Damaged

Alternate Reality Game

Game Design Director & Story Lead | Insight Productions, Yellow Bear

Damaged is a psychological thriller that follows several characters in a modern-day retelling of Red Riding Hood that transplants the story from a fabled forest to the seedy underbelly of a corrupt metropolis. In a world where no one is completely innocent and everyone has something to hide, the series trades wolves and woodsmen for vicious serial killers and tech-savvy hackers in a compelling drama that ends on a terrifying cliffhanger.

The Damaged alternate reality game (ARG) is a digitally-focused companion that gives the audience a chance to interact directly with supplementary media through a remote desktop connection, and have text chats with a protagonist through a creative use of chatbots. By following the hero’s directions and uncovering clues hidden throughout the desktop folders, fans unravel a connection to the web-series narrative that puts the conclusion into a new light.

GAME DESIGN

After an initial viewing of the Damaged web-series, the audience is prompted to follow a link to the series’ ARG website. Using a password seen input in the episode, they gain access to a virtual desktop recreation filled with files, folders, websites, a podcast, and other applications—all designed to appear as though they live in-world.

Through exploration of this content, and interaction with one of the series protagonists through a desktop/phone SMS feature—in reality a creative and sophisticated chatbot—fans combine various clues and unwittingly set the stage for the final episode’s bombshell reveal.

CONNECTED NARRATIVES

Developing the ARG and series narrative in tandem, series director Richard Rotter and I worked closely to build a compelling and connected story. The narrative explored in the ARG provides a mirror to the events in the series, providing additional details and adding context to the unfolding plot.

Eventually the ARG builds towards an immersive hook to the web-series’ twist ending—when the audience learns that their path reflected that of the series plot and that they were ultimately responsible for several characters’ fates through their investigation.

This interaction provides a compelling experience that amplifies the web-series’ narrative by adding additional context which completely changes the perspective of the audience and their role.