Facebook gets a soap
By Steve Mullins. Alternate adventure. Facebook has its first soap opera in the form of the Spirit Of Adventure alternate reality game, a tale of Helen Hobbes, a housewife living a happy life until she abandons her family to go on a quest for a mysterious man.
The series comprises regular text, as well as drawings, photos and letters to be opened and read. There are also puzzles, with new challenges linked into the story every week, a fan page with a discussion forum where players can chat and interact with the development team. And there are 70 ‘keepsakes’ for players to collect by completing the puzzles, interacting with the game, and sharing with each other on Facebook.
“One of the things I love about Spirit of Adventure is that we’ve taken the traditional concept of storytelling and said, ‘Let’s see what we can do if…’, “ says Christian Wheeler, SOA’s writer.
“This is the first time social storytelling in this form has been delivered on Facebook,” said Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO of nDreams, the digital games outfit which developed the show. “It allows people to actively follow and interact with a fascinating story as a community, as opposed to passively watching on television.
