Author Stephen Frey’s Endgame is more than just a collection of novels. He’s collaborating with Niantic Labs, a startup based at Google, to bring the story into the real world.
Niantic will be running an alternate reality game, or ARG, for Engdame; rolling together maps, search results, social media, websites and interactive puzzles that tie into the story. (Video via Ancient Societies)
The company is probably best known for its Ingress ARG, which pits smartphone users against each other in an imaginary battle for territory and control of real-world landmarks. (Video via Niantic)
Frey told The Huffington Post there are real prizes at stake for players who piece together clues from each book.
“If you are the first to solve the puzzle in the first book, you will receive a key. That key opens a case at Caesar’s Palace filled with half a million dollars in gold coins.” (Video via Huffington Post)
There will even eventually be movies. 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the series when it was first announced, nine months before Book 1 was published.
The one downside to the sprawling game, if it can be considered a downside, is much of Endgame’s content will be transient — only to be discovered once. The Verge explains:
“The success of the vast Endgame world will depend on the success of the novel. Endgame might have the most involved and deeply layered supplementary content of any piece of media in recent memory, but at its core it’s still just that: supplemental.”
Still, if you want a shot at that prize, you’d best get started — Endgame began with the worldwide release of The Calling on Tuesday.
