CTV.ca News Staff

Imagine a puzzle game as difficult as the Sunday crossword, requiring the logic skills of Sudoku, with a story line full of red herrings and played for two weeks on a game board the size of downtown Toronto.

If you can, you may want to join 'Waking City.'

It is an alternate reality game, often referred to as an ARG. The goal is to blur the lines between game experiences and the real world, while challenging people's problem and riddle-solving skills.

The brainchild of Ph. D. student David Fono and new media designer Tony Saad, Waking City is a puzzle game of grand proportions offering players the chance to meet people and learn more about Toronto.

Players will uncover "Toronto's secret history" and interact "with the agents of a vast and ancient conspiracy," the game creators say.

Organizers are convinced people want to play just for the experience.  The winner gets bragging rights. There is no prize.

"I think it's just a part of getting some juice in life," Saad told CTV.ca.

Think of it as 'capture the flag' for the reality television generation.

"These games have been around a long time. We've all played hide-and-seek as kids and we've all played capture the flag ... It actually isn't different," Saad said.

"I don't actually think it's new. I think it's just evolving."

Starting on Sept. 16, people will register and teams of four to seven players will be introduced to the story. Then they will be sent to a part of the city to begin unraveling a mystery.

For the next two weeks the teams will hunt for clues and while straddling everyday life and the world of the game-maker's imagination.

"They will be going around the city solving puzzles, and these puzzles will be strung together by a narrative," Fono told CTV.ca.

"This narrative will be conveyed through characters that the players will interact with at (set times) and also through things like the phone and the occasional online contact."

He is being purposely vague because even before the game has started, serious ARG enthusiasts begin playing. The organizers know it, carefully dropping clues into everything they say.

The group is even suspicious of a journalist's questions, thinking they may be a ruse designed to gain inside secrets about the game.

"Maybe you're a really cool game player and you've got a job as a journalist. Maybe you're playing the game on me," Saad said.

Maybe, but the only behind-the-scenes detail available here is that a group of 10 people - calling themselves TorGame -- is responsible for the "theatrical components" plus organizing the events and writing the story.

They claim their motivation is a love for Toronto and a desire to help people meet. The game is designed to bring players into several city neighbourhoods and help them experience the communities in a new way.

"We really do love the city and we want to help people explore it," Fono said.

And he says there's a creative satisfaction in crafting an alternate reality in the middle of the country's largest city.

"It's just a lot of fun. Even when it gets incredibly difficult, there's something incredibly satisfying about putting together something very big and ... it's really gratifying to see that this is something that people are going to enjoy."

"That's what's really keeping me going at this point."

Back in the real world, TorGame is not making money from this venture. They say the $27.80 registration fee will cover costs, but not turn a profit.

They are banking on the success of Waking City to open doors for more ARG experiences in the future.

Before that, they are focusing efforts on Waking City ready. Information sessions take place on Aug. 24 and Sept. 7. After that, and even before, their alternate reality will take shape.