# The Lost Alternate Reality Game **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276 "2006-05-03T18:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/1 "2006-05-03T18:57:42Z")
(Starting a separate thread since it isn’t related specifically to any one episode.) Well, it looks like the Lost Alternate Reality Game has started. [The original story](http://news.com.com/Lost+fans+can+get+lost+in+a+game/2100-1026_3-6064123.html) doesn’t seem to be online anymore, but here is the text of the article. > [@](#): > > Lost’ fans can get lost in a game > > By Lia Miller > Story last modified Mon Apr 24 08:10:51 PDT 2006 > > ABC’s hit show “Lost” will end its second season on May 24 with a two-hour season finale. But plans to keep ardent fans happy during the summer reruns are under way. > > “The Lost Experience,” an interactive, multiplatform game, will begin in early May and echo the story of the TV show, which follows a group of people whose airplane crashes on an enchanted island full of supernatural mysteries and threats. > > The game, of a genre called alternate-reality games, is a multimedia treasure hunt that makes use of e-mail messages, phone calls, commercials, billboards and fake Web sites that are made to seem real. The first successful such game was used to promote the Steven Spielberg film “A.I.” > > What’s different about “The Lost Experience,” which will feature new characters, is that it is being devised by the show’s writers, not by marketers, according to Michael Benson, a senior vice president at ABC. He said broadcasters from around the world would release clues in a variety of formats and that players would have to join forces online to solve them. Mr. Benson also said that any new information or clues revealed in the Lost Experience would be applicable to the TV show’s story as well. > > “You have to give the audience something to connect to. I want to prove to the audience that this is something they will enjoy, that is organic to the show,” he said. "I don’t want the audience to feel like ‘they are just selling to me or marketing to me.’ " > > Carlton Cuse, a writer and executive producer of “Lost,” who is also one of the creators of “The Lost Experience,” said that the idea was conceived at a lunch that included Mr. Benson and Damon Lindelof, one of the show’s creators. “We wanted to tell stories in a nontraditional way, and there were certain stories that Damon and I were interested in telling that don’t exactly fit into the television show.” > > He is also enthusiastic that the game will give fans the opportunity to engage more fully in the story. “We purposely design the show with a big amount of ambiguity so people can theorize about what a certain scene means. This allows the fans to participate in the process of discovery.” > > The game will start on May 3. “Watch the May 3rd episode very carefully,” Mr. Cuse said. “You can TiVo it, but don’t skip the commercials.” It looks like the start of the game is on the new [Hanso Foundation](http://www.thehansofoundation.org/) site. Try to sign up for the newsletter. So, who is Persephone? ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/2 "2006-05-03T20:02:25Z")
But what about us poor Canadian saps? We do get ABC, but CTV subs its feed for ABC’s. So we’ll get Lost at the right time, but without the right commercials to give us hints! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/3 "2006-05-03T20:33:24Z")
Ooh, funness! I guess there will be a Hanso commercial tonight that actually shows the call center phone number tonight, eh? I’m sure it’ll be packaged as part of the show so I wouldn’t worry about missing it in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/4 "2006-05-04T08:02:01Z")
> [@Max Carnage](#): > > Ooh, funness! I guess there will be a Hanso commercial tonight that actually shows the call center phone number tonight, eh? > > I’m sure it’ll be packaged as part of the show so I wouldn’t worry about missing it in Canada. I’d have thought so too: the second series just started its run in the UK on Tuesday night, and there were Hanso commercials during it. So, everyone should get to play together, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/5 "2006-05-04T08:36:58Z")
I got sucked in by the cloudmakers game surrounding the AI movie - I’m going to try to stay on the periphery of this one. But just poking around on the hanso website I found stuff that made my radar go off. For instance…click on “Active Projects.” That string of letters down at the bottom looks like a code of some sort to me. Yes, I know that they’re logos for the organizations listed beneath. Still. Then, click on “Mathematical Forecasting Initiative” and look at that bar graph. There’s got to be some sort of information hidden in that thing. The interactive map in the “Worldwide Wellness…” section? Sites will be added to that as this goes along, I guarantee. Let’s see…I’m kind of doing a stream of consciousness thing as I go… Mental Health Appeal? They were working on curing mental illness. OK, that’s how Hurley and Libbey got involved with all this. Ah…on the Institute for Genomic Advancement page, look at those pictures in the upper right. Looks like there’s something hidden in there. Look at those red streaks in the right hand picture. OK, I’ve done the newsletter thing now and seen the letter about the disease. Interesting. I’m stuck now on that screen with no way out, it looks like. Ah, well. That’s enough for today. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/6 "2006-05-04T11:14:14Z")
I am sorry but I hope this will fail miserably. I hate this : if I want to see a TV-show, I want to see a TV-show, not read a book, or play a game. I have absolutely no interest in this format, and would be rather bummed if that would make me miss vital information. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/7 "2006-05-04T17:09:29Z")
OK, I’ve been playing around the Hanso Foundation site and have found some things. I may post some screencaps later, but here is what I have found… Go to [www.thehansofoundation.org](http://www.thehansofoundation.org) and try to sign up for the newsletter. At this point it doesn’t matter what you enter for a name or password. You get the message from “Persephone” telling you to call the number from the ad. Call 1-877-HANSORG and try the various options. You will wind up hearing bits of various peoples voicemails but on one of them (forget which) Persephone will break in and tell you that the password is “breaking strain” Go back to the website and sign up for the newsletter again, this time using the “breaking strain” password. You will get a few text lines from Persephone telling you that you are now logged in and to check back later. The text disappears and is followed by a quick flash of Joop (the orangutan). Go to “Joop’s corner” and select the option to send a message to Joop. Enter “Persephone” as your message and hit send. You will be taken to a screen showing what looks like cells dividing. After a few seconds two circles will appear. Click on them and two more will appear. Keep clicking on pairs of circles until a red circle appears. Click on it. You will now see a letter in which someone is expressing concern that a disease outbreak in Tanzania was caused by a Hanso research facility. (You can only see part of the letter at a time and have to pan around). When you have finished reading the letter, click on the signature to be taken to a second letter in which someone is apologizing for the first. Click on the signature on the second letter and a message will appear as a woman’s voice reads it aloud; “The Hanso Foundation; setting world speed records for subverting authority”. Click on the message to return to the standard Hanso site. Now the “live cam” image of Joop seems to have another image superimposed on it, but it is hard to tell what it is. Now, go to “Active Projects” and “Worldwide Wellness and Prevention Development Program” and select the “World Map”. There are three sites located in Africa, but if you move the cursor around over the Caribbean you will find another hotspot. Click on it and an empty box appears. Move the cursor to just below the empty box and some writing will appear. It seems to be some sort of code. If you go to the “Mathematical Forecasting Initiative” page and look at the press release you will see that several words have been blanked out. No idea what this means. Finally, if you try to sign up for the newsletter again you will get a text from Persephone telling you “No new messages”. That seems to be it so far. Anyone find anything I or Smeghead missed? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/8 "2006-05-04T17:20:25Z")
Check out the freaky picture on [this](http://www.thelostexperience.com/) page. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/9 "2006-05-04T17:22:22Z")
Sorry **tanstaafl** , that’s what you were talking about isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/10 "2006-05-04T17:30:32Z")
Yeah, that’s what I was talking about. I have figured out one more thing. In that odd writing in the grey box off the “Worldwide Wellness and Prevention Development Program” page, there are two chains of numbers that are underlined. If you translate the numbers to letters (using A=1, B=2 and so on) they translate to “missing organs” :eek: . ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/11 "2006-05-04T17:36:11Z")
When I try to sign up for the newsletter, I can’t get past step 1. It says “Can you read this?” and doesn’t let me go any further. Maybe I’m an Other. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/12 "2006-05-04T18:44:27Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > When I try to sign up for the newsletter, I can’t get past step 1. It says “Can you read this?” and doesn’t let me go any further. > > Maybe I’m an Other. Click inside the text box. It looks like there is an insert point in there but there isn’t. Click inside then type “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/13 "2006-05-04T18:56:36Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > Click inside the text box. It looks like there is an insert point in there but there isn’t. Click inside then type “yes”. I do type yes. On the prior screen where you type your screen name there is a “next” button. After typing in “yes”, that button isn’t shown. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/14 "2006-05-04T19:15:51Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > I do type yes. On the prior screen where you type your screen name there is a “next” button. After typing in “yes”, that button isn’t shown. Ah, sorry. Hit enter, don’t click the button. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/15 "2006-05-05T13:08:07Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > Ah, sorry. Hit enter, don’t click the button. :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lost-alternate-reality-game/355276/16 "2006-05-05T14:59:06Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > Now, go to “Active Projects” and “Worldwide Wellness and Prevention Development Program” and select the “World Map”. There are three sites located in Africa, but if you move the cursor around over the Caribbean you will find another hotspot. Click on it and an empty box appears. Move the cursor to just below the empty box and some writing will appear. It seems to be some sort of code. I have a high-contrast jpg of it. if someone has a hosting site, I’ll send it to you. > [@](#): > > If you go to the “Mathematical Forecasting Initiative” page and look at the press release you will see that several words have been blanked out. No idea what this means. It looks to me like they just blanked out specific references to a country to avoid problems.