Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse say in a new interview over at Lostpedia that last summer’s “Dharma Wants You” alternate reality game was all about prepping the audience for this season’s Dharma Initiative storyline. “Essentially the whole idea was to signal to the audience that our characters… were going to end up in Dharma times.” So the purpose of “Dharma Wants You” was to foreshadow what was going to happen in the second half of Season 5, in the same way that “Find 815” was about the fake wreck and “The Lost Experience” was about the numbers.

There’s more interesting trivia about the show in the interview, though all of it in a “looking back” kind of way. There’s nothing about what’s yet to come, and definitely no spoilers.

Image: Ryan at Hawaii Blog.

The home of the Find 815 ARG, Find815.com, has recently been updated.

There is an image and Sam says “Not sleeping again. Something’s still not right. The reporters have stopped calling. Everyone is moving on. Flight 815 is a closed book for them. They think they have all the answers they need. But I don’t. S.T.”

The game kept us Lost fans busy during the hiatus, so is it making a comeback during this short break in Season 4?

Lost
Episode 4.02: Confirmed Dead
Airs: February 7, 2008
Cheat Sheet

Doc Jensen offers up this cheat sheet for tonight’s episode. This is what you need to know before watching the show!

”FIND 815”
An online story set within the Lostverse chronicling the mysterious maritime adventure of an ex-Oceanic Airlines employee whose girlfriend was a flight attendant on Oceanic 815. Convinced his lover might be alive, Sam Thomas booked passage on a salvage vessel and set sail for the South Pacific; look (and listen) for the boat to get name-checked in the first three minutes of this week’s episode. ”Find 815” (and by extension Lost) was ingeniously promoted via product placement in Marvel Comics titles like Fantastic Four. Might I be singling out the Fantastic Four because their mythos might explain something about this week’s episode? Of course I am.

COMIC BOOKS
Minor Lost fixation; major Doc Jensen obsession. Upon boarding Oceanic 815 in Sydney, Hurley tossed Walt a Spanish-language superhero comic called Faster Friends, in which Green Lantern and the Flash were abducted by aliens, placed in an alien zoo, and fought polar bears. It was later tossed in the bonfire and destroyed. Qué lástima!

RAY PARKER JR.
”When there’s something strange in your neighborhood…whoyagonnacall?” ”GHOSTBUSTERS!” Could I be anymore cryptic? Of course I can! To wit:

DE-TERRITORIALIZATION
Fancy anthropological word found among the annotations jotted upon the blast-door map; used in a reference to the Island’s polar bears. I could tell you what it means, but I would need to understand it first, and that ain’t happening. Apparently, the indigenous intelligence has been recontextualized if not relocated — some might say re-territorialized — by the alien cultural force that is Lost.

ANNIE
Ben’s best friend from his younger Dharma days. At some point, she disappeared. Maybe she died in the Purge. Maybe she became a guinea pig in a Dharma time-travel experiment. Kinda young for Ben, though, don’t you think? Creepy bastard.

THE HYDRA STATION
Zoological facility where the Dharma Initiative conducted experiments on polar bears, sharks, and dolphins. Its logo resembles the mythological ”hydra,” a monster with many heads, all of them vaguely snaky.

An Oceanic Airlines commercial aired during the series premiere of Eli Stone last night. The promo was about getting your own Golden Ticket, however Sam Thomas cuts in and interrupts…

Sam: Can’t trust these people

Girl: So be sure to enter…

Sam: Oceanic flight 815

Girl: It’s super easy, the rules are simple

Sam: We found it

Commercial after the jump…
Read more

Find 815
Chapter 5

Video:
Sam tells Mr. Ockham about the coordinates. He also reminds Ockham that Talbot is concealing the truth from them.

Game:
The viewer must help Sam navigate a treacherous reef with unpredictable currents to reach the mysterious coordinates.
Once the viewer wins the game, Talbot tells Sam that the coordinates are insignificant. He says that every day Magnus Hanso, captain of the Black Rock recorded his ship’s positions. What makes Sam think that this coordinate is any more important than the other ones? Sam then tells Talbot that he was contacted by email. Ockham gets angry and says that Sam put him at risk. Talbot says that he will put the incident behind them tells Ockham to turn the ship around. Sam says that he’s not lying as the sonar begins to beep. “Mr. Talbot, I think we’ve found Black Rock,” Ockham says.

Desktop:

Sam gets an email from Austral Air. It tells him of a potential job opening and requests an interview in Sydney. Sam also receives an email from an unknown sender with no subject. The text says: 411151057, which translates in Leet code to “All is lost.” Sam emails Tracey and apologizes for not calling in a while. He says that something has come up about which he has a bad feeling. Sam looks at oceanforecasts.com for the ocean forecast for the Sunda Trench.

Video:

Sam looks out onto the ocean and hears whispers. He calls for Sonya. She responds, saying “Sam…love you madly.” Ockham comes up and tells Sam, “It’s just the wind. Don’t let it get to you.”

Clue Hunt:
The viewer participates in a clue hunt in the desk area.

• “Backgammon” for Season 1
• “Statue” for Season 2
• “Gas Lamp” for Season 3
• “Southfields” or “Red Sox” for Season 4

Video Diary:
Sam says, “We’ve found Black Rock.” The weather is too poor to explore the Black Rock at the moment. As soon as the weather clears, he will be going down to see the wreck.

Conclusion:
Ockham sends the ROV down. Talbot arrives in the cabin and says it is okay to proceed. Sam and Ockham argue as Sam navigates the ROV vessel along the seabed. “That’s not a ship,” Ockham says. They find the wreckage of Flight 815. Sam goes home and watches news report about the “chance” discovery of Oceanic 815. Sam is mentioned in the interview as he turns to take down all his notes from the board. Talbot gives an interview and expresses his sympathy, talking about Sam and his quest to learn answers.

Find 815 Chapter 1
Find 815 Chapter 2
Find 815 Chapter 3
Find 815 Chapter 4

Sources: Lostpedia and ODI

Find 815
Chapter 4

Video:
Sam looks at the numbers that he previously figured out are coordinates. Ockham leaves for a minute and Sam quickly cuts a wire to the chart plotter. It now appears damaged. When Ockham returns, he tells Sam to take a look at it - that it’s time for him to earn his keep. Sam then reconnects the wire and hooks up hacking software.

Game:
The viewer has to break the encryption by finding the right password combination. The viewer is given eight characters and must figure out the five correct characters and position to determine the password.

When the viewer wins, Sam is able to see where the coordinates are located. Ockham and Talbot come back and Ockham notices that the chart plotter is working again. Sam says that it was just a loose display cable. Ockham is relieved, but lets Sam know that he will be on call 24/7 til they’re out of there. Sam returns to his room but Tablot is there and says that Sam wasn’t telling the truth. He brings out a piece of paper with the coordinates. Sam doesn’t answer when asked what they are for, but then says that they came from The Maxwell Group, Talbot’s employers. Talbot says that Sam is getting in over his head and tells him to stay away from the coordinates; he won’t find what he is looking for.

Voice Message:
Richard from Randy’s office leaves Sam a voicemail and lets him know that he has received an insurance payout. A box company in which he invested at Randy’s suggestion has burned down.

Desktop:
Sam sends an email to Tracey. He says that he won’t take her up on the holiday tip. He is feeling homesick and asks if she talked to his mother. Tracey responds and says that she did talk to her and she is very worried about Sam, but relieved that he is okay.

Sam emails Randy. He asks about the box company payout and requests advice on the tax situation. Sam receives another anonymous email. The email contains a a long string of numbers and letters. The letters on each line form anagrams of numbers, which translates to “Love you madly”.

Video:
Sam walks along the deck of the Christiane I. It is night. He notices what appears to be aurora lights out at sea. He grabs a pair of binoculars to look closer.

Clue Hunt:
The viewer then does another clue hunt.

• “Vincent the dog” for Season 1
• “Swan” for Season 2
• “Parachute” for Season 3.
• Either “Frank Lapidus” (on ABC.com) or “Miles Straume” (on Yahoo!7 in Australia) for Season 4.

Desktop:
Sam sends an email to Tracey. He asks her opinion on the lights. Tracey responds and says that it was likely an aurora, a natural phenomenon caused by magnetic forces in the atmosphere. She says that they usually occur around polar regions and normally don’t fade away quickly like the one Sam saw.

Video Diary:
Sam is growing more frustrated about not being able to figure out Talbot and what what his knowledge is regarding the coordinates from The Maxwell Group. Sam is also puzzled by the identity and motivations of The Maxwell Group, as their latest coded message was “Love you madly”, a phrase he and Sonya frequently used. Sam talks about how much he misses Sonya and then decides to continue his search for the Black Rock and the coordinates.

Find 815 Chapter 1
Find 815 Chapter 2
Find 815 Chapter 3
Find 815 Chapter 5

Sources: Lostpedia and ODI

Find 815
Chapter 3

Video:
Sam says that he wants to be dropped off at Christmas Island, but they already passed it. Ockham says that’s as close as Sam is going to get to Christmas. as they will be at sea, conducting a predetermined grid search, into January. Sam and Ockham talk about Talbot and where his funding comes from, though Ockham knows only that it is funneled in by a syndicate. Sam decides to snoop around Talbot’s room.

Game:
The viewer has to solve a series of puzzles and finding the correct code to Talbot’s briefcase.
Read more

Find 815
Chapter 2

Video:
Sam approaches the Christiane I. He pretends to be a cash-strapped tourist and he would help without pay. The captain, Mr. Ockham, tells Sam that there is no room. The chart plotter shorts and threatens to delay the expedition. Sam recognizes the chart plotter has a SPU board and says that he can fix it or build a new one from scratch, in exchange for a spot on the ship.

Game:
The viewer must fix the chart plotter in three minutes. If the viewer fails, Ockham tells Sukarno on the phone that he needs an expert to fix it, and the player must play again and win to advance the story.
Read more

Find 815 is a new ARG started last week. It is scheduled to run throughout the month of January, up until the Season 4 premiere.

The storyline revolves around an Oceanic IT technician Sam Thomas who is intent on finding his love, Sonya, who was on board Oceanic Flight 815. The player learns of FIND 815 through a hacked video placed on the flyoceanicair.com website.

Chapter 1:

Sonya’s Picture:

Sam Thomas watches a news report about Oceanic Flight 815. After the largest search in the company’s history, Oceanic Airlines announces its plans to call off the search and conclude that all the passengers on the flight are deceased. Sam watches himself on the report as he comments about his missing girlfriend of eight years, Sonya. He turns off the television. He opens a jewelry box and looks at an engagement ring.

Sam receives an email from an unknown sender who says he is an old friend. The email also contains an edited photo of Sonya.

The viewer is prompted to examine the differences. The image a variety of words including “Sunda Trench,” “Christiane I,” “Black Rock,” and “Tell no one, grave consequences”
Read more