The UK TV channel LIVING have created an online alternate reality game to help drum up support for the launch of Season 5 here in the UK. The game will present one very lucky player the chance to appear in the show, seems to be a prize worth fighting for.
Here is what LIVING have told us about the game:
Supernatural season four ended in suspense as Lucifer was freed from hell and on LIVING season five follows Sam and Dean Winchester as they face their toughest battle yet; the apocalypse. To promote the new series, LIVING is creating the Fight the Apocalypse ARG, which calls on Supernatural fans to mobilise their armies and join the fight against Lucifer.
The ARG is based around collecting hidden symbols – “˜Enochian Sigils’ – which players must locate, photograph and send via MMS to a shortcode,. One of the first truly cross-platform campaigns of its type, the ARG utilises online, mobile, print and real world elements.
Enochian Sigils have been hidden online and at real world locations throughout the UK and clues to the Sigil locations will be delivered by Castiel (Misha Collins) in specially filmed sequences on the Fight the Apocalypse website (http://www.Luciferiscoming.com). Once located, Sigils are photographed on any mobile device and using Image recognition technology ““ which recognises any image taken on a mobile phone camera ““ are uploaded to the player’s profile.
In the ARG players have two ways of making it to the top: locating and photographing Enochian Sigils, and building an online army of support. Players can invite friends to join their army via email and through Facebook. On the luciferiscoming.com website, Supernatural fans can create their own profile and contact friends to join their army, manage their game playing and collection of Enochian Sigils, as well as view other contestants’ profiles and join forces with other players. For fans who want to play on the move, all core game functions will be available on the mobile site.
Online media partners are collaborating in the game, with some sites creating their own bespoke mini challenges for gamers to find sigils. Twitter is the social hub for Fight the Apocalypse and will countdown to the start of the game, as well as announcing new clues, and creating a community around the game and the new series of Supernatural. Followers of the Fight the Apocalypse Twitter feed will be given tips and additional mini challenges quick challenges to win extra prizes. Fans can follow the Fight the Apocalypse Twitter at www.twitter.com/fightapocalypse.
The first clue to start the hunt will be released on the 20th January. Fans can pre-register for the game now at www.luciferiscoming.com.
What and utter shambles this game has become. It is clear now that Virgin couldn’t care less about the people playing. Cheating is rife and they cannot / will not do anything about it. They also don’t have very clear terms and conditions. The rules were not put into place properly when the game was first launched and now they refuse to clarify them. Although they do seem able to disqualify people at will! There has been a catalogue of errors with this campaign, from the name itself (problems sending e-mails due to censorship of the word Lucifer by many e-mal providers), to rude and unresponsive staff.
They have fully admitted that the game is out of control but yet fail to act to bring it back in line.
If infuriating a large number of its customer base into turning off their Virgin Services and switching channels is what they set out to achieve with this game…then mission accomplished