Category: Fantasy, General Fiction
Language: EnglishKeywords: ARG Ong's Hat
Written by Joseph Matheny
Format: MP3
ââ¦a bizarre Internet phenomenon: an âimmersiveâ online experienceâpart mystery, part game, part who knows whatâknown as both the Incunabula Papers and Ongâs Hat. The Incunabula Papers/Ongâs Hat was, or is, a âmany-threaded, open-ended interactive narrativeâ that âweds an alternate history of chaos science and consciousness studies to conspiracy theories, parallel dimensions, and claims that computer-mediated environments can serve as magical toolsâ¦. the documents provoked a widespread âimmersive legend-tripâ in the late 1990s. Via Web forums, participants investigated the documentsâmanifestosâwhich spun up descriptions of brilliant but suppressed discoveries relating to paths that certain scientists had forged into alternate realities. Soon, those haunted dimensions existed in the minds and fantasies of Ongâs Hatâs many participants. That was evident as they responded to the original postings by uploading their ownâall manner of reflections and artifacts: personal anecdotes, audio recordings, and videosâto augment what became âa really immersive world, and it was vastâ.
ââ¦a bizarre Internet phenomenon: an âimmersiveâ online experienceâpart mystery, part game, part who knows whatâknown as both the Incunabula Papers and Ongâs Hat. The Incunabula Papers/Ongâs Hat was, or is, a âmany-threaded, open-ended interactive narrativeâ that âweds an alternate history of chaos science and consciousness studies to conspiracy theories, parallel dimensions, and claims that computer-mediated environments can serve as magical toolsâ¦. the documents provoked a widespread âimmersive legend-tripâ in the late 1990s. Via Web forums, participants investigated the documentsâmanifestosâwhich spun up descriptions of brilliant but suppressed discoveries relating to paths that certain scientists had forged into alternate realities. Soon, those haunted dimensions existed in the minds and fantasies of Ongâs Hatâs many participants. That was evident as they responded to the original postings by uploading their ownâall manner of reflections and artifacts: personal anecdotes, audio recordings, and videosâto augment what became âa really immersive world, and it was vastâ.