Tossing a few ARG links here, since the heyday of larger games (and especially ones with PTSN connectivity) is old enough some HNs might not have experienced them.
I really enjoyed the original Valve's Portal BBS you could dial into Aperture Science and read on the history. The writers at Valve really wrote some great silly backstory about a shower curtain company developing quantum portals, as some sort of tool to get in and out of showers. I'm not sure that's cannon anymore though.
I think that still is (per Portal 2), but some of the original details aren't – like how Cave Johnson poisons himself, and how much his excellent decision-making was influenced by said poisoning.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119174/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alternate_reality_ga...
It's a shame too, as they were unique. Would love to see a nationally-accessible Meow Wolf tie-in.
PS: ilovebees