Iron Man ARG Released to Promote Film
Marvel Studios has launched a website, StarkIndustriesNow [dot] com, as part of its viral marketing campaign for the movie Iron Man 2, which is slated to hit cinema screens in the US in May 2010. The site purports to be the property of Stark Industries, the company operated by Iron Man alter ego Tony Stark, and management is asking visitors to apply for jobs. Applicants receive a form letter them they are ‘among the best and brightest’ and that their interest in joining Stark ranks is ‘truly appreciated’. Each person will be ‘thoroughly investigated’ the firm promises. It is not confirmed if the game will also promote iron man dvds.
Alternate Reality Gaming is, according to CNET, “…an obsession-inspiring genre that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community…
“These games are an intensely complicated series of puzzles involving coded Web sites, real-world clues like the newspaper advertisements, phone calls in the middle of the night from game characters and more. That blend of real-world activities and a dramatic storyline has proven irresistible to many.”
These games (which are usually free to play) often have a specific goal of not only involving the player with the story and/or fictional characters but of connecting them to the real world and to each other. Many game puzzles can be solved only by the collaborative efforts of multiple players, sometimes requiring one or more players to get up from their computers to go outside to find clues or other planted assets in the real world.
