The Art of the Heist
Encyclopedia
The Art of the Heist was an advertising campaign
and an alternate reality game
created to promote the Audi A3
.
As a game, it falls under the classification of Alternate Reality Game, or ARG.
The game involved, loosely, three layers of interaction. Character Development and Back Story, File and password Cracking
, and Live Events (or, generally, the Retrievals). Players who were involved in the live events received special pins, and complimentary cell phones (which, as a side note, were the root of some difficulty in getting activated by those who won them).
. Ian and Nisha, specifically, were hot on the tracks of a very coordinated theft team, which was led by a person who was initially identified only as Arclight. Arclight was organizing theft timetables, commissioning forged replicas, doing reconnaissance work, and hiring all manner of unruly assistants for the big heist. Virgil seemed to be the main suspect throughout much of the game, due to his odd behaviour and lousy attitude.
Early in the game, a security camera recording was discovered which showed a shadowy villain stashing pieces of information inside 6 different Audi A3 cars. The cars, throughout the course of the game, were all tracked down, and infiltrated by the Retrievers, to get back the information hidden in them. By piecing together the whole of all data found in all cars, the full scope of the Big Art Heist was revealed.
recovery expert working under the company name of Last Resort Retrieval, together with her boyfriend Ian.
, where they would attempt to retrieve an SD Card from inside an Audi A3
.
All in-game websites are now defunct.
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
and an alternate reality game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
created to promote the Audi A3
Audi A3
The Audi A3 is a small family car produced by the German automaker Audi since 1996. Two generations of A3 exist, both based on the Volkswagen Group A platform, which they share with several other models such as the Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Touran as well as SEAT...
.
The promotion
Audi developed a new car and wanted to promote it. To do so, instead of featuring the car at a show as scheduled, in the car's place they put an announcement that it had been stolen and a request that the public report clues to their website. In fact, the car had not been stolen, but they wanted the public to participate in an elaborate nation-wide game where clues were planted in public places to hint at where the thieves (actually actors) had taken the car. On websites they posted evidence, and the public was encouraged to watch the website as actors followed the car over a period of time. The entire program was praised as an innovative advertising campaign.As a game, it falls under the classification of Alternate Reality Game, or ARG.
The game involved, loosely, three layers of interaction. Character Development and Back Story, File and password Cracking
Cracking
Cracking may refer to:* Cracking, the formation of a fracture or partial fracture in a solid material* Fluid catalytic cracking, a catalytic process widely used in oil refineries for cracking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller molecules...
, and Live Events (or, generally, the Retrievals). Players who were involved in the live events received special pins, and complimentary cell phones (which, as a side note, were the root of some difficulty in getting activated by those who won them).
The story
The story revolved around Nisha Roberts and Ian Yarbrough, and their art retrieval business, Last Resort Retrieval. The majority of the plot involved the attempts of Nisha, Ian, the players, and Nisha's video game designer friend, Virgil in trying to stop the world's greatest art heistArt theft
Art theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom . Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.. One must realize that only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered. Estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of...
. Ian and Nisha, specifically, were hot on the tracks of a very coordinated theft team, which was led by a person who was initially identified only as Arclight. Arclight was organizing theft timetables, commissioning forged replicas, doing reconnaissance work, and hiring all manner of unruly assistants for the big heist. Virgil seemed to be the main suspect throughout much of the game, due to his odd behaviour and lousy attitude.
Early in the game, a security camera recording was discovered which showed a shadowy villain stashing pieces of information inside 6 different Audi A3 cars. The cars, throughout the course of the game, were all tracked down, and infiltrated by the Retrievers, to get back the information hidden in them. By piecing together the whole of all data found in all cars, the full scope of the Big Art Heist was revealed.
Nisha
Nisha Roberts is an artArt theft
Art theft is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom . Stolen art is sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.. One must realize that only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered. Estimates range from 5 to 10%. This means that little is known about the scope and characteristics of...
recovery expert working under the company name of Last Resort Retrieval, together with her boyfriend Ian.
Ian
Ian is a computer hacker, and boyfriend of the often tempestuous Nisha. Their relationship is explored to the degree of him being jealous of her being the one in the spotlight. At one point in the game, he decides to boldly take on a job which Nisha would otherwise tackle, and is roundly criticised for his poor planning.Virgil
Virgil is a legendary game designer. He and Nisha are old friends. He was married, but his wife died some years ago, sending Virgil's life into turmoil. He has become a recluse, and had only recently (as of the time of this ARG) come out into the public eye once again, building a game based directly on Nisha Roberts, called The Nisha Chronicles: Volume 1. During the game, Virgil was often foreshadowed as being the villain, but in reality he was simply paranoid due to his line of work, and traumatized by the loss of his wife.The Retrievers
Essential to the play of the game were a number of real-life players, who would be broadly dubbed "retrievers." Retrievers would be called in, on various occasions, to different places around the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where they would attempt to retrieve an SD Card from inside an Audi A3
Audi A3
The Audi A3 is a small family car produced by the German automaker Audi since 1996. Two generations of A3 exist, both based on the Volkswagen Group A platform, which they share with several other models such as the Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Touran as well as SEAT...
.
External links
- Art of the Heist Presentation - An excellent presentation by Mckinney, one of the creators of this Alternate Reality Game, about the Art of the Heist
All in-game websites are now defunct.
- Stolen A3 - http://www.stolena3.com
- Virgil: King of Code - http://www.virgilkingofcode.com
- Last Resort Retrieval - http://www.lastresortretrieval.com