We Are Earthborne
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Description
We Are Earthborne is an alternate reality game that uses multiple platforms, such as email, fictional websites, and an audio-based story to weave its narrative.
Set over 250 years in the future, this game explores the political turmoil between Earth and the rest of the Interplanetary Union, focusing on a resistance group called the Earthborne United and their fight against a corporate government, Horizon Industries.
It was developed by Immersive Fiction, a studio that creates interactive experiences such as alternate reality games. Their website has more information about the production.
What began with bizarre shipments from a futuristic fish cannery evolved into a dystopian narrative that followed two major storylines over 140 days. Set in the year 2276, participants were tasked with joining the Earthborne United, a near-extinct band of revolutionaries who are opposed to the tyrannical rule of Earth by Horizon Industries. Through character interactions via email and phone, physical mailings, a web of in-story websites, and dead drops, the political landscape of this future world was explored and affected by the decisions of the participants.
Alongside that participatory experience, an audio drama played out through weekly transmissions which followed the saga of Ethan Covington, a Horizon operative who was marooned on an uncharted planet. As he explored the planet, he discovered the ancient secrets it held. As the narrative played out, these two storylines became intertwined, setting up the final transmission as the experience's grand finale.