrate our daily real lives, you have to have that trust. We all want to be able to fully immerse ourselves in this and not have to pause to consider whether or not this is someone who is taking advantage of our love for Lust in order to do us harm.

      Trust and consent are everything here. Without them there is no Lust Experience.

    • #6457
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      I’m glad to hear that there are those of you that were there last night that see this as a positive experience because you were together with people you enjoy being with.

      That said, I find this whole situation to blatantly disrespectful towards the creators and all of their associates that are working so hard to develop and provide this experience for us. Not to mention the participants that were there and those of us in the community that were so excited for them as we watched things unfold.


      @the-creators
      fuck with our world, we don’t fuck with theirs! They understand and are good at their role, we should all give them their due respect and show our gratitude by knowing and doing the same with ours.

    • #6458
       Julie R Goldstein
      Participant

      This was really not cool and I hope people have the common sense enough never to do something like this again. We’re a community and we need to be able to trust each other to let @the-creators do the guiding. Making a decision in narrative is one thing we all do, but hijacking the narrative is completely unacceptable. There need not be a dead drop for us to have a night to enjoy each others company. There were a lot of people I was meeting for the first time that I would have loved to just have more time to just sit and chat with. And this goes way beyond fan fiction. I don’t think @the-creators would have a problem with @larry writing a short story about kidnapping Sabrina and forcing her to perform Zurich Novellas in the original Swiss German.

      But when dealing with a real world experience, SAFETY and CONTROL are paramount for the level of trust we put in @the-creators and they put in us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far it’s to stay within boundaries. Last night there were no boundaries placed and the situation clearly became less safe as time went by. The letters kept pointing us to things like Silver Cars and getting into a Lyft. There was never any pushback or nudging in the form of calls/e-mails/etc, which @the-creators usually do in order to make sure we stay within their pre-established safety boundaries, which made me question the validity of the situation we were in the further along the night went. Thankfully things didn’t turn ugly, but it easily could have given the “pranksters” had no control over the situation they’d put around 20 participants in and set us loose on.

      Please people. We all love ARG/Immersives and no one wants to be questioning whether a specific circumstance is actually @the-creators intent or a copycat. Let’s just enjoy the ride we’re being taken on and as a wise woman once said… “Let the mystery be”.

      Glory Be and Never Silent.

    • #6459
       Lawrence Meyers
      Participant

      Oh, wow, I came in late so I didn’t see this about “getting into a Lyft”….yeah, not a good idea.

    • #6460
       Melissa
      Participant

      @russell I feel the same way (good to see you btw!)

      I feel really sad for the folks that wasted their time on what ultimately was a bunch of game jacking. I’m sure it was fun to solve puzzles and stuff but the all for naught/trolling makes me pissed.

      What concerns me is that in the future are people going to be trusting any clues they stumble upon or will they second guess, waiting for confirmation by the creator? Are people going to be willing to organize Community events in forum or will back alley talks be necessary just to avoid a game jacker? I hope not. I implore everyone to be active here, don’t let this night wreck it for you.


      @thecontroller
      already touched on how stuff like this ruins the Lust narrative so I need not to repeat myself. All I can say to the game jacker:

      You done fucked up.

    • #6462
       Andrew Kasch
      Participant

      Something about the elaborate nature of this “prank” feels off to me…

      The ARG scene is thriving in Los Angeles and certain themes and puzzles have become commonplace. “The Red Door” is the exact kind of venue you would expect to host something or hit up during a scavenger hunt. Is it possible the Lust gang accidentally stumbled onto an entirely different game?

      Just throwing this out there.

      • #6463
         Julie R Goldstein
        Participant

        @kasch – Too much of a coincidence for that to be so for a few reasons. The bartender was told to ask us if we were here for “The Experience” before handing us the envelope. Also, the solution for the giant Caesar Cipher was a medical journal article about the psychological effects of hypoglycemia, which falls directly in line with the press release we just got stating Noah’s mental state because he’s diabetic.

    • #6464
       Brad Ruwe
      Participant

      Jesus Christ that was a hoax puzzle? I mean, I too my hat for the creativity of it, but yeah, stop mucking about with the story. But I’d totally be down if the masterminds of last night did their own game!

    • #6465
       Jackie
      Participant

      Wow. @the-creators this is wild.
      Indeed. People are so clamoring to be apart, they can’t let the magic happen.


      @kasch
      , how meta of an idea! @.@

    • #6466
       Twan Intarathuch
      Participant

      I’m a guarded and paranoid person in general, so what happened last night has me seriously question whether or not I want to continue with this just as a safety stand point. =( Is there any way to make sure that what is in-game, is in-game? I don’t know…and that really bums me out.

    • #6467
       M.
      Participant

      It was an asshole move. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said. This is a huge violation of trust. I agree with @mkarrett regarding future interactions at gatherings. Unless it’s blatantly obvious, there is always going to be that initial moment of “is this real.”

      Sorry @nothenrygale The people who did this should not be complimented on how well they were able to create a puzzle. That just gives them encouragement to do it again. Someone inside this community did this. Whether a lurker or not, it was someone on these boards who took advantage of the community and that’s disgusting.

      What they did changes the dynamic of the game in such a negative way. We should be pissed off that someone took @the-creators project and fucked with it. They messaged with the narrative and the participants. There is nothing cool about that. Again, huge violation of trust.


      @genghistwan
      … You are not the only person who is feeling this way.

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by M..
    • #6468
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      I’m pretty fucking pissed off about this.

      There were a LOT of people I wanted to chill with, but this goose chase superseded casual conversation (for most of us). You wasted my data, time, and presence. These are all very valuable to me.

      We spoke to the Bar Tender and I’ll be discussing on Periscope what he told us.

      There’s a part of me (sorry @thegilded ) that thinks this is in game. I could be off but if you watch you’ll know why I feel this way.

      I don’t want to clog the boards with stuff that isn’t canon.

      I think thats a great point, by the way- from @thecontroller .

      This community is quick to bandwagon on theories, almost presenting them as fact. We TRULY need two activity feeds- one for speculation and one for things that are confirmed.

      These are two my cents. Come chat with me.

      PERISCOPE – Getting on in a minute.

    • #6470
       Megan
      Participant

      @hazelverse – could you please share on the forums why you feel this is in-game?

    • #6471
       Sage
      Participant

      Yes, it is hard to trust everything now and feel safe. But it’s also hard to trust anything because of shadow theories and the creators saying they aren’t involved anymore… Are we really supposed to believe they aren’t involved anymore?? If so, then who is running this game? And how do we know they will keep us safe? It’s all confusing, upon more confusing, at this point.

      I also agree that some theories thought up by the community not based on anything the “creators” have leaked have become cannon in some peoples minds, with no confirmation, possibly in the hope that the creators will make it part of the story (ignoring other obvious things that are part of the story). This to me is also problematic.

    • #6472
       Jackie
      Participant

      People who feel as if ‘no! This is just a distraction!’ @thegilded is 100% correct, the creators, the controllers, shy of darren lynn bondman himself letting you know what the grand machinations are…is gospel.

    • #6473
       Megan
      Participant

      Yes, it is hard to trust everything now and feel safe. But it’s also hard to trust anything because of shadow theories and the creators saying they aren’t involved anymore… Are we really supposed to believe they aren’t involved anymore??

      No, you’re not.

      I also agree that some theories thought up by the community not based on anything the “creators” have leaked have become cannon in some peoples minds, with no confirmation, possibly in the hope that the creators will make it part of the story (ignoring other obvious things that are part of the story). This to me is also problematic.

      These are two entirely separate issues.

      Believing non-canon incorrect theories and either a.) getting into situations where you’re physically harmed because the guy in the Lyft wasn’t part of Lust or b.) being unable to fully trust that he IS part of Lust because a previous interaction was faked are NOT THE SAME THING. At all.

      If you believe that then I have a server with 33,000 emails on it I’d like to sell you.

    • #6474
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      Sadly I feel like my trust has been broken a little, but hopefully we can all move past this incident and get back to what @the-creators have intended for us. If this happens again, it will be very hard for me and many others to take any of this seriously anymore. I want to have a good experience and trust is one of the most important factors in immersive experiences. If trust is broken, I can’t see myself coming back.

    • #6475
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      Confirmed, 100% not part of the game. This was the work of a game bandit and I’m not impressed.

    • #6476
       Addison
      Participant

      Agreed @mkarrett and @coryphella. Gamejacking hurts everyone and has zero benefit, and despite not being at the Red Door, this has detracted from and possibly entirely ruined Lust for me, personally.

      I know moving forward I’ll be weary of committing too far to anything or letting myself get fully immersed in a scene taking place in the real world (which was one of my favorite parts of Tension last year), just from a personal safety perspective. Gone are the days of meeting a character one-on-one without worrying if they’re actually a part of it, or getting into an Uber because the voice on the phone says to, or even fucking meeting new members of the community for drinks, because that’s now been taken out of a previously established and understood safe zone. The biggest part of Tension for me last year was having the ability to invest myself fully, to completely open up, to let them get in my head and fucking wreck me. Now, that’s not going to happen.

      I’m sure @the-creators are even dealing with investors questioning their commitments to this due to safety and liability concerns. They were already (from an audience perspective) playing with fire in not only breaking down the fourth wall, but placing their real-life selves in the game and thereby eliminating any boundaries, but now the gamejacker has taken the trust and control away from the people that have earned it and need it, and once they lose that trust and that control, they can’t get it back.

      The fact that we have a gamejacker willing to take whatever they were doing THIS FAR, with authentic looking clues and story-relevant puzzles, it’s impossible to tell in the moment what is truly IG and what is a fan creation while still suspending disbelief. Imagine if someone got into a car they thought was for Lust, but was actually someone with bad intentions.

      It’s not a stretch to say you may have fucked EVERYONE over here. You’ve put a permanent stain on a good thing, if not ruined it altogether. Because of the high level of control the powers that be need for this to work, the fact that you took even a sliver of that away could cause this whole thing to die.

      So hey, gamejacker: Make yourself known so we can all personally tell you to fuck off.

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Addison.
    • #6477
       Sage
      Participant

      @coryphella, I never said they were the same thing. I was just sharing two separate thoughts I’ve been feeling. Have a great day!

    • #6483
       Jackie
      Participant
    • #6486
       Russell
      Participant

      @addisonborn Man, I have not been able to figure out how to express what I feel, but you covered much of what is going through my head. So much trust has been destroyed within the community and it may taint everything moving forward.

    • #6487
       Jackie
      Participant

      Everyone has their two cents, this is mine:
      I’m happy no one was hurt. This gets to be a cautionary tale, rather than something tragic. Honestly, I don’t think this was done with Ill will, but from a place of excitement, poorly thought out and executed. What should have been a good time, turned wasteful and sour. Had the game-jacker decided to hey ‘let’s throw a lust themed bar get together!’ crafting their own puzzles and fan-themes, there would have been no issue. People would have played and it would have been a wild time. You may have even been celebrated!
      however
      But the idea of trying to flush an outside idea with a master-experiment, was, is, and will always be a problem. Trying to copy-cat and leech, is never respected. This person will probably never come forward, honestly. It’s the internet, how would they be forced too? Though, yes, it is the right thing to do. Fire, pitchforks, mob mentalities, will be useless. I imagine, if discovered, will be banned out right by the powers that be.
      Anyways. My experience is not ruined. But I missed most of last night so I’m not out my time, data or energy. I totally get how people are betrayed as fuck. This matters to many people. This experience is unique and precious. For me, I’m still all in and look forward to whatever 5/1 is. I hope others are too.

    • #6489
       Brad Ruwe
      Participant

      Thinking more on this (coffee helps with the brain) and yeah, I’m seriously pissed. While the puzzle itself was well executed, fucking with all the hard work being put into Lust is super infuriating. Not only does it make trust harder for the community, it piggy backs off of the excellent work of @the-creators. Whomever did this, you had a great puzzle, but you done fucked up big time with how you put it out there. Don’t. Fuck. With. The. Story. (Unless it’s in an agreed upon scene and you’re responding to the unfolding events of course)

    • #6492
       Julie R Goldstein
      Participant

      Guys, please, let’s take a step back for a moment.


      @the-creators
      have earned our trust time and time again. Let’s not give this “prankster” the satisfaction of ruining what they have put time, money, creativity and a whole lot of fucking love to bring to us.

      We can find new ways as a community to come together and protect each other. Let’s keep in mind that this was done anonymously. The person who did it had no direct communication with us. @the-creators have always communicated with us directly in some form (FB/phone/e-mail) when it’s part of their design.

      If you need to take time to yourself to find your center, please do so. But don’t let one person ruin this beautiful creation that has created this amazing community.

    • #6502
       Kristin
      Participant

      If the person who did this cares at all, they should just come forth and own the fuck up. That might help some of those who are weary from here on out. I am more frustrated for the creators as they deserve way more respect than this bullshit.

    • #6513
       Maxwell R
      Participant

      Well, that was an interesting and disheartening development. Thank you for the clarification @the-creators

    • #6517
       Kristin
      Participant

      Even if the person didn’t mean to cause all of this backlash, I think coming forward with an explanation/apology is the best thing to do.

    • #6592
       Winston Smith
      Participant

      Ya’ll gotta put down the pitchforks, take a deep breath, and slow yer respective rolls. I get that everyone is pissed off, I get that there are real concerns about things like safety, and trust. The way the “prank” aligned with current story developments does make it seem pretty clear that a community member was likely involved, which suggests pretty strongly that it was likely someone with a bad plan, but good intentions.

      All this “Step forward so we can tell you to fuck off.” shit is just mean and vindictive. What do you hope to accomplish with that? Are you going to feel better if someone says “Sorry, that was me, I’ll accept my exile from the community.” Are you gonna feel better if someone who’s genuinely sorry doesn’t even have an opportunity to apologize, explain themselves, and attempt to repair the damage? Are you sure that a race-to-exile is a character trait you want this community to have? Maybe there’s room for understanding, and a little forgiveness instead. I’m sure whoever that person is feels pretty shitty already. There’s no reason to assume that this was done out of malice. The available evidence points much more strongly to a misguided attempt at doing something neat.

      Maybe just take a breath, hope that whoever this was learned a valuable lesson, then move on with your lives, and the game. Ya’ll are not even allowing space for someone to apologize, you’re just demanding heads. An angry mob is *not* a community.

      Take a breath, you lost a few hours having fun doing something that was ultimately pointless. Life is hard, shit happens. Sometimes it happens to you.

    • #6595
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      This culprit IS NOT a member of this community. If they were, they would have understood the FUCKERY they were unleashing.

      The person that did this was SELFISH and self serving. Which is ironic since the first part of the note talked about how “the last shall be first, and the first last.”

      Point being that this was not some thoughtless prank. A LOT of thought went in to it.

    • #6596
       Kyle Bown
      Participant

      @winstonsmith I tend to find that some of the best parts of life are when you have fun doing something that is ultimately pointless.

    • #6598
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      Maybe if you’re aware it’s pointless to begin with… To invest energy and headspace to something and then finding out it was for nothing can be devastating.

      I look at the world through the lens of opportunity cost. This cost me much more than the opportunity was worth.

    • #6600
       Anonymous
      Inactive

      For the good of the community, maybe put the pitchforks down anyway.

    • #6602
       Addison
      Participant

      @winstonsmith dog people are less pissed about time being wasted by a shitty hijack and more upset about the sea change this brings for Lust and the greater immersive theater community in general.

      i like going into decrepit buildings and seedy motels and being put into seemingly dangerous situations, but that’s because i signed up specifically for that.

      i don’t like being told the hotel room i’m entering is part of an experience i signed up for, and then it’s revealed it’s actually a real life murderer.

      next time you get a call from a blocked number telling you to get into a van, or enter a hotel room, or meet at a bar, you now have two choices.

      a) you get into the van, or enter the room, or go to the bar, with the possibility that you’re getting into a truly OOG situation that may lead to harm.

      b) you check with @thegilded, have the fourth wall built, and worry about actively maintaining the suspension of disbelief. no more walking the line between what’s in and out of game.

    • #6603
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      Listen, I get that confrontation can be intimidating… but I feel like it would be a disservice to the community and the creators to just let this go. We are allowed to have our reaction.

      I don’t think anyone is actually carrying a pitchfork.

    • #6604
       Andrew Kasch
      Participant

      @winstonsmith There are no “good intentions” when it comes to hijacking. It’s the same mentality as the people who come here and put on “personas” to try and convince the game makers to write subplots for them. It’s a selfish ego trip that damages what is supposed to be a shared experience. If that person thinks they were doing it “in the spirit” of an ARG, then they need a serious education on how things work.

      People tend to react very harshly to stuff like this because this community has a deep bond and many of us have been on this train for over a year. It’s very personal to us. It’s like inviting a large group of people into your home and then noticing someone stole some shit from your dresser. There’s no way it doesn’t feel like an extreme violation. So I think the community reaction is 100% valid. And as Tension/Lust grows, behavior like this needs to thoroughly crushed, buried, and bombed into oblivion…otherwise it leads to more BS that will ultimately ruin this wonderful journey.

      All the community asks of anyone here is for them to play well with others and be themselves. That’s not too hard to follow.

      Now let’s get back to playing this game, huh?

    • #6606
       Nicole Mae
      Participant

      Has anyone been back to Red Door to confront the bartender and try to flush out the weasel who pulled this nonsense? I did not participate in Tension (though I lurked) so I’m ‘new’ to the game and I’m still getting to know members, but I feel very deeply about this community and I’m pissed for everyone duped last night.

      Not trying to incite a witch hunt, but it seems like the bartender is the missing link to shutting this particular troll down.

      I’m fully committed to @the-creators vision and look forward to experiencing the piece in its entirety in the way the art was intended to be consumed, so extreme vigilance in keeping these distractions from happening in the future is on my agenda.

    • #6609
       thehazelverse
      Participant

      All I know is the bartender told us that he had glasses, a beard, and looked similar to DLB’s google image search result pictures (on the main search page, not the images page). The bartender was also the owner of the bar.

      I have been directly contacted and it is 1million percent confirmed that IT WAS NOT DLB or ANYONE ONE FROM LUST.

    • #6610
       Kyle Bown
      Participant

      @maenicole I talked to the bartender when it was down to the last 4 of us or so. There was a receipt (which is in @brianamatopoeia’s hands with the other “clues”) that had a written message ont it, telling the bartender to ask if we were with the Experience.

      What I got out of him was this:
      They don’t have a computer system, so they do not have his name, and even if he did he couldn’t legally use it to tell us anything.
      He was there with a woman, the bartender didn’t have any information on her as she stayed back in the corner.
      The man ordered two drinks, paid, and that was it. Had he opened a tab, he may have had his first name, but no such luck.
      The man had a beard and glasses. When showed a picture of Darren he said “It could be him, but I don’t know.”
      I explained the situation to the bartender, and he said the man was very excited, and thought the whole thing would be really amazing. That he didn’t seem nefarious or creepy in any sense.

      That’s all I was able to get. The bartender was very nice and friendly, and seemed to genuinely want to help us out, but couldn’t.

      • This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Kyle Bown.
    • #6615
       Andrew Kasch
      Participant

      No need for an Inquisition. The hammer came down.

      Best to just move on and not clutter the feed.

    • #6617
       Brad Ruwe
      Participant

      @kasch What if it was…

      A SPANISH INQUISITION?!?!?!

      spanish inquisition

      (Sorry, I swear, talk of inquisition and my brain just automatically goes there. Here, the OSDM can have that data point.)

    • #6619
       Kyle Bown
      Participant

      @nothenrygale I was NOT expecting that!

    • #6620
       Melissa
      Participant

      @bruinbown I see what you did there 😉

    • #6621
       Winston Smith
      Participant

      Yes, all of those reasons to be upset at what happened are entirely valid, and understandable. Discussing why the events of last night were a problem is totally fair, and constructive. There does need to be a clear understanding as to how, and why this was out of bounds. By all means, educate.

      This shit is hard though, and there’s not exactly a FAQ on how to play the game. When something is this hard, this convoluted, this confusing, it’s inevitable that people will misunderstand things, and that will sometimes lead to fuckups, even big ones. What’s important is not the knowledge that the perpetrator was punished, but the knowledge that a lesson was learned, so that mistakes like this don’t have to be repeated in the future.

      Demanding heads is not constructive. It is the opposite of that. Deep bonds are funny things, and they can lead you to bad places just as easily as good ones. If you let that deep bond turn you into an angry mob with pitchforks, you’ve lost something important. Your bond is not a license to retaliate. A mob is not justified by saying “It’s ok. We’re just really close friends.”


      @kasch
      You don’t build a community through bombing, crushing, and burying. Those are destructive forces, not constructive ones. When’s the last time you saw a mob with pitchforks improve a situation? When’s the last time you saw something get crushed into success? If this community learns to solve it’s problems through retaliation, what do you think that’s going to mean over the long term? Will that lead to a healthy community over the next year?

      What’s more important to you; that a lesson was learned, or that someone was punished?

    • #6622
       Andrew Kasch
      Participant

      @winstonsmithton I’m always the first person to speak out against the actions of the mob. But you’re confusing community outrage with retaliation. No one here is doing anything of the sort.

      Crushing someone’s behavior is different from crushing a person.

      I can speak from personal experience that this community is a very tolerant bunch of people. As sensitive and angry as we can all be (and believe me, this is one situation where the reaction is justified), we are also a very forgiving group.

    • #6623

      wow, I missed a lot!

    • #6625
       Winston Smith
      Participant

      @kasch If you’re a forgiving group, don’t say it. Show it. Step back, and create a space in which someone *can* apologize without having to place their head in a guillotine first. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t, but you will still be on the high road, which is usually the better place to be. If you want someone to own up to a mistake, you don’t start by threatening to execute the person who steps forward.

    • #6626
       Andrew Kasch
      Participant

      @winstonsmith If someone walks into your house and shits on your rug, your first reaction isn’t “Well, let’s come to some sort of understanding why you did this…”

      Sorry, but that’s not how human beings are wired. Forgiveness takes time.

      Now let’s drop this, please.

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