Pervasive Games over at The Queen Mary’s Steampunk Symposium

This past weekend some members of the Transmedia LA group came together to enjoy great pervasive gaming aboard The Queen Mary for the Steampunk Symposium.

The Symposium had a rich schedule that included a vendors market, a variety of tournaments, a contraptions exhibit, a fashion show, a scavenger hunt, a murder mystery, a Masquerade Ball, fencing lessons, and a few LARPs.

For the purpose of this post I will only profile the two events organized by Transmedia LA group members during the Symposium. For more information on the Symposium itself visit hrmsteam.com.

The Dalliance Scavenger Hunt

The Dalliance Scavenger Hunt was created by Transmedia LA members Mike Minadeo and Fred Muguerza, who worked on a similar experience last year over Comic Con called “The Lost Journal of Commodore Claude D. Ledger“. For more info on that project click here.

Dalliance consisted of a series of tasks that needed to be completed in order to  fill out the address on a post card. The experience allowed for a tour of the most intricate sections of the Queen Mary that otherwise I would’ve never gotten to discover.

The experience also showcased beautiful ‘New Europe’ prop money, and it allowed for interaction with other players. All together, it took about an hour to complete, which was great considering the time constrains imposed by the Symposium’s schedule. For a full slideshow of the experience click here.

It is suspected that both experiences are part of a bigger ARG called ‘The Ultimate Duel’ set to launch in March. I might get more goodies and info after I mail in my post card, but only time will tell. If interested in joying the fun go to theultimateduel.com for updates and more info.

NOTE: Address in postcard picture has an error, FYI.

The Magnificent Market of Marvelous, Curious, and Miraculous Contraptions

This LARP was a collaboration of a larger group of people, half of them Transmedia LA members, that include Aaron Vanek, Scott Walker, Lauren Scime, Phil Gable, Christian Brown, David King, Kristen Hageleit, Shawn Crosby, Angelique Toschi, Roselle Hurley, Jennifer Palais, Morgan Joeck, and John Greg Gomez.

The LARP revolved around a Lecture by Professor Shropeshire, his competition with Allison Wellsgarden for the Knighthood in the Order of Bath, and the Auction of the Professor’s inventions arranged by Sotheby’s.

All of these events unfolded through out the weekend, but the main action took place at the Auction on Saturday night, which was interrupted by the deranged Jonathan Cranston. A wealthy patron with plans to destroy the Victorian Queendom, Cranston threatened all on aboard by releasing leaking canisters of sap all over the ship.

The players were encouraged to retrieve the canisters, capture Cranston, and find an antidote for the possible sap contamination. In addition a bigger development was discovered, a contraption that needed to be defused as it threatened sap into the ventilation system of the ship.

Players were encouraged to follow the main characters of the LARP  and vote for their favorite candidate for Knighthood via Twitter. At the Knighthood ceremony on Sunday, Queen Victoria  ended up knighting two PLAYERS of the LARP. All involved had a blast playing and deciphering the clues. Bellow I include a compilation of great pictures taken of the experience by Scott Walker. Use #hrmsteamknight or #hrmsteam to follow the experience on Twitter. For a more complete recap click here.

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