Dark Dealings was an alternate reality game (ARG) that ran for approximately five weeks in November and December of 2013, with some teasers appearing around the Web as early as October. The story challenged players to solve a mystery surrounding the disappearance of 10 students who were developing their own ARG (the titular “Dark Dealings”) five years prior. Players were tasked with solving challenges posed by “Jack,” who claimed to be the mastermind behind the disappearances, in order to gain new hints about what happened with the original Dark Dealings team.
As part of a 10-member team (and a four-member “sub-team” of writers, which met more frequently to plan and create content), I served as a designer, writer, actor, musician, and video editor for this project.
Because ARGs are usually played out in real-time, like an interactive performance, the site where the game took place is no longer online. However, a few artifacts from the game still exist, which you may view below. These are embedded in the order they were viewable leading up to and as part of the game. (Note: these videos contain strong language.)