Have you ever wanted to be Sherlock Holmes in the labyrinths of "The Phantom of the Opera"?
The Secret City 2.0 offers that opportunity. Creator Allen Hahn developed Secret City in order to have a "mash-up of story, expanded theater, and technology facilitated work" in an involving way to see amazing buildings. Players get text messages and voicemails with clues, puzzles and riddles telling them where to go within the huge library. When the puzzle is completed, gamers get a new clue and a new piece of the story.
There are discoveries strewn all along the way: dark hallways, windy corridors and the endless tomes in the expansive building. Wandering around the library conjures images as you pass by books on your search for the next clue.
"The story is really the reward…but there are incredible spaces used for events that most people don't see…this story helps you get to see places you've never seen," says Hahn.
The Carnegie Library in Braddock has been supporting the strange, but fun adventure and will in the future.
"It's an ongoing partnership between the library and us," states Hahn. "There are lots of historical libraries around Pittsburgh and it's always fun to explore. There's been a positive response from many people from the college age to couples in their 50s."
The next Secret City is set to be up by the end of April.
"This is only Episode 1 really," he says.
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Writer: Sam Bassett
Source: Allen Hahn, Secret City