I love bees: Difference between revisions

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==Summary==
During the summer of 2004, the website [http://www.ilovebees.com ilovebees.com] was used as a publicity site for [[Halo 2]], with the site being pointed to by adverts for the game during movie trailers. Ostensibly a beekeeper's personal site, the server appears to have been taken over by an unstable [[A.I.]], who's thoughts are scattered on the site.
[[Image:ILBindex.JPG|150px|left]]
[[Image:ILB.PNG|150px|right]]
During the summer of 2004, the website [http://www.ilovebees.com ilovebees.com] was used as a publicity site for [[Halo 2]], with the site being pointed to by [[:Image:ILB Xbox.jpg|adverts]] for the game during movie trailers. Ostensibly a beekeeper's personal site, the server appears to have been taken over by an unstable [[AI]], who's thoughts are scattered on the site.


A message on the frontpage directs viewers to the [http://ilovebees.blogspot.com/ blog] of a girl named Dana. Dana claims that she built the ilovebees site for her Aunt Margaret and recently her site got in this bizarre state, could anyone help her? Dana acts essentially as a narrator in the game, describing events for people who missed the action.
A message on the frontpage directs viewers to the blog of a girl named Dana. Dana claims that she built the ilovebees site for her Aunt Margaret and recently her site got in this bizarre state, could anyone help her? Dana acts essentially as a narrator in the game, describing events for people who missed the action.


The frontpage had a counter counting down to July 27, 2004 (when it says "network throttling will erode"), August 10, 2004 (when "this medium will metastasize"), and August 24, 2004 (at 8:06 am, when it will be "wide awake and physical") - many thought something big would happen related to ''Halo 2'' on these dates, however it was only related to the ILB game. Currently there is a counter counting down to the day the [[Covenant]] will attack [[Earth]], 500 years in the future.
The frontpage had a counter counting down to July 27, 2004 (when it says "network throttling will erode"), August 10, 2004 (when "this medium will metastasize"), and August 24, 2004 (at 8:06 am, when it will be "wide awake and physical") - many thought something big would happen related to [[Halo 2]] on these dates, however it was only related to the ILB game. Currently there is a counter counting down to the day the [[Covenant]] will attack [[Earth]], 500 years in the future.


On 8/10/04, a list of GPS coordinates with times were added to the site's Links page, along with a countdown to "Axons go hot". With the exception of one leading to the Pacific Ocean, all of the coordinates lead to payphones. On 8/24/04, the countdown ended as it reached the first set time. People who answered the payphones (the "axons") at the scheduled times spoke to a recording of the AI and were asked basic questions about the character. If answered correctly, an audio clip would be released and a number would be added to a counter on the website. The audio clips, when threaded together formed an [[wikipedia:audio drama|audio drama]] about characters in the ''Halo'' universe. As the number reached 777, the AI, as played by a voice actor instead of a recording, began interacting with players through the payphones.
On 8/10/04, a list of GPS coordinates with times were added to the site's Links page, along with a countdown to "Axons go hot". With the exception of one leading to the Pacific Ocean, all of the coordinates lead to payphones. On 8/24/04, the countdown ended as it reached the first set time. People who answered the payphones (the "axons") at the scheduled times spoke to a recording of the [[A.I.]] and were asked basic questions about the character. If answered correctly, an audio clip would be released and a number would be added to a counter on the website. The audio clips, when threaded together formed an audio drama about characters in the Halo universe. As the number reached 777, the AI, as played by a voice actor instead of a recording, began interacting with players through the payphones.


The AI would ask for their name, rank and proof that they were human. Players would provide their usernames, choose ranks and improvise proof (ie, joking, singing). Their names were added to the site, crediting them for activating the axons.
The AI would ask for their name, rank and proof that they were human. Players would provide their usernames, choose ranks and improvise proof (ie, joking, singing). Their names were added to the site, crediting them for activating the axons.
[[Image:ILB DVD.PNG|150px|right]]
 
After the game was over, players were invited to go on a "training mission" which was actually a chance to play Halo 2 multiplayer before its release. Various sites around America were used to host the event, including movie theaters and malls. Players were told to say the phrase "The Operator left a message for me." to gain access to the event. Unfortunatly, several of the hosts were unaware of ILB and thought it was just a Halo 2 event, disappointing many fans. At each event, players were given DVDs (seen right) containing all of the ILB audio files as well as deleted material.
After the game was over, players were invited to go on a "training mission" which was actually a chance to play Halo 2 multiplayer before its release. Various sites around America were used to host the event, including movie theaters and malls. Players were told to say the phrase "The Operator left a message for me." to gain access to the event. Unfortunatly, several of the hosts were unaware of ILB and thought it was just a Halo 2 event, disappointing many fans. At each event, players were given DVDs (seen right) containing all of the ILB audio files as well as deleted material.


This style of publicity is similar to that which surrounded the movie [[wikipedia:A.I. (movie)|A.I.]] which featured a grand [[wikipedia:Alternate Reality Game|Alternate Reality Game]]. Both games were run by ''4orty2wo Entertainment''.
This style of publicity is similar to that which surrounded the movie A.I. which featured a grand Alternate Reality Game. Both games were run by 4orty2wo Entertainment.


According to the black screen that appears on the homepage, this unstable A.I. will be "wide awake and physical" at the end of 2552. A very interesting thing this A.I. has come up with...
According to the black screen that appears on the homepage, this unstable A.I. will be "wide awake and physical" at the end of 2552. A very interesting thing this A.I. has come up with...
==Story Synopsis==


==Story Synopsis==
{{main|See I Love Bees Synopsis. }}
:''See [[I Love Bees Synopsis]].''


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
Yuri Lowenthal, voice of [[Kamal Zaman]], is also the voice of the Prince in the [[wikipedia:Prince of Persia|Prince of Persia]] series. A piece of Kamal's dialog, ''"People think time is a river that flows in one direction, but time is an ocean."'' is very much like the Prince's ''"Some say time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm."''


Soon after ILB became popular, someone bought the domain "www.ilovepees.com" and auctioned it on e-Bay. The person claimed whoever made it a redirect to their own site would get tons of traffic from ILB fans who would type in the address incorrectly. It was sold for something like $40.
[[Yuri Lowenthal]], voice of [[Kamal Zaman]], is also the voice of the Prince in the Prince of Persia series. A piece of Kamal's dialog, "People think time is a river that flows in one direction, but time is an ocean." is very much like the Prince's "Some say time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm."
 
Soon after ILB became popular, someone bought the domain [www.ilovepees.com www.ilovepees.com] and auctioned it on e-Bay. The person claimed whoever made it a redirect to their own site would get tons of traffic from ILB fans who would type in the address incorrectly. It was sold for something like $40.


The surname "Zaman" means "time, age, era" in Arabic. [http://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?terms=zaman]
The surname "Zaman" means "time, age, era" in Arabic. [1]


The people of [[Bungie]] don't consider this to be official Canon for Halo, since 4orty 2wo was basically allowed to do whatever they wanted with the game.
The people of [[Bungie]] don't consider this to be official Canon for Halo, since 4orty 2wo was basically allowed to do whatever they wanted with the game.
 
==Related Links==
==Related Links==
 
===Characters===
==Characters==


*[[Melissa]]
*[[Melissa]]
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*[[Aiden Maki]]
*[[Aiden Maki]]


===Ships and Objects===
==Ships and Objects==
*[[Apocalypso]]
 
*[[UNSC Apocalypso]]
*[[Chatter]]
*[[Chatter]]


===Other Marketing===
==Other Marketing==
 
*[[Cortana Letters]]
*[[Cortana Letters]]
*[[Transmissions]]
*[[Transmissions]]


==External Links==
==External Links==
===Official===
*http://www.ilovebees.com
*[http://www.ilovebees.com/humptydumpty.html Audio Drama] - Official collection of WAV files.
*[http://ilovebees.blogspot.com Dana's Blog] - Blog of the girl whose aunt owned the I love bees website. All part of the game.
*[http://www.4orty2wo.com 4orty 2wo Entertainment] - Company that made the game.
===Fan-Created===
*[http://www.argn.com/archives/ilb/index.php Audio File Repository]
*[http://www.thebruce.ca/ilovebees I Love Bees Compilation] and [http://creepy.thebruce.ca Creepy...] - Fanfiction retelling, by theBruce
*[http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/index.php?c=15&sid=d3a0b20f2c39c269cef1c6e5a442f665 Unfiction] - Forum devoted to the ARG
*[http://ilb.extrasonic.com/index.php/Main_Page Fireflies] - I Love Bees Wiki (read-only)
*[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Haunted_Apiary Wikiquote] - Collection of quotes.
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412799/fullcredits Halo 2 Credits at IMDB] - Every character with "ILB:" before the name is from I Love Bees.


===Press Coverage===
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
===Starting points===
Those wishing to read more about the Haunted Apiary ARG should visit the [http://bees.netninja.com/staticwiki/beewiki/ Haunted Apiary Wiki], especially:
*[http://bees.netninja.com/staticwiki/beewiki/TheGuide Summary of events]
*[http://bees.netninja.com/staticwiki/beewiki/ThePuzzles The Puzzles]
*[http://bees.netninja.com/staticwiki/beewiki/DanaAndMargaret Dana and Margaret]
*[http://bees.netninja.com/staticwiki/beewiki/StorySoFar Speculative story so far]
Major changes in the game and summaries are documented [http://bees.netninja.com/blog/ at the BeeLog].
===The game===
*[http://ilovebees.com ilovebees.com - The "Haunted Apiary"]
*[http://ilovebees.blogspot.com/ The ilovebees weblog]
*[http://ilovebees2.com ilovebees2.com - The Unofficial Sequel]
 
===Fan sites===
*[http://www.welovebees.com/index.html welovebees.com]
*[http://ilb.extrasonic.com/index.php/Main_Page 'Fireflies' ILB wiki]
*[http://bees.netninja.com/ NetNinja ILB resources]
*[http://www.thebruce.ca/ilovebees/ theBruce's ilovebees Compilations] and [http://creepy.thebruce.ca fanfiction retelling]
*[http://www.halopedia.org/index.php/I_Love_Bees I Love Bees at Halopedia]
 
===Communities discussing the game===
*[http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/index.php?c=15 Unfiction forum]
*[http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=364518&viewreplies=true&postRepeater1-p=1 Bungie.net forum thread]
*[irc://irc.chat-solutions.org/ilovebees An IRC channel devoted to discussing the ARG]
 
===Press coverage===
*[http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/23/1912259&tid=204 First] and [http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/24/1814210&tid=211 second] Slashdot articles.
*[http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/23/1912259&tid=204 First] and [http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/24/1814210&tid=211 second] Slashdot articles.
*[http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65365,00.html Wired article]
*[http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65365,00.html Wired article]
*[http://www.igda.org/awards/pr_2005_0310.htm "I Love Bees" design team receives a Game Developers Choice Award]
*[http://www.igda.org/awards/pr_2005_0310.htm "I Love Bees" design team receives a Game Developers Choice Award]
*[http://www.argn.com/archive/000231i_love_bees_nominated_for_webby_award.php "I Love Bees" Nominated for a Webby Award]
*[http://www.argn.com/archive/000231i_love_bees_nominated_for_webby_award.php "I Love Bees" Nominated for a Webby Award]
*[http://www.totalvideogames.com/pages/articles/index.php?article_id=7042 Total Video Games]


[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Evnets]][[Category:The Real World]]
[[Category:I Love Bees| ]]

Revision as of 05:52, July 21, 2006

During the summer of 2004, the website ilovebees.com was used as a publicity site for Halo 2, with the site being pointed to by adverts for the game during movie trailers. Ostensibly a beekeeper's personal site, the server appears to have been taken over by an unstable A.I., who's thoughts are scattered on the site.

A message on the frontpage directs viewers to the blog of a girl named Dana. Dana claims that she built the ilovebees site for her Aunt Margaret and recently her site got in this bizarre state, could anyone help her? Dana acts essentially as a narrator in the game, describing events for people who missed the action.

The frontpage had a counter counting down to July 27, 2004 (when it says "network throttling will erode"), August 10, 2004 (when "this medium will metastasize"), and August 24, 2004 (at 8:06 am, when it will be "wide awake and physical") - many thought something big would happen related to Halo 2 on these dates, however it was only related to the ILB game. Currently there is a counter counting down to the day the Covenant will attack Earth, 500 years in the future.

On 8/10/04, a list of GPS coordinates with times were added to the site's Links page, along with a countdown to "Axons go hot". With the exception of one leading to the Pacific Ocean, all of the coordinates lead to payphones. On 8/24/04, the countdown ended as it reached the first set time. People who answered the payphones (the "axons") at the scheduled times spoke to a recording of the A.I. and were asked basic questions about the character. If answered correctly, an audio clip would be released and a number would be added to a counter on the website. The audio clips, when threaded together formed an audio drama about characters in the Halo universe. As the number reached 777, the AI, as played by a voice actor instead of a recording, began interacting with players through the payphones.

The AI would ask for their name, rank and proof that they were human. Players would provide their usernames, choose ranks and improvise proof (ie, joking, singing). Their names were added to the site, crediting them for activating the axons.

After the game was over, players were invited to go on a "training mission" which was actually a chance to play Halo 2 multiplayer before its release. Various sites around America were used to host the event, including movie theaters and malls. Players were told to say the phrase "The Operator left a message for me." to gain access to the event. Unfortunatly, several of the hosts were unaware of ILB and thought it was just a Halo 2 event, disappointing many fans. At each event, players were given DVDs (seen right) containing all of the ILB audio files as well as deleted material.

This style of publicity is similar to that which surrounded the movie A.I. which featured a grand Alternate Reality Game. Both games were run by 4orty2wo Entertainment.

According to the black screen that appears on the homepage, this unstable A.I. will be "wide awake and physical" at the end of 2552. A very interesting thing this A.I. has come up with...

Story Synopsis

Main article: See I Love Bees Synopsis.

Trivia

Yuri Lowenthal, voice of Kamal Zaman, is also the voice of the Prince in the Prince of Persia series. A piece of Kamal's dialog, "People think time is a river that flows in one direction, but time is an ocean." is very much like the Prince's "Some say time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm."

Soon after ILB became popular, someone bought the domain [www.ilovepees.com www.ilovepees.com] and auctioned it on e-Bay. The person claimed whoever made it a redirect to their own site would get tons of traffic from ILB fans who would type in the address incorrectly. It was sold for something like $40.

The surname "Zaman" means "time, age, era" in Arabic. [1]

The people of Bungie don't consider this to be official Canon for Halo, since 4orty 2wo was basically allowed to do whatever they wanted with the game.

Related Links

Characters

Ships and Objects

Other Marketing

External Links

External links

Template:Wikiquote

Starting points

Those wishing to read more about the Haunted Apiary ARG should visit the Haunted Apiary Wiki, especially:

Major changes in the game and summaries are documented at the BeeLog.

The game

Fan sites

Communities discussing the game

Press coverage