iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Gotta appreciate the hustle of a "we are telling you literally nothing" street campaign. purplehippos.com

Reposted by Michael Andersen

Adrian Hon @adrianhon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I can't get enough of the cover for my book, THE AGE OF IMMERSION, out June 2027! Designed by Rob Farmer, it's a shimmering, pixellated play on Monet's Water Lilies, one of the OG true "immersive" artworks. And yes, long subtitles are *in*. astrapublishinghouse.com/product/the-...

Book cover of The Age of Immersion: Make Believe Worlds From Medieval Cathedrals to the Las Vegas Sphere by Adrian Hon. The words are blue and shimmering, with a pixellated background of Monet's Water Lilies.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Just finished my weekend obligations! Now I have time to... ...oh.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Kind of disappointed Digger is (allegedly) not a musical. That was a fun theory.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What do you MEAN I have to work on a Taylor countdown day

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I continue to be impressed with whoever is managing the Mr Beast book puzzle challenge - they've been consistently fun and approachable, while using the contents of the book aggressively enough to make having a copy a practical necessity.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Went to see "Big Feelings" last night, which might be one of the hottest / hardest to get immersive tickets in NYC at the moment. The hype is real, and it was impactful enough I ended up writing about it. I am very much on board with Elementary School classrooms as immersive scaffolding.

mjandersen.substack.com

Working Through Some “Big Feelings”

An interactive play at The Cell Theatre in NYC puts you in the role of a 1st grader as your teacher works through some stuff

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Standing on the street corner and a guy quizzically points at me, starts asking a question, and walks away shaking his head. I got confused until I remembered I had just put on my immersive "uniform".

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The most recent Jet Lag episode stops off exceedingly close to where I lived in Japan for a year, and the nostalgia is strong. Especially since I was there exactly 20 years ago.

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Reposted by Michael Andersen

Eric @yankeewhite.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

While digging into Control Resonant I also learned there’s a Silent Hill Townfall ARG!! We’re eating good now. www.reddit.com/r/silenthill...

reddit.com

From the silenthill community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the silenthill community

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Reposted by Michael Andersen

Eric @yankeewhite.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Control Resonant ARG dead drop in London!

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

...okay I got challenged to Spaghetti up a solution to this puzzle, so here goes. We're supposed to read between the lines. sacchariDE/ARies from tHEVINEyard norTHORSouth Read as a homophone, that's DEER from HEAVEN, THOR'S. And guess what stag stands upon Valhalla? Eikþyrnir, that's who!

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Honestly, "Saccharide Aries From the Vineyard North or South" sounds exactly like half the armchair hunt clues I never bother trying to figure out. If you told me that was a line from the Jonathan Collins Black hunt, I would believe you.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I may not have enjoyed the Mr Beast book, but that first "challenge" mission for the giveaway was respectable. Logic puzzle referencing player numbers and biographical data of the book's contestants, with only one configuration that would complete the grid.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Say, have we had an ARG creator make the TIME100 list before? This feels like it might actually be a first.

time.com

Kane Parsons: TIME100 Creators 2026

Find out why Kane Parsons is on the list

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Got reminded of the time I was interning in San Francisco, got lost while attempting to walk to the Golden Gate Bridge, and stumbled across the Internet Archive HQ.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

"Impressive" is not synonymous with "interesting".

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I'm still a bit of an Instagram neophyte: what does "send me this post" even mean, other than "likely spam"?

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I feel like the fight for credit over who solved Navier Stokes feels like it's going to be massive, based on what the (human) research team seems to be claiming.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Kind of expensive event that I was tempted to go to tomorrow sold out, so I don't have to make a choice!

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Dammit, the AI bots have finally figured out how to solve the "puzzle" that obscures my ARGN email (the contact page explains how to solve it, but that explanation alone was thwarting the scrapers until about a week or two ago). It was a good run, at least.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It's looking like the Tales From Woodcreek ARG is entering endgame! Just gotta work through a little bit of ambiguity with one of those clues, because the final step is something that could be annoying to others if handled incorrectly...

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

It's rare that you come across a book that just...doesn't bother with an acknowledgments section, at all.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Dammit, caught myself tying self worth to productivity again.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Went to see "Classic Penguins" last night for its NYC debut (and 300th show). Fascinated by how it negotiated consent with a show that asks for so much consent of its audiences, so I wrote about it.

mjandersen.substack.com

Classic Penguins Launches a Full Frontal Assault on the Literacy Crisis

Classic Penguins is a hilarious barrage of classic literature jokes...but you’ll want to know exactly what you’re getting into

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I have been to some pretty wild immersive shows, before. And I've talked openly about being nervous going into them. Nerves are heightened tonight, as I'm going to see "a very funny man who is peculiarly averse to wearing trousers". I've heard there are non-zero chances of crowd surfing.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

At this point, I only play NYT Connections on days when people get really mad about it.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

DoctorXOR is a truly delightful member of the puzzle hunt community who was the final solver / face of the team that won the Mr Beast / Salesforce Super Bowl puzzle hunt. He just put out a video highlighting the solve process for some of those puzzles in a way that helps capture the fun of solving.

youtube.com

How to Solve a $1,000,000 Puzzle

YouTube video by DoctorXOR

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Notebook of brilliant ideas entry #17: ARG but for cats

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

A sure sign I'm prepping the next ARGNet Insider newsletter: the "whoops I forgot to share that earlier" social posts go up.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Today's Wordle destroyed streaks for 18% of players. "Decimated" is an understatement.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Finished three books this weekend! I really needed that.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Went to attend the showcase of an immersive hackathon last week, and wrote up some thoughts on the event. Also mentioned: Lost Horizon Night Market, Boxaroo's Four Doors, Night Mind's Candy Bowl, and the narrative hackathon I participated in almost 15 years ago.

mjandersen.substack.com

Reflections on an Immersive Hackathon

Impressions on the New York Immersive Invitational, and the broader immersive hackathon landscape

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Trying to jingle the right type of keys to uplift my mood at the moment. That's a metaphorical jingling at the moment, but I'm open to literal interpretations if necessary. Book will probably work.

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Reposted by Michael Andersen

Laura E. Hall @lauraehall.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Exciting news: the Center for Immersive Arts is officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization!! A MASSIVE thank you to everyone who's been a supporter from the beginning - your contributions made this possible. Join today and support the preservation of immersive history: patreon.com/CenterForImm...

patreon.com

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Colleagues are working on a book about the legacy of American Girl dolls, and felt compelled to make tiny, doll-sized copies of the book because I was reminded of how Courtney's doll has an even smaller mini-Molly (with extra-small books). ...and yes, there's text inside each of the books.

Four small copies of "An American Girl" by Amanda Fitzsimons, with a fifth copy that's even smaller in the foreground.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A few years back, I lost my Flynn Lives ARG pin at NYCC, when it fell off my lanyard without me noticing. Luckily, someone on eBay (who may or may not have been affiliated with 42E, at some point) was selling extras, and I have been made whole. One more piece of personal ARG history recovered.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

So, who else whispers "yeah, me too" when they hear a little kid start crying in public?

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Gonna go out on a limb and guess that there is a Pony Island 2 ARG, and traces of it have been secretly seeded for the past 4 years.

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Reposted by Michael Andersen

Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Not to get into publishing discourse on here, but when you’re represented by an agent from Philadelphia, your book doesn’t go on sub. It goes on hoagie.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I noticed a pattern, recently. NYC bagels only exist for me when I'm in the city for nerdy fun. Going into NYC for a puzzle thing, or immersive theater? Bagel and cream cheese. Looking for a quick bite after work? Dollar slice pizza. Escaping the office for lunch during work? Halal truck.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I thought I was free of Sorority RushTok but one of them is doing Hamilton remix covers this year and how could you not "like" that.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Spent a decent chunk of the last week in Montreal for an escape room conference, and wrote about the experience that had me hacking digital displays with magnets, sneaking contraband into prison cells, and deciphering text at an alien bar. ...and only one of those things happened in an escape room.

mjandersen.substack.com

Scattered Thoughts on RECON (the Escape Room Conference)

A stream-of-consciousness reflection on RECON 2026 in Montreal

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Oh no, The Guild Kickstarter knew exactly what would tempt me into upping my backer level.

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

...dammit, just learned that one of my favorite frameworks for thinking about online content (from a major tech platform) got redirected to a "How to Use AI" page. That **really** hurts.

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Reposted by Michael Andersen

iucounu @iucounu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

In Star Trek people often complain that replicated food is not as good as naturally produced food, which is weird when replicators are presumably using the same technology as transporters, which can perfectly replicate Spock every time. But is Spock getting less flavoursome over time? In this essay,

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Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I'm such a sucker for ads that intentionally don't make sense until you take action. I don't necessarily agree it's a good tactic, but I'm a sucker for them nonetheless.

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