First phase: Establishing communication with Ed

Step 1: Soulstorm is announced

The oddworld.com/soulstorm page is launched with some HTML comments and a hidden picture (reveal1.jpg), the ARG had officially started.

Date: 14 March 2016

Clues:

HTML messages on oddworld.com/soulstorm page
http://oddworld.com/soulstorm/images/reveal1.jpg
http://www.oddworld.com/soulstorm/twitching.mp4

Messages:

Pictures:
- CAN YOU S- HARD TO K- IF BREAKING- THROUGH HA- ON NEED A D-
HTML Code:
- Far too many video game characters were harmed extremely badly in the making of this experience. In a sane world this would never have happened. We're sorry.
- <<< TRYING TO BRE===== -lostqmwaittypo- >>>
- <<< CAN ANYBO============================================ NEED TO TREYR ====== so thirsty need brew fol==== -->
- <<< listen. >>>
- are you l/os/t ?
- message INTERCEPTED -->
- there's got to be a wa_
Video:
- Listen for me

Step 2: Dialog Box

Finding the message in the video seems to have triggered and update on the oddworld.com/soulstorm. The main update on the page is the apprition of a dialog box in which users can input messages and get answers, sometimes encoded, sometimes in plain text.

Date: 23 March 2016

Clues:

Weird dialog box to communicate with an unknown entity

Messages:

Look on the Wikia for the full converstation table of the dialogue http://oddworld.wikia.com/wiki/Soulstorm_ARG#Communication_channel_opens

The dialog box gets updated and the answers chage, they become more pressing. We need to find a way to establish contact quickly!

Date: 11 May 2016

Messages:

***THEY ARE COMING, I NEED TO HIDE***
***CAN'T TALK, THEY CAN HEAR ME***
***WE ARE SO CLOSE, DON'T GIVE UP***
***THIS CAN'T CONTINUE FOREVER, LOOK CLOSER***
***YOU NEED TO LOOK CLOSER, NOT MUCH TIME LEFT***
*** SORRY, THE NOISE DOWN HERE IS DEAFENING, PLEASE REPEAT ***
*** SAVE ME ***
*** SORRY, COULD YOU REPEAT? ***
*** THIS FORM IS BROKEN - PLEASE DO NOT USE ***
I CAN HEAR YOU, BARELY...
*** SORRY, SAY AGAIN? ***
[ERROR]
[OUT OF SIGHT]
*** THIS STUFF. THIS STUFF. ***
[PLEASE CLOSE THIS WINDOW IMMEDIATELY]
*** I'M SURE YOU CAN HEAR ME ***
[WE'RE AWARE OF ISSUES ON THIS PAGE AND ARE WORKING TO REMEDY THE ------------]
*** DID YOU GET THE MESSAGE? ***
...DRINK...BREW...
[- NO, WAIT -]
[- PLEASE IGNORE THIS MESSAGE -]

Step 3: Ed?

The dialog box reveals a weird picture after the user inputs 75 messages in a row. This picture allows us to find multpiple clues that all seem to point to the same message: Ed.

Date: 24 March 2016

Clues:

Messages:

Pictures
- findme
- hear me
- rescue me

Not long after we find out a misterious page called Ed

Date: 25 March 2016

Clues:

http://www.oddworld.com/soulstorm/ed/

Messages:

i can hear you, just. it's faint, but i can hear you.

Step 4: Finding Ed

The Ed page changed multiple times in the days following its discovery. This ultimately lead us to the @edmudokon twitter account which was full of criptic tweets.

Date: 4 April 2016

Clues:

http://twitter.com/edmudokon

Messages:

Hello
Did somebo-------
Is anybody listening
Where am I?
Can you hear me
One Zero Two Nine
I can hear you, faintly.
Yes! Yes! You are getting closer
If I could just… I can’t… Find me.
Where are you? Can you hear me?
We’ve stopped the progress… I need to show you the truth about this place.
You can hear me! Just, please, listen.

The tweets also contained partial codes that once put together and inserted insered in the Dialog box ultimately ulocked the next major phase of the ARG.

Date: 4 April 2016

Messages: *** IT WORKED! IT WORKED! OK, NOW I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION - LISTEN, THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU SOMETHING. SOMETHING IS WRONG. VERY WRONG. YOU NEED TO LISTEN. YOU NEED TO HELP ME. I NEED TO HELP YOU... ***