The otherwise unremarkable Steven Spielberg Film A.I. will long be remembered for spawning the first tremendously popular Alternative Reality Game. Typing an odd credit from the film’s poster into Google lead users to a Web site which served as the gateway to a far flung virtual murder mystery that refused to ever admit it was actually just a game. Players banded together to trade information gleaned from a vast network of real and fictional Web sites, emails from characters and even chilling phone messages warning players off of the case. With absolutely no advertising, tens of thousands of people immersed themselves in the game, building tremendous buzz and interest for the film in the weeks leading up to its release.

Fans of the hit ABC show Lost seemed poised to embark on a similar quest. Web sites for two prominent entities in the drama’s intricate mystery, Oceanic Airlines and The Hanso Foundation, reveal lightly hidden secrets to fans who take the time to explore them. But excitement began to mushroom in early October when discussion board postings noted that by accessing the secure URL of the potentially nefarious Hanso Foundation (adding an ‘s’ to the beginning of the URL to form https://) you would find the simple yet enticing message, “bigspaceship1.com.”

The bigspaceship1 Web site was a fan’s delight, with an array of Morse coded messages, bizarre imagery from the show’s mythology that would reveal hidden messages with some Photoshop wizardry, and even a unique version of the Giligan’s Island them song, set to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven.” Clues lead to a burgeoning list of other Web sites, each with their own secrets to discover, including ones for key plot drivers such as the Dharma Initiative and Mr. Clucks’ Chicken Shack.

Blogs, discussion boards and water-cooler chats exploded with enthusiastic tales of each new clue and expanding theories on the show’s complex and closely guarded mythology.

Then all of the sudden it stopped.

New content ceased without any explanation, and many of the sites now redirect elsewhere. A few WHOIS detectives noticed that none of the new domain names were registered by Disney or ABC. Though the Mouse has not issued any statements, it is likely that the aspiring game producers found Disney’s legal department to be far scarier than the murderous Others who also inhabit our favorite uncharted island.

Fan buzz has quickly turned to despair that the game they were so excited to embark on is so quickly over, while more than a few feel duped by the whole experience. Still, many are making an open plea to the show’s talented creators to take over the reigns and keep the game afoot.

Will ABC capitalize on fans’ strong appetite for an officially sanctioned alternative reality game? Stay tuned!

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Mitchel Harad is a renouned expert in online marketing, who has founded, lead and sold two pioneering and successful companies. You can visit his blog Mess You Made for further insights on online marketing trends and strategies.

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