«А.И.» фильмінің құпиясы: «The Beast» ойынының тарихы

2001 alternate reality game

The Beast is an alternate reality game developed by Microsoft to promote the 2001 film A. I. Artificial Intelligence. Entry points to the game embedded into the film's promotion centered on the fictional Jeanine Salla and the death of her friend Evan Chan. In 2142, Jeanine learns that Evan was murdered and her investigation uncovers a network of murders of humans and artificial intelligences. The game launched on March 8, 2001 and continued running past its initially scheduled end date on June 29, the film's release date. Players were led through a network of websites created by Warner Bros. registered to fake names, and further clues were given in subsequent promotional materials and events for the film. The game drew a large, tight knit player base who created online groups dedicated to the game, most prominently the Yahoo! Group Cloudmakers. The Beast was described as "unprecedented even by Hollywood standards" and is considered among the most influential early alternate reality games.

The Beast centers around the fictional Jeanine Salla, who investigates the death of her friend Evan Chan and discovers a cover up involving a string of murdered humans and artificial intelligences. Players were led through a network of over forty websites created by Warner Bros. via clues left in trailers, print ads, posters, telephone messages, and live promotional events for the film A. I. Artificial Intelligence. The game launched on March 8, 2001 and continued running past its initially scheduled end on June 29, the release date for the film.

Set in 2142, roughly forty years after A. I. Artificial Intelligence, Evan Chan is said to be killed in a boating accident aboard his artificial intelligence enhanced boat Cloudmaker. Dr. Jeanine Salla receives a cryptic message revealing he was murdered and leads an investigation. She discovers that he was having an affair with Venus, a companion bot reprogramed to kill Evan, and that the ensuing cover up triggers further murders of humans and artificial intelligences. Simultaneously, the Mann Act is brought before the legislature and the president and ultimately put to referendum to decide if artificial intelligence will be treated equal to human citizens.

Clues to the game were distributed through trailers, print ads, posters, telephone messages, and live promotional events for the film A. I. Artificial Intelligence Online, the game was presented through numerous websites in text, photograph, video, and audio based formats. a phone number hidden in another trailer ultimately led to Jeanine, Later that month, "Anti Robot Militia" rallies in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles were staged with actors pretending to protest artificial intelligence. Jeanine Salla and other characters of The Beast are listed in the film's closing credits.

Though The Beast does not directly reference A. I Artificial Intelligence, the film's producer Kathleen Kennedy stated that the game's intention was develop the film's fictional setting and create a foundation for a series of video games released over five years as part of a "very elaborate long term project with Microsoft and Xbox". The game was originally scheduled to end with the release of the film on June 29, 2001, but it continued running throughout the summer. The Puppetmasters managed a larger creative team. For instance, Kevin McLeod was assisted by Thuc Doan Nguyen on sites like Cybertronics, Eliza's Tea Room and others. Microsoft also initially denied involvement in the game's development, though this was believed to be part of maintaining the integrity of the game's intrigue. Pete Fenlon, the Producer and Content Lead, served as the fourth of The Beast's four Puppetmasters.

The game was described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the most elaborate movie promotions ever conceived" that is "unprecedented even by Hollywood standards".