This is a documentation for the alternate reality game The Wave.

I made this game for my BFA show. The stage of the game was set in SFAI campus, the audiences need to solve the puzzle and move to the next stage. In previous several test demo I found the audience needs some reminders and notice before playing the game, so I made a website and use QRcode to notice my audiences.

It was not only posted in flyers around the campus but also on the poster of BFA show.

https://m25120877.github.io/thewave/

at the first gathering place, people will see the flyers on the wall

things get a little bit interesting, what artwork would be forced to taken down? Why could it not be shown in the exhibition? The artist is called Cory Harvey, is he/she the main character?

The message refer them to a certain gallery in SFAI chestnut campus.

The chestnut campus only has two galleries: one is Diego Rivera Gallery, the other is Walter and Macbean Gallery.

According to the artist’s response, the gallery name should take a step back–

ejfhp sjwfsb >> diego revera

then we should be looking for the artwork which only left the label.

let’s look closer……

The hint is hidden in the label. Where would you go if you are looking for a video?

Here is the place

https://lmgtfy.com/?q=youllonqfpm&p=1&s=

Cory in the radio was talking about her friend Tim, who used to study in SFAI as well. They sound being good friendships with each other, that they were sharing the same locker. How about let’s check how is the locker now?

…….that does not look like a good fortune.

We find Tim’s picture on the back, and many of the newspapers on the wall, including the old newspaper about white terror in Taiwan and the others, are the new articles about China unification.

old newspapers:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2000/02/15/0000024182
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-16-mn-8433-story.html

new newspapers:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-china-built-an-army-of-influence-agents-in-the-us

China’s ‘United Front’ Seeks to Undermine U.S. Support for Taiwan

Chinese Government Front Groups Act in Violation of U.S. Law

Seeing the picture of Tim, it looks like something that we passed by but not paying attention.

So we now know this is Tim, but what happened to him? Why there is a slogan “unification is the only path”?

But wait, there is a picture in the locker, maybe it is about the next location?

Pretty sure that Tim left this message, then Cory write him back. the locker become a place where they can stay connecting.

Under the picture is a website: https://m25120877.github.io/thewavetest/
It is asking to allow the camera in the message box. But it does not do anything beside that. We decide to go to the place in the picture and see how it goes.

When the camera of the phone point to the place, it looks complete different!

A blood ocean occupies the whole picture; Cory and Tim are standing there looking to the ocean.

The story ends here without any explanation.