ARGNet Insider - Issue 2.5

In which Michael reveals his crippling reality tv show addiction, goes back to Philly for a dose of comedic espionage, and escapes both rooms and boxes

• A Possible End to Petscop - For the past two years, the YouTube channel Petscop has released playthrough videos of a 16-bit game that doesn't exist, and fans have been trying to piece together what the heck is going on. Last month, the story appears to have wrapped up with the release of three videos in a row. Piecing together a tale of kidnapping and murder from gameplay footage doubles down on the lore-based side of ARGs, even if there's few opportunities to directly engage with the story outside of theories.
   
• Narrative City Tours - During a recent trek to Vancouver, I checked out Vancouver Mysteries, a tour starting in the Gaslight District that cleverly re-purposed real city landmarks to blend into a fictional narrative, with light puzzle challenges. An increasing number of cities have similar experiences.
  
  Take, for example, New York's Accomplice franchise. Soon after returning from Vancouver, I took a friend through Accomplice: The Village, a Wizard of Oz-themed trek through Greenwich Village that led our group to a series of interactions with over-the-top actors at different out of the way corners of the city.
   
• More Vancouver Fun - Unsurprisingly, the Vancouver trip involved giving one of Find and Seek's escape rooms a try with a handful of ARG friends, for their magic-themed room. Eagle-eyed patrons will notice their signage doubles as a puzzle - it's worth taking a stab at those challenges before tackling the room, for reasons that will go unmentioned here.
  
  Magic escape room gave way to magic show, as I also checked out Hidden Wonders, a speakeasy magic show located at a "tailor shop" in Vancouver's Chinatown. Astute readers will be amused to learn Michael was called up to assist in a trick involving both puns and 50 Shades of Grey.
  
  The trip also involved a visit to Storm Crow, a themed bar with locations in Vancouver and Toronto where burgers (and shots) can be constructed like tabletop roleplaying characters, through multiple rolls of a d20. The result: surprisingly edible!
   
• Fringe Festival Gives Way to Spooky Season
  Back in August, I joined No Proscenium's Blake Weil for a visit to failsafe Festival's Campout, an intimate show that paired the two of us with creators Kevin Michael Wesson and Maddison Wise for an intimate camping trip and shadow puppet show conducted inside a tent. The experience was weaponized nostalgia, and has stayed with me ever since.
  
  After that, it was a trek back to Philadelphia to check out The Agency Bureau's Spies: Even More Spies, which delivered dad jokes and physical comedy in equal measures. The immersive world could use a little more slapstick comedy, even if our group did end up getting *the bad (but amusing) ending*.
   
• Messing with Brands at NYCC - While New York's Comic Con isn't as known for brand activations as its San Diego counterpart, there's still quite a bit of fun to be had. Like that time I tweeted at Geico asking them to help find an Umbrella Academy cosplay buddy, and they responded. Sadly, no secret Magic Leap booths or cult initiations this year.