Difference between revisions of "Beginners Guide"

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(The story (so far!))
(The story (so far!))
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The ARG timeline presumably begins immediately after the conclusion of ''Batman Begins,'' when Lieutenant [[James Gordon]] tells Batman about the existence of a theatrical murderous criminal who calls himself [[the Joker]].
 
The ARG timeline presumably begins immediately after the conclusion of ''Batman Begins,'' when Lieutenant [[James Gordon]] tells Batman about the existence of a theatrical murderous criminal who calls himself [[the Joker]].
  
Since Gotham City DA Larry Finch was killed during the timeline of ''Batman Begins,'' [[Roger Garcetti]] steps in to act as DA. Along with [[Rachel Dawes]], a new hotshot lawyer named [[Harvey Dent]] joins the prosecution team as Assistant District Attorney. Dent immediately begins work to clean up police corruption in the city, inspiring Gotham citizens to make the website [[Ibelieveinharveydent.com]] in May 2007.
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Since Gotham City DA Carl Finch was killed during the timeline of ''Batman Begins,'' [[Roger Garcetti]] steps in to act as DA. Along with [[Rachel Dawes]], a new hotshot lawyer named [[Harvey Dent]] joins the prosecution team as Assistant District Attorney. Dent immediately begins work to clean up police corruption in the city, inspiring Gotham citizens to make the website [[Ibelieveinharveydent.com]] in May 2007.
  
 
A mysterious figure makes his own site mocking the Dent support, deforming the image of Harvey Dent at [[Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com]]. By inviting online participants to submit their emails, he gradually revealed himself on the site as [[the Joker]]. When this was done, he erased everything on the page save an encoded message: "See you in December."
 
A mysterious figure makes his own site mocking the Dent support, deforming the image of Harvey Dent at [[Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com]]. By inviting online participants to submit their emails, he gradually revealed himself on the site as [[the Joker]]. When this was done, he erased everything on the page save an encoded message: "See you in December."

Revision as of 21:47, 17 March 2008

Introduction

The Dark Knight ARG is an alternate reality game created by Warner Bros. and 42 Entertainment to promote The Dark Knight, the upcoming Batman movie directed by Christopher Nolan. Unlike most online games, an ARG requires searching for clues both on the Internet and at offline events, presuming that all participants are Gotham citizens. Activities in the Dark Knight game have included:

Once an objective in the game is completed, all participants are rewarded with new TDK promotional material, such as trailers, pictures from the movie, and posters. Those who participate outside of the Internet have received items like newspapers, clown masks and cell phones.

The story (so far!)

The ARG timeline presumably begins immediately after the conclusion of Batman Begins, when Lieutenant James Gordon tells Batman about the existence of a theatrical murderous criminal who calls himself the Joker.

Since Gotham City DA Carl Finch was killed during the timeline of Batman Begins, Roger Garcetti steps in to act as DA. Along with Rachel Dawes, a new hotshot lawyer named Harvey Dent joins the prosecution team as Assistant District Attorney. Dent immediately begins work to clean up police corruption in the city, inspiring Gotham citizens to make the website Ibelieveinharveydent.com in May 2007.

A mysterious figure makes his own site mocking the Dent support, deforming the image of Harvey Dent at Ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com. By inviting online participants to submit their emails, he gradually revealed himself on the site as the Joker. When this was done, he erased everything on the page save an encoded message: "See you in December."

In July, the Joker emerges again at the San Diego Comic Con looking for recruits to cause public havoc. The game ends when someone standing in for the Joker is driven away by possible gangsters, who kill him shortly after. The Gotham authorities believe that the threat is eliminated, but the Joker assures his followers that he is alive and well.

On Halloween, the Joker prepares a new recruitment game by having hopefuls look for clues to discover his motto: "The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules." He then encourages participants to take group photos of themselves dressed like him in public, for his amusement.

As a reward for playing the game, the Joker sends all the participants a copy of The Gotham Times. In it, the reader learns about the growing mob war in Gotham, Harvey Dent's actions to curb police corruption, and Batman's ambivalent place in Gotham society. In the newspaper itself, the Joker publicized a recruitment email address in a classified ad, and makes a parody website of the newspaper at Thehahahatimes.com.

By submitting tips to Harvey Dent's police corruption website, the participant becomes privy to a sting operation involving two police officers who are then caught in the act of accepting bribes. The operation goes wrong and a shoot-out occurs, in which one of the accused officers die. In the interrogation of the surviving officer afterwards, it is clear that Gotham police officers feel threatened by Harvey Dent's actions to crack down on corruption, as well as the pressure of working in such a crime-ridden city.

In the meantime, the Joker is once again making his presence known throughout Gotham, inviting participants into more games via the email address that he publicized in the newspaper. The games culminate in December, in a final recruitment exercise in the guise of a carnival game, which whittles down the field to 22 recruits on the ground carrying cell phones, awaiting the Joker's future orders. He invites all other hopefuls to "meet him," keeping his promise of seeing them in December.

As the Gotham City elections in June approach, the support for Harvey Dent escalate at Ibelieveinharveydent.com. Dent himself calls each one of his supporters asking them for help to get him elected as Gotham DA. Fellow supporters are spreading the word by giving away campaign materials and submitting photos and video of themselves campaigning.

Currently, the Gotham City online voting system is being set up so that participants may vote in June.

How to participate

  • Ibelieveinharveydent.com is now updated, allowing participants to submit photos and videos of their support for Harvey Dent, so get out there and start supporting Harvey!
  • Joker-related games have initiated from humanresources@whysoserious.com, a recruitment email address from the Joker. As of December 2007, the initiating participant list has been whittled down to 22 people carrying cell phones, but emailing that address could still get you on a mailing list for future use. Many participants with cell phones are users of forums such as Superhero Hype! so any news on phone-related activity will be posted online in a timely manner.