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Package from Mr. M. Meltzer

[audio:http://ready-up.net/blogassets/kirsten/rapture.mp3]

I had, until now, managed to avoid the discussions and debates about Bioshock 2. Having loved the first game I didn’t want to spoil the next one with over-analysing and worrying about whether they could really pull off a game with such imagination and style again. But if I was not willing to dive into Rapture, Rapture was going to come to me. There was a knock at my door. I tucked my nighty into an old pair of jeans I pulled on that had been lying by the bed. I opened the front door the tiniest of cracks and grunted. The postman grinned in the crack and pushed a large thin, brown paper covered package at me. I snatched it through the tiny space and slammed the door shut. It was a package from Mr M. Meltzer of New York. It was a record, a 45. I changed the nighty for a t shirt and headed out into the streets of Glasgow in search of a Dancette, lifting dusty gramaphones and typewriters out of my way in a memorabilia shop, down a lane.

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I listened to ‘Rise, Rapture Rise!’ while leafing through images, newspaper cuttings, drawings and the scribbled notes of Mr. M. Meltzer. As the tinny song drew to a close it warbled and cut out and I listened to the haunting message calling out to me.

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9 responses to “Package from Mr. M. Meltzer”

  1. Mark avatar
    Mark

    Kirsten, how do you feel about these codes and treasure hunts and other such things on press kits?

    It almost feels like publishers trying to invent some kind of pseudo-journalism by hiding secrets behind silly games.

    Or maybe they’re just for fun, or intended to be passed on to the community.

    All I know is I have some decoder thing with an Uncharted kit, and I can’t figure out the secret message at all. Baffling.

  2. Kirsten avatar
    Kirsten

    Well as you can see from my blog I found myself being sucked in pretty quickly. I think I approve of this kind of PR’ing. It’s imaginative, it brings life to the product and it helps the journalist generate content if they want it, without forcing it upon them.

  3. John.B avatar
    John.B

    The nature of Bioshock must make it quite easy to generate stuff like this for it, the world and mythos surrounding it is so rich is style and detail that this kind of PR has extra impact.

  4. Tim avatar
    Tim

    Bioshock 2 still looks a bit shit though.

  5. Lorna avatar
    Lorna

    I think it’s a great idea. Far more imaginative than a glossy press release. Marketing is having to evolve to be relevant anymore, to get attention – the campaigns for some films such as Dark Knight are pretty smart.

    If it camptures and holds attention and remains in keeping with the subject it is promoting then hat off to them for a great job. That looks uber smart btw 🙂

  6. The Rook avatar
    The Rook

    I’ve read next to nothing about Bioshock 2, I’m letting my love for the first game give me faith for the sequel.

    However, I did read the blog and listened to the recording. Now, I don’t know why, but as the song bwas playing I couldn’t help but hear the Blackadder song in my head as well.

  7. arc14716 avatar
    arc14716

    Pretty neat way to promote a game. Pretty haunting at the end.

  8. MrCuddleswick avatar
    MrCuddleswick

    I don’t know whether to call it viral, or alternate reality, or another term that escapes me pre-coffee, but I do think it’s imaginative marketing and I like to see it.

    The Dark Knight is one of the greatest films of the decade, partly because it was so deeply written and realised around the main plotline. Because of this richness they could launch an inspired viral marketing campaign…….and as Crunch mentioned, Rapture has similar depth to it (no pun) so why not have some fun with the marketing?

  9. MarkuzR avatar
    MarkuzR

    Excellent stuff! I absolutely ADORE clever marketing! Some of the things I’d get when I was running the music mag were incredible, the product of a brilliant marketing mind who understood that a few sheets of A4 paper just weren’t going to cut it anymore.

    When Fallout 3 was launched, a bunch of lucky people got their own Vault Tec handbook complete with the wonderful retro illustrations and kitsch taglines. The lengths they went to in order to make you believe that the Capital Wasteland existed was just unbelievable, from the propaganda posters and videos to the tiniest little insignificant (to most people) things like the in-game memorabilia.

    When PR and marketing people do something well, they really do it well… it’s just a shame that most are happy to churn out run of the mill drivel.

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