Alex is Missing
"Alex is Missing" is a collaborative web-based Alternate Reality Game
(ARG) developed by a team of 15 students from UCF's Digital Media
Master's Program. For my contribution, I originated the ARG story
concept and significantly shaped its foundational narrative. I played
a key role in developing the game mechanics by designing interactive
puzzles and implementing a complex automated email system using Google
Apps Script. Additionally, I built responsive websites using HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, React, and Tailwind CSS to enhance user engagement
across multiple platforms. My development and design work can be seen
on the Find Alex website, the main website for Draconis Squamae, the
sites for uploading evidence, the final hacking games, and the vault
portal ending page.
I am particularly proud of the email system I engineered in Google Apps
Script. This system leveraged Google Sheets as a real-time database to
store player information—such as email addresses, game stages, and interaction
counts—which allowed the game to trigger narrative-driven, automated emails
from a character named Olivia via Gmail. By combining these tools, the
system dynamically sent personalized emails at crucial moments in the story,
maintained continuity with in-game responses (including auto-replies based
on player input), and further immersed users in the ARG experience. My
work on this system not only streamlined communication within the game
but also served as a foundation for the overall storytelling and interactive
design of the project.