Out with a Bang: ARG ending letter

[EndOfTheEarth]

This is the ending letter that I intend to post after the end of the ARG. Is there anything that you'd like me to change, add, or remove?

 

Well then, I believe that’s it.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your participation in the first MDW fan-made Alternate Reality Game, or ARG for short. The show you’ve been enjoying over the past few weeks has been the product of months of effort rummaging around with Audacity, Photoshop, MS Paint and MS Word that my colleagues and I endured as a labor of love for those who have ever taken the time to look beyond the words of the Maximum Ride novels to the darker plot underneath.

 

I believe some thanks to my co-conspirators are in order:

 

First I’d like to thank Elena, my co-coordinator, excellent character puppetmaster, document writer, audio mixer, and the voice of the one and only Dr. Marian Janssen. Without your cooperation, none of this would have happened, and I’d have never known about the Itex Worldwide symbol.

 

Next, I’d like to thank Monogatari for his work in picture effects and for contributing his voice for Jeb Batchelder. Keep being awesome!

 

I also want to give a huge thanks to Dual for testing the puzzles. You were spot-on about the time it took them to solve each one of them.

 

And Wade the Duck, Phoenix, MusicintheWind, Terra, and Jane, thank you so much for your additions to the voice cast and helpful suggestions over the course of the project (Anne Walker, Scientist 1, Scientist 2, and recordings of Max, respectively).

 

Finally, I’d like to thank all the other facilitators who’ve been working on the inside to help the ARG run smoothly on MDW, and whose suggestions and commentary helped to make for a great story. Come up and take a bow if you want!

 

Doubtlessly, the rest of you out there may be wondering why we put so much effort into what is, essentially, the most elaborate MR fanfic since Reality Check?

The truth of the matter is that we were all extensively frustrated with the lack of effort put into the community by the site owners. Once upon a time, Maximum Ride fans had a single site that provided ARG-like quality posts on a weekly basis. This site, the original Fang’s Blog, was abandoned in favor of random commercial comments by the assorted book characters and a community that, over the past three years, has diminished from in-depth analysis to a ten-thousand-post-long thread of people complaining about how bored they are. What does it say then, when we, thirteen individuals with no budget and schedules squeezed in around secondary school or college, can put on a show like this, while the best efforts of people who are paid to spend time working on this amounts to little more than a handful of cheap posts and the occasional premade flash puzzle on Addictinggames.com?

 

So, Mr. Patterson, Ms. Boxerette, Hachette, and any others of you out there who are responsible for the poor excuse of community rallying and marketing that we’ve seen so far, my colleagues and I address this Alternate Reality Game to you in hopes that you will see it and understand our case. There won’t be any further rallying from me, but know this: we care about your plot, we just want you to care about us.

 

EndOfTheEarth

--The Itexicon ARG Co-coordinater, audio mixer, writer, puzzle and art designer, and voice talent for Dr. Roland ter Borcht.

[Fake]

*applause*

 

This is beautiful.

 

One complaint I have--if, when you mention Faker than Fake Fang testing the puzzles, you are indeed referring to me, I'm afraid you're slightly mistaken. I am not Faker than Fake Fang. I am Faker than Faker than Fake Fang, Fake Fang himself, and Dual. However, I'd prefer you refer to me as Dual rather than Fake Fang or FtFtFF.

 

In any case, I'm almost done with proofreading the files.

 

Also, I'd suggest making this an audio post, maybe having Elena post it before we post the hard copy.

 

Also, can I post an audio recording of me talking about the ARG?

[EndOfTheEarth]

Can't have Elena post this. She can put a link in the OP, but not say it herself.

You see, by posting this myself and making Elena someone else, the ARG exploits a loophole in the Terms of Service. You see, technically, we all "wrote" and "did voicework" for Valentine, but technically this is "her work" and she is not "posting for other people" nor is she acting as an "alternate account" because she is her own person in real life too. The only person who may be at risk is me for being involved in the writing, but they have no way of knowing how much I contributed--for all they know, I wrote an outline, and Elena did the actual writing.

It's all this weird legal stuff.

 

And personally, I think a hard copy would have a better result.

 

I'd like to see a transcript before you post an audio recording. We don't want any slip-ups giving a reason for a Mod or Admin to take the ARG down.

[Fake]

Ah, I see.

 

Yeah, I'll write it up and give it to you.

[SilverMoonArcher]

Maybe I'm just paranoid after watching so many people get banned, and doubtless you've thought of this, but...this is risky. :/ I agree that it's beautiful and made me happy to read.

[EndOfTheEarth]

I know it's risky, but they have no way of knowing that you people did anything wrong. For all they know, you're a bunch of people I blackmailed into this over Facebook.

[Fake]

I'm not afraid to get my account banned.Hell,I get banned on a daily basis on TTS.

 

Regardless, they have no reason to ban us.

[SilverMoonArcher]

I'm not concerned about getting my account banned. It is worth little. I meant to ask if this letter was risky for your account.

[Fake]

Your as in everyone elses, or mine in particular? o_0

 

I'm guessing the former, but...

[SilverMoonArcher]

EOTE's account. I guess I should have replied directly to his comment, but I didn't want to ignore yours. ^-^'

[Fake]

Ah, then you should have specified. But I digress.

[EndOfTheEarth]

I don't think it to be risky. I've already pointed out the loophole system. Even then, I'm hoping that my polite conversation with Genn over the past month and spotless record will pay off. Even then, notice that the moderators are not the target of the message; the admin and publicists are. If she mistakenly thinks so, then my answer will be, "This isn't about you. You're lovely. This is about the publicists who don't care enough about their fanbase to make it interesting. It isn't your fault that they don't want to put in the effort."

[SilverMoonArcher]

I hope that they listen. That would be wonderful.