np/StoryWorlds ▶
YouTube URL StoryWorlds bookmarklet Name / label / descriptive title

MSL Group 'Transmedia Storytelling' (2012)
About: MSL is Publicis Groupe’s Global Public Relations and Integrated Communications Partner https://www.mslgroup.com/who-we-are

'Best Meta Horizon Worlds you Should Visit!'
Comment: "Horizon Worlds struggled to find users as the general public remained skeptical of virtual reality. The social platform has never drawn more than a couple hundred thousand active users a month, CNBC previously reported. The virtual 3D social network where avatars could interact and play games with other users officially launched in late 2021. It operated exclusively on the Quest VR platform until Meta launched a mobile app version in September 2023. The mobile version of Horizon Worlds was built to provide an entry point for users without VR headsets, functioning similarly to Roblox. The metaverse has proved to be a costly bet. The Reality Labs [Wikipedia] unit posted billions in losses each quarter after its launch. In fourth-quarter earnings posted in January, the unit reported an operating loss of [USD] $6.02 billion" (Murti, L., 2026).
Related: Vidyuu Tutorials | 'Meta Horizon Worlds VR closing' https://www.youtube.com/embed/hHy0lvI982Q
Also: [skeet]
Bibliography: Murti, L. (2026, March 18). "Meta is shutting down VR social platform Horizon Worlds in further pivot away from the metaverse". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/meta-horizon-worlds-metaverse-vr.html

Jonas Čeika 'Hauntology, Lost Futures and 80s Nostalgia'
Quote: "Hauntology [Wikipedia] supplants its near-homonym ontology, [Wikipedia] replacing the priority of being and presence with the figure of the ghost as that which is neither present nor absent, neither dead nor alive" (Davis, C., 2005).
Transcript: "when talking about Mark Fisher's ideas of lost futures and of the cancellation of the future, it is important to first be familiar with 'hauntology' - a term coined by [Jacques] Derrida. Derrida used the word hauntology to refer to the way in which we never encounter things as fully present, as fully there. In all of our experiences, the present is always mixed up with the past and the future, that which is present is always mixed up with that which is absent. We can only make sense of any present moment by comparing it with the past and anticipating the future. To give a simple example, imagine hearing a simple melody - at any single moment you are only hearing one of the notes, only one of the notes is fully present. On its own this single tone has no melodic qualities, and the only way to make sense of the melody as a melody, is to constantly mix the present note with the notes that you are no longer hearing, on the one hand and the notes that you are anticipating on the other. The melody is never fully present but only arises from an interplay between the past present and future all of our experiences. Like this, we can only make sense of the future through the past and only make sense of the past through the future." https://www.youtube.com/embed/gSvUqhZcbVg?start=78&end=142
Bibliography: Fisher, M. (2012). "What Is Hauntology?" Film Quarterly 66(1): 16–24. [academic source] Gallix, A. (2011, June 17). 'Hauntology: A not-so-new critical manifestation'. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/jun/17/hauntology-critical Fisher, M. (2014). 'Ghosts of my life : writings on depression, hauntology and lost futures'. Winchester, U.K., Zero Books. [pdf] Derrida, J. and P. Kamuf (1994). 'Specters of Marx : the state of the debt, the work of mourning, and the new international'. New York, Routledge. [pdf] Davis, C. (2005). 'Hauntology, spectres and phantoms'. French Studies. [academic source] [academic source] Moon, K., & Blackman, D. (2017, May 2). 'A guide to ontology, epistemology, and philosophical perspectives for interdisciplinary researchers'. Integration and Implementation Insights. https://i2insights.org/2017/05/02/philosophy-for-interdisciplinarity/ University of Warwick. (2017). 'Ontology'. Warwick.ac.uk; Education Studies, University of Warwick. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/research/current/socialtheory/maps/ology/

Alternate Reality Game (ARG): 'Conspiracy For Good' (2010)
About: 'Conspiracy For Good' (2010) was an Alternate Reality Game (ARG), [Wikipedia] which aspired to be a case of so-called 'social benefit storytelling'.
Related: 'The Hunt' (2010) [trade magazine] "For the 2nd straight year, Juxt Interactive and No Mimes Media have teamed up to craft a hit Alternate Reality Game (ARG) for Cisco Systems' Global Sales Experience, an annual gathering of more than 21,000 executives around the world. Part action thriller, part treasure hunt, The Hunt storyline unfolded over the course of two weeks, turning thousands of Cisco employees into active players in an immersive adventure. Fictional characters came to life through social media, posting Facebook and Twitter updates to drive the story in real–time, sometimes engaging participants in one–on–one conversations. The experience also incorporated cinematic video clips, email correspondence, and phone messages, and utilized an array of Cisco tools that enabled employees to communicate across departmental, cultural and geographical boundaries. In the end, participants were able to unravel the mysteries of The Hunt through collective problem solving, real–time data sharing, and seamless global collaboration, all made possible by Cisco technologies" (Beach, C., 2011, January 12). [video clip]
Related: "Alternate reality games (ARG) [Wikipedia] are a new form of gaming that combines the Internet with real-world events and clues to create an immersive experience, with Black Helix as this genre's newest addition. Black Helix is a global ARG that has just launched, taking place through March 2011, with players engaged in live events, phone calls, real world tasks and a final role-playing finale. The Black Helix story revolves around the kidnapping of a 27 year old Medical research student while she is recording a video log containing information on her drug research and paranoia at being watched. Black Helix takes the ARG concept a step further, with the story responding to conversations taking place on Facebook and Twitter and player aliases being written into the story which will subsequently published as a unique eBook" (Lee Washington., 2011).
Related: David Fincher (1997) 'The Game' [imdb] "The enormously wealthy and emotionally remote investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) receives a strange gift from his ne’er-do-well younger brother (Sean Penn) on his forty-eighth birthday: a voucher for a game that, if he agrees to play it, will change his life. Thus begins a trip down the rabbit hole that is puzzling, terrifying, and exhilarating for Nicholas and viewers alike" (The Criterion Collection). https://www.youtube.com/embed/dXBUdCvqpNg
Bibliography: Kring, T. (2020). 'Conspiracy For Good'. Conspiracyforgood.com. https://www.conspiracyforgood.com/ Georgina Goodlander. (2008, October 3). 'Ghosts of a Chance: A Story of Spirits'. Smithsonian American Art Museum SAAM. https://americanart.si.edu/blog/eye-level/2008/03/1073/ghosts-chance-story-spirits [pdf] Gupta, A. (2008, December 22). 'The End of the Game, a Mystery in Four Parts'. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-end-of-the-game-a-mystery-in-four-parts-133456322/ Beach, C. (2011, January 12). "A Glimpse Behind The Curtain with Cisco’s Game 'The Hunt.'" ARGNet; Alternate Reality Gaming Network. https://www.argn.com/tag/juxt_interactive/ [folksonomy] [video clip] [Dailymotion] Andersen, M. (2011, January 15). "A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Making of Cisco’s ARG The Hunt". WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2011/01/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-making-of-ciscos-game-the-hunt/ Lee Washington. (2011, March 2). 'New Alternate Reality Game Black Helix Brings Virtual World to Life'. TrendHunter.com; TREND HUNTER Inc. https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/black-helix https://www.youtube.com/embed/nJ2ZY3LQlSM and https://www.youtube.com/embed/mTHBagwckPI 'The Game'. (n.d.). The Criterion Collection. Retrieved January 30, 2026, from https://www.criterion.com/films/28058-the-game

Aurelia Edge of Darkness: 'Creating a Transmedia Experience' (2013)
Context: Interview with Lisa England, the creator of the ARG 'Aurelia: Edge of Darkness': "I describe the story as 'a steampunk fantasy that follows an inventor-king who must abandon his culture’s failing technology in search of a greater power—one that can save their whole world from collapse.' (I call it a steampunk fantasy to distinguish our story from a scientifically-driven 'pure' steampunk tale that probably shares more in common with science fiction than fantasy)". [blog]
Related: As the Australian writer, game designer and scholar Christy Dena [Wikipedia] explains: "Cross media storytelling is not new -- it’s antecedents of theatre and hybrid arts have existed since the segregation of art practices -- however the vast palette of media now available for producing cross-media storytelling, networked capabilities, remediation and mass markets set the stage for a process of storytelling we seem ready to produce and experience but not quite ready to orchestrate with flair. Why? The following section offers observations on high, moderate and low acceptance and diffusion of cross media works in entertainment. When assessing works according to their acceptance and diffusion levels I encountered the problem of who to attribute a primary opinion. Many works, for instance, are accepted and diffused among certain age-groups and rejected by others. Both instances have implications for future use and design. Additionally, many of the obstacles to acceptance and diffusion are common to all the works. Therefore, I discuss the obstacles and successes, and suggest recommendations for future design, albeit briefly" (Dena, C., 2004, p.5).
Bibliography: Dena, C. (2004). "Current State of Cross Media Storytelling: Preliminary observations for future design." [academic source]

42 Entertainment: 'Halo 2 I Love Bees'
About: "Alternate reality games (ARGs) are a new genre of transmedia practice in which players collaboratively hunt for clues, make sense of disparate information, and solve puzzles to advance an ever-changing narrative that is woven into the fabric of the real world. This paper highlights the potential for ARGs to promote 21st-century literacy skills. We propose a meta-level framework for 21st-century literacies composed of seven core literacies: gather, make sense, manage, solve, create, respect, collaborate. We then describe how the unique properties of ARGs can be used to teach these core literacies, drawing upon expert interviews and examples from numerous ARGs. Finally, we outline the major challenges and opportunities for using ARGs in the service of edu- cation, focusing on reuse, budgetary issues, scale, and improvisation. We end with an outline of key research questions that need to be addressed to merge ARGs and education" (Bonsignore, E., et al., 2012).
Bibliography: Bonsignore, E., et al. (2012). "Alternate Reality Games as Platforms for Practicing 21st-Century Literacies." International Journal of Learning and Media 4: 25–54. [academic source] '42 Entertainment'. (n.d.). 42entertainment.com. Retrieved January 30, 2026, from https://42entertainment.com/work/ilovebees

Clay Shirky: 'How social media can make history' TED-Ed (2009)
Bibliography: Shirky, C. (2009, June). 'How social media can make history'. Ted.com; TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_social_media_can_make_history

Why So Serious? - An Overview of 42 Entertainment's Viral Campaign
About: "'Why So Serious?' was designed as a 360° alternate reality experience that played out over 15 months leading up to the release of The Dark Knight. [imdb] Spilling out over a multitude of different platforms, this deep immersive campaign recruited the audience to become real citizens of Gotham City. Over 11 million unique participants in over 75 countries fueled the rise of the Joker as henchmen, campaigned for Harvey Dent to get elected as District Attorney, and even took the law into their own hands by becoming copycat Batman vigilantes. From calling phone numbers written in the sky, to hunting down GPS coordinates to find mobile phones baked inside of birthday cakes, 'Why So Serious?' was an experience like no other. As these fans collectively scoured the globe in search of clues, their incredible passion generated billions of impressions in the press and blogosphere setting a new benchmark for immersive entertainment" (42 Entertainment).
Bibliography: Seelow, D. (2017). 'A Concise History of Alternate Reality Games: From Transmedia Marketing Campaigns to the College Classroom'. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education. doi:[academic source]. [pdf] Janes, S. (2017). 'Promotional Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and the TINAG Philosophy'. In A. Garcia, & G. Niemeyer (Eds.), Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay (Approaches to Digital Game Studies Series). Bloomsbury Academic. [pdf] '42 Entertainment'. (n.d.). 42entertainment.com. Retrieved January 30, 2026, from https://42entertainment.com/work/whysoserious

Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon (2006) (mockumentary)