{"id":25774,"date":"2020-04-30T13:27:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T20:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/?p=25774"},"modified":"2020-04-30T11:46:24","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T18:46:24","slug":"offline-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/offline-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Offline by Lights OUT Productions – Good Idea, Good Cast, but Needs Refinement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho is Red Rambo?\u201d I ask the enigmatic 011245 via text message. They\u2019re one of two individuals I\u2019ve been corresponding with during the Lights Out: Offline<\/i> experience, and so far 011245 has given off the impression that they know what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a dangerous question you are asking there, Mr. Kennedy,\u201d they reply. And they\u2019re not wrong \u2013 by all accounts Red Rambo is a sadistic, murderous psychopath I\u2019d normally want nothing to do with. But there\u2019s a $5 million bounty on Rambo\u2019s head, and that\u2019s worth a little risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few safe questions have valuable answers,\u201d I counter. If I\u2019m lucky, I might come out of this seven figures richer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The latest offering from relative newcomer Lights OUT<\/a>, Offline <\/i>is an ARG that runs Monday through Friday. The experience mostly unfolds via chat and text message, with a few Instagram posts used to reveal key plot twists as the week moves on, before culminating in a live Instagram video that serves as the narrative\u2019s climax. Participants are effectively put on different paths depending on which character (or characters) they interact with \u2013 at least one will reach out to kick off the experience and introduce you to the story, but others can be sought out and interacted with. The overall narrative revolves around the Dark Web Collective, a shadowy community in which, as you might expect, pretty much anything can be found for the right price. But Offline<\/i> specifically focuses on human trafficking, and one victim in particular who is set to be put up for auction to the highest bidder.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WARNING: Mild spoilers follow.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Depending on who the participants are paired with, the interactions on Monday through Thursday can take on a very different tone. Some want your help returning the victim to her family, while others want your help securing her for their own twisted purposes (and may even be willing to share). And in truth, this is Offline<\/i>\u2019s main strength. It\u2019s clear that a good deal of thought has gone into plotting out the personalities, motivations, and relationships of the characters within the Dark Web Community, and which characters got paired with which participant. Ultimately, these initial interactions serve to get participants invested in the outcome of the show\u2019s climax: a live auction on the final day on the experience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And to Lights OUT’s credit, said auction was well-performed. Both the victim and auctioneer were convincing in their portrayals of desperate terror and malicious sadism, respectively, and the characters playing fellow bidders did a good job of egging participants on to propose indignities for the auctioneer to inflict on the victim as the bidding war escalated. Whether it was slapping her, tearing her clothing, or dunking her head underwater, it was obvious that the on-screen actors had done this sort of thing before. The proceedings were realistic enough that some audience members might feel genuinely uncomfortable taking part, which is likely the point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After all, this is an experience about a truly reprehensible practice. It\u2019s possible that, particularly for those who were initially paired with characters who had foul deeds in mind if they should end up with the winning bid, the auction was meant to dampen their enthusiasm for the idea of selling an innocent to a sadistic, anonymous monster even in a fictional setting. Or perhaps they simply wanted it to be a truly visceral experience, and leave it up to the audience how they chose to feel about what they witnessed and took part in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, while the team involved is comprised of talented horror actors, the execution gives the impression that they are less experienced creators. Which is a shame, because the idea behind Offline<\/i> is sound and the performers are clearly capable. But the text interactions were too sparse to feel truly satisfying, and some came late enough in the night that those with day jobs may have missed them by virtue of already being in bed. The real letdown, though, was the way Offline<\/i> ends. A great twist is introduced then abruptly cut short before any of the consequences can play out, and participants hoping to get some closure by reaching out to their contacts from earlier in the week were left disappointed by silence or, arguably even worse, perfunctory and poorly-thought-out replies. Again, it\u2019s possible this was deliberate \u2013 that the goal was to end on a cliffhanger and possibly even leave a bad taste in the audience\u2019s mouth, to show that human trafficking is not something that should ever be thought of as enjoyable \u2013 even as fiction. But if that\u2019s the case, the approach likely works better on paper than in practice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Offline<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With that said, the concept of Offline<\/i> is sound and some relatively minor tweaks could greatly improve the experience. It might be worth considering some or all of the following refinements:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Add more story, or more participant agency. <\/b><\/h4>\n

While a little sleuthing will show there\u2019s more going on than one will see just from sticking to the characters that contacts them at the outset, it doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a ton to experience without taking it upon oneself to go digging, and there isn\u2019t much prompting or guidance about where to do so. If you\u2019re designing an experience in which the audience needs to find the full story themselves, you may need to be prepared to drop bigger hints than you may think are necessary, and ideally let those who put in the work have some agency in affecting how things ultimately play out. If you\u2019d rather not have multiple possible outcomes, it\u2019s best to feed the audience enough story to feel like a complete (though not necessarily comprehensive) narrative. In its current form, Offline<\/i> needs more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Schedule interactions from Tuesday-Thursday.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Having the initial contact from characters come as a surprise is great, but priming the participant on when to expect follow-ups would both allow for more in-depth conversation and make sure that they are available. Something as simple as ending the first exchange with \u201clet\u2019s talk specifics tomorrow around 7pm\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m going to do some digging, should have more info by 2100\u201d (as appropriate for the character and actor\u2019s schedule) would ensure that both cast and participant have time blocked off to further the story. When the interactions happen over the phone, it\u2019s easier to do things unscheduled, since you can often get away with just taking a couple minutes and still have meaningful dialogue (and even less if it\u2019s one-way). But getting anything significant done over text requires more than that, and that\u2019s harder to do without advance notice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More facilitation of group interaction.<\/b><\/h4>\n

The description of Offline<\/i> mentions that participants may be pulled into group chats to help choose a path, but after talking with several others who took part it\u2019s unclear where, or even if, these group chats took place. Allowing participants to talk amongst themselves during his kind of experience is a great way to boost engagement and give more of the story without requiring more actor involvement, and something like setting up a private group on Discord, Slack, or other channel (even if they\u2019re limited to those on the same general path) would help achieve this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Allow the consequences of the auction to play out more.<\/b> <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Stopping the live feed just when things start to get interesting robs it of impact and leaves things on a confusing note. Abrupt, cliffhanger endings to climactic scenes can work well if the closure comes from elsewhere \u2013 for instance, an epilogue or a sequel, that either wraps things up or leaves things open for further productions to continue the story. But neither are present here, and the result is unsatisfying rather than leaving the audience hungry for more. Some combination of extending the live video to show more of what happens with those involved after the bidding ends, or planning for meaningful post-auction messages for participants who reach out to their contacts seeking answers, could help a good deal with making the experience more satisfying. A bit of both would be ideal, but writing out epilogues\/debriefs would be quicker and easier to introduce mid-run.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Offline<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lights OUT: Offline<\/i> takes place in weekly segments, starting on Monday and ending on Friday, with the final planned installment running from May 4 to May 8. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on Lights OUT’s website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note: Participants should have an Instagram account, since key parts of the story unfold via posts and direct messages there. Some content and conversations may be disturbing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Lights OUT and their upcoming shows on their website<\/a>. Check out our\u00a0Event Calendar<\/a>\u00a0for more extreme haunt and immersive horror entertainment throughout the year.<\/p>\n

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offline offline offline<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho is Red Rambo?\u201d I ask the enigmatic 011245 via text message. They\u2019re one of two individuals I\u2019ve been corresponding with during the Lights Out: Offline experience, and so far 011245 has given off the impression that they know what\u2019s going on. \u201cThat\u2019s a dangerous question you are asking there, Mr. Kennedy,\u201d they reply. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":25778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[20507,25214,80],"tags":[99,10386,18113,25494,25345,3586],"yst_prominent_words":[192,1569,9467,19994,188,25490,25489,4851,5954,4800,2202,5478,25487,25492,25210,25493,239,25488,1188,2564],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.haunting.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/featured.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p89hUA-6HI","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25774"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25774"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haunting.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=25774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}