This topic has 18 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 8 months ago by 
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The last 18 hours here have been fascinating, frustrating, heartening, educational and remarkable.
As I arrived at the Red Door the hijacking had already begun, but that isn’t something that has been covered plenty in this forum since late last night.
What I choose to take away from last night’s gathering is all positive. I showed up mid-mystery, and was immediately caught up, included, and welcomed to hop in. Not a single person there was possessive of any clue. Everyone was friendly, wonderful, excited and happy to be working together. Whether it was those sitting around the table trying to solve the letter, or those looking for clues throughout the bar, there was a sense of camaraderie that can not be faked. The forums were involved with some deft Google and puzzle-fu. And we even dragged someone out for the night and bought him a drink or two.
I met some wonderful new people, got to see a few people again, and had some great conversations with some amazing people who, with any luck, will become close friends in the future.
Hijacking or no, last night was a win. Because, in the true spirit of Noah’s system, fuck the hijackers, the night was what WE made of it.
Thank you to everyone who came out, and a special thank you to @brianamatopoeia for getting us all out there, and having it so close to my work!
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I’ll actually be at your work later today, @bruinbown!
I’m not even sure what to say about last night. I have a lot of feelings, but anger isn’t one of them. Mostly confusion. I’m not sure why anyone would spend THAT much time just to mess with us. It was so involved! They could have used that time to get caught up on Walking Dead (assuming they’re still watching, I gave up at the beginning of this season), practice playing a musical instrument, heck, anything, really! I suppose I’m also flattered, kinda? That they would go to such extent for our little meet up. And unless they planted that stuff and stayed, they missed out on a fun night with some really cool folks, so I feel bad for them on that front. I know I would have liked to get to know them, they seem incredibly smart and creative, whatever their motives were.
Anyway, I was really, truly blown away last night by how everyone came together to use their skills. Even people who weren’t there in person, but helped out digitally! What an amazing bunch of people. I’m so glad @nking put pants on and joined us, and despite the wild goose chase, it seemed like everyone genuinely had a good time, including me. And that was the whole point. So thanks to whoever the credit goes to. It feels odd to thank the hijackers, but I don’t know what their intentions were, and assuming they were not malicious (I’m giving the benefit of the doubt), they inspired a safe, fun evening that brought us all closer together (one of their clues old us specifically not to leave the bar).
I’m still sorting out all of the feelings about last night, but I can tell you they’re mostly positive.
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I’m really confused as to why you’re thanking whoever did this. They do not earn respect or thanks by trying to create Lust’s narrative, or forcing the creators to come out and address their bullshit.
I don’t know what they thought the best result would be from this; Lust involves them more directly in the real story? Provides a make-up event for them?
The result is that people are going to be more wary of letters or anything that doesn’t look as well produced and official as Tension artifacts did, and no one will be getting in a Lyft without confirming it’s officially provided. These are good things, but nothing the game jackers did is laudable.
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I’m with both of you @brianamatopoeia and @bruinbown, despite how disappointing it is that someone would go to such great lengths to do this, overall it was a really lovely evening. Loved getting to meet even more people on this forum in person and figure out the puzzles even though they were fake. Definitely feeling very confused though for sure. Happy that @the-creators have stepped in and hopefully this will bring more order to this overall. I’m still so new to all of this so the reveal of last night definitely threw me a bit but I am very excited to see what else is to come.
Briana, you certainly do know how to throw a party ? -
Agreed. At the end of the day, they diverted our attention from our primary concern: connecting with each other. Instead, we connected with some BS puzzle and hanging out was an after thought.
I’M GUILTY. I was manipulated in to ignoring my friends and my boyfriend because I was so eager to involve myself in something that, ultimately, didn’t matter and caused harm.
I know I’m not alone when I say that my partner thinks I’m a little too obsessed with this. Maybe he’s right.
If it was SO easy for me to let go of THE PRESENT and the people with me & get wrapped up looking for some damn silver car that probably never existed… WE GOT TROLLED. THERE IS NO reason we should be happy about it.
BUT we DID get some AWESOME modification to our forums. Hopefully the silver lining will outshine the gloom of the cloud.
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I have to agree with @111error. While it was pretty clever and possibly not intended to cause harm, they unknowingly did something that could have destroyed our trust in all ARGs in general. I’m personally happy that @the-creators have made themselves known instead of hiding behind the curtain. That was one part of Have You Seen Jake? that generated a lot of trust for me. I will lose trust if I feel I’m being fucked with.
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I didn’t think of it that way, and you’re absolutely right. I was laboring under the idea that their intentions were NOT to derail any story and hadn’t really considered the repercussions of their actions. I found it easy to say “oh, that wasn’t real? ok” and shrug my shoulders and walk away, but I realize now that until we can all agree not to do this kind of thing, we WILL question every note and rideshare.
But to clarify when I said “Thanks to whoever the credit goes to” I wasn’t specifically referring to the hijackers. I was referring to the people who made last night fun- the people there, the bartender, those contributing at home, etc. I guess I didn’t finish or effectively express my thought, so I completely understand how it appears as though I’m thanking them directly.
Thanks for the perspective, @111error!
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How much later today @brianamatopoeia? I’ll be here all day…
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So, I didn’t do Jake, as I’m not in LA and don’t have a ton of free time. I can’t speak to whether it fit into the dark or horror or extreme categories of things. I have no idea what it was about – also I don’t really need to know so please don’t explain.
But, regarding @the-creators coming out from behind the curtain like this: I understand why some of you might like that they did this (as they did in Jake), however, that is not how things were done in Tension, and it was clear (I thought) that it was moreso how things were NOT going to be done in Lust.
With Tension, we didn’t know who was behind it until late summer. All the events, dead drops, phone calls – all we could do was *guess* – and trust – and the people who agreed to this arrangement were thrill seekers and *wanted* that. We welcomed not knowing and the thought that we were stepping into something that was out of our control. I think you can talk to any one of us privately about WHY each of us took that risk and we have reasons but the fact is we made that choice knowingly. We didn’t want them to come out.
What I personally wanted in Tension was to have reality ripped right the fuck out from under me. I wanted to be scared, because I don’t know what scares me. And that didn’t happen.
Enter Lust – with absolutely ZERO contact with characters, creators, Investors, whoever. Just us. Sitting here. Being watched. That got under my skin – badly. That is a rare, rare thing. So, I understand you want the creators out here, identified and talking to us – but I don’t. This is supposed to be scary and dark and rely on trust. It’s not Jake.
I teach at a college where trigger warnings and safe spaces are HUGE. And I talk to my students A LOT about immersive theater and Tension in particular because I want them to understand that there is art and theater that is NOT safe, that can and does fuck directly with you, that does upset, provoke, hurt emotionally and mentally, and challenge you. And also trigger you. And I want them to know why I do it. I don’t want to put water wings on this experience. I don’t want to have to negotiate every encounter. I don’t want to have @the-creators talking to us any more than they want to.
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@coryphella Are you saying you would have preferred them not to have spoken and everyone just go along believing those puzzles were really part of Lust? I’m a little confused.
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My interpretation of what @coryphella said echoes my own wishes. I personally don’t think that having The Powers That Be come forward to deal with this particular issue was a bad thing. I think that this case needed their intervention.
However, I get the feeling that some are feeling like more reassurances and more creator interaction would be a good thing. I hear that other experiences have a higher direct creator-to-audience communication rate but one of the things that many liked about Tension so much was that there was essentially none of that back in the old days.
So while this particular case was needed, hopefully we can work towards a future in which they don’t need to come out from behind the curtain any more. We should be seeing less of them, not more.
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@brianamatopoeia I believe what @coryphella is saying is that because someone did this, the creators had no choice but to become involved and break that 4th wall when at a time it should have not been necessary. Of course, we welcomed the creators telling us they weren’t involved because, as people were Periscoping this, a few of us were having a conversation that last night didn’t seem legit. There are many participants who do not want to be hand held during this and who only want the creators to break the 4th wall on their own terms not because someone decides to game jack.
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@brianamatopoeia – of course not. I’m saying I don’t want more creator interaction. At all. I don’t want Jake (if the definition of Jake is lots of creator interaction – I am not trying to rag on Jake at all, just going by the words quoted below). I don’t want hand-holding.
I’m personally happy that @the-creators have made themselves known instead of hiding behind the curtain. That was one part of Have You Seen Jake? that generated a lot of trust for me. I will lose trust if I feel I’m being fucked with.
I don’t want this. At all.
And I don’t look at the creators having to come forward as a good thing that has come out of this.
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@coryphella I totally understand what you are saying about wanting the rug pulled out from under you. I’m here because I have something painful in my recent past and I want something more painful there to mask it or drive it out. Not to go off on too much of a tangent, and I don’t think it was intended in game at all, but I googled “enter me enter ME trust artificial intelligence”. I’m not claiming at all that we were supposed to do that in relation to the game or that what I found is relevant in game. But the first sight I came upon is fucking horrifying in real life. They are working on, nope, have ai that can for all intents and perceptions be presented as the real “you”, or as a politician, a religious leader, anyone you trust. Ever receive and trust any information because you saw it on the news or on the internet, hell a Skype call with your mom, and that’s for sure (insert trusted individual here) your seeing? This isn’t science fiction, it’s here. Hell Jimmy Kimmel was Mike Tyson. Someone said we might see someone and it’s not them . . . It’s somewhat clunky now, still a little ways to cross the uncanny valley, but the version I saw had only been in development for 6 month and required only 20 minutes of audio recording and a handful of pictures to mimic a persons speech and video presence relatively convincingly. Now let’s pretend that they are 18,36 or 73 months into it. Maybe they’ve figured out quantum computers. Processing power goes through the roof. Security and encryption if any type are less than a joke. The shit we are looking at today is Oscar the grouch in a garbage can working on strings and bubble gum compared to what they have. And if they have it, they’re going to use it. Perhaps Lust has already given us everything we need to be terrified and there is Jack shit we can do to slow, let alone stop it.
Or, maybe I’m siting at the park watching my kids play with too much time on my hands to type and pull shit out of my ass. I’m daydreaming about how one day I’ll be the old and grey Grandpa to their sons getting ready to go fishing. Everything? Everything’s. Just. Fine.
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Regardless of what our own personal preferences are, I think an important thing to recognize in all of this is that last night The Creators had to alter their plan. The atmosphere and narrative we’re all eager to experience? It had to be modified because of the actions of someone that was not part of the Lust creative team. And that’s a loss for all of us.
The way this show unfolds may not end up being for everyone. Not every show is. Some will dig an absence of handholding; others will prefer more. All of that is cool, and as adults we can all choose to participate in the different immersive shows that fit our personalities best. That’s the beauty of all of this: we’ve got choice.
That choice is taken away when we never get the chance to experience a creator’s own vision because of meddling from others. I’m glad @the-creators took a moment to speak up last night (and today) to put the ship back on course. But other than that, I hope we never hear from them again — until they decide they want to be heard from.
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Thank you for clarifying, @coryphella! I completely understand where you’re coming from now and I hope, for all of our sakes, that the creators are no longer required to pull back the curtain in order to maintian our trust.
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It’s 2017. Tension changed the game, and part of that change is that this scene, and whatever Tension decided to do next, was guaranteed to be a more immediately well known and public thing. With increased attention comes problems, dangers, irritants, idiots, etc.
Acting purely on faith and trust in strangers is no more logical a step forward than crossing a street without looking, and we should all be supportive of necessary changes to ensure everyone’s safety. There’s no reason to think Lust will not be able to include confirmations of future interactions in an in-game way, and if you can’t enjoy something just because there was an official Lust Experience wax-sealed envelope waiting for you at a restaurant or whatever, then I ask you to consider that it might be a small price to pay to allow these experiences to continue to grow more complicated, weird and dark, safely.
This is too serious a post for 5pm and I think I should drink more coffee, because coffee solves everything.
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I know I’m late to this convo, but I agree with @thegilded. This is my first ARG experience, aside from Ascension, and I would prefer them to not HAVE to intervene, unless something was deemed unsafe or worse. I am a little torn with how I feel about the whole situation still. I wasn’t able to make it to the Red Door, but I was able to follow @julierei periscopes with @brianamatopoeia and try to be as involved as I could. I was so excited to see everyone so involved and excited as I wish I could have been there doing the same. When I heard later that night that it was all a hoax, I was initially angry. Angry and wanting to defend all of my new friends who had exerted so much effort and energy into trying to solve these clues. I eventually went to bed happy knowing that no matter what, these people are amazing and took away positivity for the most part. At least we know to what lengths this community is willing to go to reveal the next part of this enigma. I am so honored and proud to be a part of this community and I think even though this was a somehwat cruel joke, it showed our dedication and drive to be a part of his crazy ride! <3
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