The successful launch of Moons of Madness was propelled by “Cyrano Story”, with over 53,000 players engaged and an average of 10 pages played per session. It also allowed the game and storyline to evolve as players interacted.Īt times, storytellers required players to cross over into real life to put the pieces together, with a mission to photograph items around the physical world and a rendezvous with a live agent in Berlin.įor those instrumental in unravelling the story, there were 2,000 Moons of Madness activation codes and a trip to the NASA Space Center up for grabs. This allowed the AI to identify the players’ worst fears, based on words and phrases that they fed to the beast. In “Cyrano Story”, Google AI was put in charge of the game universe and taught 298 human phobias. Through the cooperation of play, gamers worked together, unlocking the secrets, hidden backstories and characters that our storytellers created.
One of the most advanced transmedia experiences created for the launch of an online game, players were required to use an eerie living entity, or beast, to solve puzzles and challenges in order to unravel or reveal the prequel.
“Cyrano Story” is a creepy, complex and living Alternate Reality Game that immerses players in the backstory to Moons of Madness one month prior to its release date. A “game before the game” approach revealing the backstory of Moons of Madness would allow players to unlock unique storylines, delve into the lives of secret characters and reveal a mind-bending prequel to Moons of Madness, and hook them on what was to come. What Secret World gamers love most is Lovecraftian games and puzzles served up in a complex living way. To fuel anticipation and thus “hit the ground running” with the Moons of Madness official release one month later, the goal was to get influential and diehard role-playing gamers hooked, especially Lovecraftian gamers. The challenge of getting this unique breed of gamer hooked on Moons of Madness before its launch was handed to The Humanise Collective / Alice & Smith. They also craved complex, mind-bending puzzles and games. Fans of Funcom’s The Secret World were accustomed to unique and bizarre investigations about secrets that go beyond human comprehension. When Swedish game developer Funcom launched Lovecraftian role-playing game Moons of Madness, they felt it would take more than the traditional trailer, walkthrough and influencer outreach program to set the mood for the experience to come.