The Guide: A Tale of the AI Trail. I thought it was interesting that promotion for the movie A.I. involved what seemed to be a large number of fake web sites, but I just didn't look closely enough. The sites, along with other information you're lead to along the way, form a massive mystery game.

I've always wanted to construct something like this-- a large fictional universe, spanning media, accessible only with a limited number of clues, research skill and a lot of perserverance, that, through the discovery process, forms a multi-homed narrative. Like one big drive-around-a-city scavenger hunts, except with a vast fictional backstory. Or a giant text adventure game, but involving elements of discovery of the real world (and not just discovery through the limited interface of a computer game.)

At first glance of these fan-collected materials, this promotional game could be more fun than the movie. Imagine how satistfying it would be to notice this, even after hearing about it:

On the trailer for the movie (here), if you look at right at the end when it says 'Summer 2001', you can see that there are notches in the words.... In addition to the trailer you can see them on a big billboard advert for the film at Times Square, New York, and presumably any other billboards that exist. These notches correspond to a phone number, (503) 321 5122. If you call that phone number, you call this message:

"Welcome my child. Once upon a time there was a forest, that teemed with life love, sex and violence. Things that humans did naturally. And their robots copied -- flawlessly. This forest is vast and surprising. It is full of grass, and trees, and databanks, and drowned apartment buildings, filled with fish. It can be a frightening forest, and some of its paths are dark, and difficult. I was lost their once -- a long time ago. Now I try to help others who have gone astray. If you ever feel lost, my child, write me at thevisionary.net. And I will leave you a trail of crumbs..."

Do also see the guide's author's weblog, Vavatch Orbital.

Digression: When I was young, say eight years or so, I constructed a small multi-stage thread of a puzzle, with clues scattered through my less-oft-used possessions (mostly books, using word and number puzzles to describe titles and page numbers). The intent was for me (or someone) to find the first clue years later, long after I had forgotten the solutions that completed the thread. Sure enough, several years later I found the first clue, and could not remember the locations of the remaining clues. Unfortunately, I at age eight could not outwit me at age eleven, and the puzzles were relatively easy to solve. But I was impressed that I actually did manage to forget the solutions to my own puzzles, as I had intended, effectively sending myself a message through time.