Double Twenty Unlocks the Secret Device for Hellboy II

Double Twenty recently wrapped an alternate reality game (ARG) for fans of the upcoming Hellboy II - The Golden Army film directed by Guillermo Del Toro. The transmedia property submerses players around the globe into a world of conspiracy and mystical adventure, using online interactivity, live action, live events, and print, all fused together in a non-linear mystery story. Double Twenty's Matt Wolf, a gaming industry veteran, was approached by Universal Pictures to create and produce the entire concept, storyline, game environment, and original content for the property. The previous ARG created by Wolf won a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy in 2007 for Outstanding Interactive for the property surrounding ABC Family's Fallen mini-series.

The ARG, called The Secret Device, launched in April, serving as a highly-interactive gaming experience and promotional tool to generate additional interest in the Hellboy II film property, which will be released in July. The first content released surrounded a mysterious organization called Humans for the Ethical Treatment of Fairies, Elves, and Trolls, which ties directly into the Hellboy storyline. This served as the interactive hub for players, with a series of additional web assets launching new pieces of the unfolding story. After opening the initial self-cracking lock, players collaboratively scoured for codes hidden in videos, news stories, photos, limericks, email, phone messages, and forums, also using YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter to solve a series of interconnected puzzles. The investigative gaming process unfolds in real-time as more clues, codes, and supporting content gradually become available and are shared across the community. Players pieced together the final clues in early June, unlocking an intricate online device that launched the world premiere of an original animated Hellboy II prologue comic, also delivering a chance to win a trip to an early screening of the film, hosted by Guillermo Del Toro.

The experience attracted a large and loyal audience, ranging from first-time players to ARG veterans, already garnering over a half-million views across its online properties. During the ARG's two-month evolution, players were enchanted by deep content exploration, as they spent an average of eight minutes per visit across multiple impressions. Explaining the phenomenon Wolf notes, "Alternate reality entertainment and transmedia storytelling is really evolving and that's exactly what people love about the medium - it rarely takes the same form twice and is full of truly innovative content and technique. We took great care to craft a narrative that borrowed from the Hellboy II fiction, without infringing upon it or giving anything away. It's a pretty cool concept, as the public was able to experience a parallel universe that offered its own unique entertainment and backstory, while still promoting the film. It's certainly no longer a secret that big brands are recognizing the power of reaching and engaging their core audience and market with these convergent-content, deep-impression experiences." Wolf's background also includes creating and producing award-winning console and PC-based games for both EA and Sega before launching his own production company to help bring together interactive entertainment and cross-media storytelling. Commenting on what makes these projects successful, Wolf adds, "It's about using all forms of available media to really engage players and deliver the most authentic and compelling content and user experiences possible."

As a part of the ARG, there were 20+ live action web videos, also conceived and written by Wolf, and directed by Danny Trachtenberg of Tight, which were strategically leaked and syndicated across the web. These videos provided timely clues and background to the original characters from the unfolding story. One of the central characters, Lexi Lloyd, vlogs about the mysterious events of her summer home alone, which includes the reappearance of her allegedly deceased father. Elsewhere, classic military footage reveals strange government experiments and unusual creatures. Weaving all of the pieces together is a process that is very familiar to Wolf and Double Twenty, which specializes in creating immersive experiences, often in the form of ARG's, video games, and brand-related storytelling. In addition to the Emmy-winning game for Fallen, the Double Twenty has done award-winning work for brands such as Pepsi, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Nike, and The Simpsons, as well as directing brand and creative oversight for the recently released Bourne Conspiracy video game for Robert Ludlum's estate. Wolf's original game design concepts also helped Coca-Cola win a 2008 Webby for Game Design for a unique collection of online Happiness Factory games, where Wolf also served as Executive Producer through Shift Control Media and AKQA.

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