The room at the Jejune Institute where players begin their experience.

Imagine a world hidden in the midst of our own, one in which you notice clues and symbols that elude you in your everyday life. You follow strange maps, receive surreal voicemails and emails, and become acquainted with an array of colorful people and organizations as you investigate a young woman’s disappearance. This immersive experience lies in Games of Nonchalance, a unique San Francisco-based ARG that will come to an end on April 10th after a three-year run.

The author's ID from the Elsewhere Public Works Agency.

The inspiration behind the game, according to founder and creative director Jeff Hull, is the idea of secrets hidden just beneath the surface of our everyday reality, waiting for people to seek them out. During their experience, players examine unusual markings and other installations that they would never have observed normally. Later in the game, they necessarily rely on other players, pooling their information to reach their goal. “I’m very motived by the idea of reengineering the way people interact with space and other people,” says Hull, who previously worked with a community arts organization called Oaklandish. “I want to empower people to gather and do untraditional things.”

While players gain a view into another world, they continue to interact with this one, relying on people and businesses to gain information and continue their quest. “It’s difficult to explain our immersive interactive narrative [to collaborators]; we tried to keep it simple,” notes Hull; the group used terms like “treasure hunt” and “scavenger hunt” to translate the experience, even if they aren’t precisely descriptive. Hull credits lead producer and manager Sara Thacher with securing cooperation: “She had a very unassuming nature with everyone and built those relationships well.”

As with any intricately crafted game, testing is important. Nonchalance performed two and sometimes three rounds of testing to calibrate the clues. “We were able to learn what sorts of signals people were tuned into, whether they were auditory, visual, linguistic, etc., and fine-tuned these signals to integrate all these skills,” recalls Hull.

One of the most gratifying aspects of Games of Nonchalance is the array of objects that lie around San Francisco waiting to be observed. Not surprisingly, there is maintenance involved. Happily, Nonchalance has experienced no problems with outright theft or vandalism, but unexpected changes can still disturb the project. “That’s been a big lesson,” says Hull. “Public landscape is always in transformation; what’s there one day might not be the next.” At one point, a car accident took out a pay phone that was crucial to the proceedings; the group engineered a solution involving a life-size print out of that pay phone. Under ordinary circumstances, Nonchalance checks its installations twice a week and make any necessary touch-ups.

An emanations warning sticker from the Elsewhere Public Works Agency.

It has been an impressive run for Games of Nonchalance, but it is in its final weeks. The group is vacating the location of the Jejune Institute, where the game’s first episode begins, to make room for their next project. When the game shuts down, about ten thousand people will have played the first act. “We’ve gained a following,” says Hull. “The goals we set for the exposition have been reached.” April 10th will see a finale that Hull claims will “blow a lot of minds” among those who have invested time and energy in the game and are fortunate enough to attend.

So what lies in the future? Says Hull, “People have placed us under this ARG umbrella, but our background is primarily in the arts.” Hull promises another project that is a mix of their art and the most successful elements of Games of Nonchalance. One of these was the automated room that greets players at the Jejune Institute; Hull says that “people get immersed right away and buy into the fantasy narrative.” Hull claims that they will also use ideas from the April 10th finale.

If you want to play the game, you can still enjoy the first three acts. (The fourth episode is unfortunately no longer live, although Hull notes that it is “very close to my heart” and that he would like it to live on in some form.) Your journey begins at the Jejune Institute in San Francisco; learn more at www.jejuneinstitute.org.