I'm becoming more convinced that Neurocam is, in fact a game. A Melbourne-based, highly immersive ARG, to be precise, that is a departure in nearly every way from previous ARGs. No numbers puzzles. No clues leading to solutions. Absolutely no acknowledgment of PMs, pre-game or otherwise. And, if you're in Melbourne, a hell of a lot of interactivity.
Based in particular on the reading I've done so far on this site (and there's a LOT to go through), NC appears to be a story told in fragments. The goal of the game thus far seems to be piecing together the story from the facts given, and at the same time being astute enough to go off Googling when a particular word or phrase seems noteworthy.
Two questions that linger for me: Could this actually be related to Perplex City? The game in pre-launch (Syzygy days) boasted the tag-line "You play everywhere" and claimed the game would "change everything" about the world of ARGs. If PC and NC aren't related, and NC is an ARG, Adrian's got some stiff competition for the title of The Game Designer Who Really Did Change Everything.
Second: Has NC really been going on for more than a year? In The Age article of 12/18 that seems to have generated all this NC interest (thanks largely to a mention on MeFi), it's noted that Graham Henstock has been involved with NC for "the past year." And some emails on the above link to New Media's Who is Robert Henley site are dated from 2000. But the email dates are easily fakeable, and it seems entirely possible that Henstock is "in game." (There's also speculation that the author of the article, Marc Moncrief, is a plant. Can't find the blog mention of this right now. Grrr. Sorry.) Another possibility is that the past year has been a pre-game game for Melbournians like Henstock and Tript, who, as I suggested before, may have been brought progressively further and further behind the curtain. It just seems odd that The Age would do this piece now. There's no truly compelling reason except for the reappearance of the billboards.
Anyhow. I've been "playing" -- beginning to piece together the fragments of narrative on the WIRH site. There's a boatload to digest, and I've only just begun. More later.
Oh yeah, and one more thing: Why am I the only person digging into all this? Even the unfiction crew is sitting on its collective ass, waiting for official NC emails. Guys, there's a TON of stuff out there. Go grok it. (Same to all these supposed newbie operatives who have started blogs. How can you be so interested yet so passive? Makes me wonder if they're all plants being used to convey dribs and drabs of info. Cuz that's where I'm getting all my leads.)
Hey - just got link from unfiction... I read a lot into NC when I first heard of it, and I agree... it IS an ARG. A huge one, and one that I'm surprised no one in the ARG community discovered earlier. However, I'm pretty confident it's -not- PC. The times just don't match up. Fakeable? Yes, of course. But I don't think they were. There's just too MUCH material out there already, you know?
Good luck with your NC pursuits... :)
Posted by: New Neurocam Blood | 03 January 2005 at 04:57 PM
Yeah, I keep going back and forth on my assessment of this whole thing (as you can see from my schizophrenic blog posts ... ;). I'm at the point where I'm genuinely flummoxed, and very eager to see where this thing goes.
Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by: lady j | 03 January 2005 at 05:55 PM
I think unforum has become over run with people who dismiss certain things because their not 'homegrown' if you get my drift. I'd say that they are not only making themselves stale but also a unnecessary asset in the whole ARG scenario. neurocam obviously doesn't need them so it's really their loss.
Posted by: neuronaut | 04 January 2005 at 01:06 PM
Amen, neuronaut. You've voiced my frustrations (and conclusions) quite precisely.
Posted by: lady j | 04 January 2005 at 02:55 PM