For the last four months, a tangled mystery unfolded online involving crop cirlces, a strange painting, childhood letters, ancient civilizations, libraries ... and ethanol. The "alternate reality game" (a part of GM's Live Green Go Yellow initiative) brought together a tremendous group of players (the Tinfoil Hat Posse) with a tremendously bright team and a visionary sponsor (and I like to think that the production explored some interesting new textures on how ARGs can happen inside of community and storytelling.)

Immersive narratives take great teams of creative people working together in new and unusual ways, and the team for WIBS is a great example of that (mixing smart folks from agency Campbell-Ewald with both commercial and grassroots alternate reality gaming designers.) Congratulations to all of them for their tremendous tenancity and creativity: ARGN and Unfiction are kind enough to be hosting a chat with many of the people on the team Thursday April 13th at 9PM EDT where they'll finally get some time out from behind the curtain. Our special thanks, though, go to the wonderful players of the WIBS community and to GM for the spirit of innovation they helped to foster in interactive storytelling.

"Who Is Benjamin Stove?" Credits

Conception:
Created by: Campbell-Ewald -- Stefan Kogler, Kevin Omans, Chris Scinta
Story & Development: Stefan Kogler, Kevin Omans, Chris Scinta, Rod Weston, Iain Lanivich, Brian Clark, Dave Szulborski, Jim Gunshanan, Brooke Thompson & Justice Mitchell

Development/Production (Campbell-Ewald):
Creative Director: Stefan Kogler
Lead Art Director: Kevin Omans
Lead Producer: Iain Lanivich
Painter: Brad Fairhurst
Additional Designers: Dustin Davis & Adam Ball
Account Manager: Steve Debano

Development/Production (GMD Studios):
Creative Director: Brian Clark
Lead Art Director: Justice Mitchell
Puzzle Development: Dave Szulborski
Website Development: Jim Rhoades, Jamie Miller & Andrew Cowan
Lead Writer: Jim Gunshanan

Characters:
Tucker Darby (face): Brad Fairhurst
Tucker Darby (writer): Jim Gunshanan
Sarah Randall/Debunkette (face): Christine Wilson
Sarah Randall/Debunkette (writer): Brooke Thompson
Benjamin Stove (face): Chris Zientek
Benjamin Stove (writer): Rod Weston
Tucker's Mom (writer): Brooke Thompson
John Gald (voice): Iain Lanivich
John Gald (writer): Jim Gunshanan
Mysterious NYC Stranger (face): Scott Denny
WiFi Cutie: Lynnette Reed

Sites:
whoisbenjaminstove.com
debunkette.com
symbolinthecrop.com
livegreengoyellow.com