LEVELS

LEVELS
Active since 2017-04-19
Welcome To ARG Academy.
Type	[[List_of_Investigations#Independent|Independent]]
Creator	Unknown
Discovered	2017-04-19

Main Page > List of Investigations > LEVELS

Websites and accounts
Website	http://levels.your-host.xyz
Twitter account	@UnlockYourLevel
YouTube channel	LEVELS
Facebook page	LEVELS

LEVELS is a hub for introducing people to ARGs and to teach the community new techniques for ARG-solving, as well as offering puzzles ranging from beginner to absurdly difficult for all levels (pun intended) of players. It recognizes itself as an "ARG school," a title that seems to describe it perfectly. Users register with a username and password and are given access to the hub of LEVELS.

As of June 22nd, 2017, LEVELS will no longer be added to or expanded by the Puppetmasters. However, the site will remain as it is for all time. The announcement of this sudden change can be seen on the home page, and reads:

Dearest members and new visitors,

It is with heavy hearts that we must announce the permanent suspension of the LEVELS project, effective immediately.

Our host has offered to allow the current website to remain available on the server, so you may still access the many puzzles we have available, and you may even register if you wish to track points. Our Discussion forum and Hangout will remain available as well. However unless the situation dramatically changes, we will be adding no new content, nor providing new features.

Since our launch, we have both gained and lost team members and volunteers. And as deeply committed as we have been to this project, we finally were forced to accept that those who remained were not enough to do the work that must be done. There never have been, truthfully, to explain our many delays, but all of us here, past and present, were determined to give as much as we could to keep it going.

Our deepest regret is that we were never able to fulfill our obligation to provide the full educational environment that we had promised. That was never an empty promise, it was our ultimate goal for the project. We simply never quite had the resources to deliver it. We wish we could show you the incredible things we had planned for all of you. We had accomplished much these past few weeks, and feel as if we are stopping just as we were finally, truly, getting started. But we were finally forced to accept our own limitations.

We would like to thank our host for all of the extra resources we were allowed so we could attempt to keep the website running smoothly, and for allowing our website to remain active going forward, so that others may continue to enjoy the content we have provided.

We would also like to thank Game Detectives, whom we credit for much of our recently popularity. With their support, our membership numbers have nearly doubled.

But most of all, we would like to thank all of our players for participating in our project, especially those who have remained with us from the beginning, through all of our ups and downs, twists and turns, failures and successes. Without you, this project would never have lasted as long as it has.

We are all so proud of what we accomplished with LEVELS, even if it was not nearly all we had hoped to accomplish. We received so much joy seeing discussions of our project extending far beyond our Hangout and Discussion forum. We can at least count among our successes that we provided entertainment and learning experiences for so many. And we hope, request even, that all of you who cared about our project, remember our message, and continue to educate others, and to share your skills and knowledge with those who do not yet possess them. Then at least, in a small way, our project will live on, and we will have made a difference.

The success of LEVELS, especially its recent rapidly growing success, was a dream-come-true for most of us, and we will be deeply mourning its loss for a long time, probably much longer than the project even existed. Please do not think that this is a decision that has been taken lightly. It is a decision that was made after much denial and finally acceptance that this was the only one that remained. And there are no words to describe how heartbreaking this decision is for all of us still involved.

We will miss you all.
— Deb, JD, Mike, & Cami
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Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.
— Ann Landers

The Beginning

After registering for the puzzle, users are given a page welcoming them to the LEVELS challenge.

NOTE: the username displayed on the right will be your own personal username and will have no points to begin. The image displayed is of the author's LEVELS welcoming page.

The main sidebar contains 5 useful links- The Game Room, The Hallway, Discussion Forum, Contact Us, and FAQ.

Astute users will notice the hole on the bottom right of the page. Clicking it leads to a series of dialogue from Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland accompanied by an animation that leads you to the hallway.

The Game Room

The Game Room is a good place for newer players to start. It has an ever-increasing number of cards to be clicked, each with their own puzzle. These puzzles tend to be simpler and are very useful for learning and practicing basic techniques.

The Hallway

The Hallway is a puzzle hub for intermediate solvers. It consists of an ever-increasing number of doors that can be clicked on. Behind each door is a puzzle. These puzzles tend to use more advanced techniques ad require more thought and effort than the puzzles of The Game Room.

Discussion Forum

The Discussion Forum is the heart of the LEVELS community. It is a place for users to communicate, get hints for puzzles, and discuss LEVELS. It is of note that a separate ProBoards account is needed- however, this account is free and requires very little to set up. Anyone willing to spend more than a few minutes with LEVELS is encouraged to create an account.

FAQ

The FAQ page answers the common questions asked about LEVELS. It contains history about LEVELS and its earlier version,information about the LEVELS team, and other useful information regarding the site and its contents. New users should read this page for a better understanding of LEVELS.

This page is a work in progress. More details will be added as more is discovered about LEVELS and its contents.