Leslie Calvert arg: Alternate Reality Gaming

ARG: Alternate Reality Gaming

What are ARG’s?

Alternate Reality Gaming (ARG) is a relatively new genre of games that encourages players (you!) to interact with a fictional world using the real world to do it.
The form is defined by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real-time and evolves according to participants’ responses, and characters that are actively controlled by the game’s designers, as opposed to being controlled by artificial intelligence as in a computer or console video game.
Players interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and often work together with a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life and online activities.
ARGs generally use multimedia, such as telephones, email and mail but rely on the Internet as the central binding medium.
Slide 2

Vocabulary

Puppetmaster

An individual involved in designing and/or running an ARG. Puppetmasters are

simultaneously allies and adversaries to the player base, creating obstacles and

providing resources for overcoming them in the course of telling the game’s story.

Puppetmasters generally remain behind the curtain while a game is running. The

real identity of puppet masters may or may not be known ahead of time.

The Curtain

This is generally a metaphor for the separation between the puppetmasters and

the players. This can take the traditional form of absolute secrecy regarding the

puppetmasters’ identities and involvement with the production, or refer merely

to the convention that puppetmasters do not communicate directly with players

through the game, interacting instead through the characters and the game’s design.

Vocabulary Continued

Rabbithole: Also known as a Trailhead. A Rabbithole marks the first website, contact, or puzzle that starts off the ARG.
Trailhead: A deliberate clue which enables a player to discover a way into the game. Most ARGs employ a number of trailheads in several media, to maximise the probability of people discovering the game. Some trailheads may be covert, others may be thinly-disguised adverts.
This Is Not A Game (TINAG): Setting the ARG form apart from other games is the This Is Not A Game aesthetic, which dictates that the game not behave like a game: phone numbers mentioned in the ARG, for example, should actually work, and the game should not provide an overtly-designated playspace or ruleset to the players.
Slide 4

Acronyms

OOG - Out-of-game. Things that occur outside of the game world

PM-PuppetMaster. The people behind the game.

TINAG - This Is Not A Game. The ARG mantra.

UF - unfiction and/or the forums at unfiction. The largest ARG community.

#uf - #unfiction. The main chat room for the community.

Other acronyms include shorthand for various games, such as LJ (LockJaw), CTW (Chasing the wish), ILB (I Love Bees), Mu (Project Mu/Metacortechs), UH (Urban Hunt), and WI (Wildfire Industries).
Slide 5

Where did this come from?

Due to factors like the curtain, attempts to begin games with “stealth launches” to fulfill the TINAG aesthetic, and the restrictive non-disclosure agreements governing how much information may be revealed by the puppetmasters of promotional games, the design process for many ARGs is often shrouded in secrecy, making it difficult to discern the extent to which they have been influenced by other works. In addition, the cross-media nature of the form allows ARGs to incorporate elements of so many other art forms and works that attempting to identify them all would be a nearly-impossible task.
Slide 6

Possible Influences

The popular Choose Your Own Adventure children’s novels may also have provided some inspiration. Reader-influenced online fiction such as AOL’s QuantumLink Serial provides a model that incorporates audience influence into the storytelling in a manner similar to that of ARGs, as do promotional online games like Wizards of the Coast’s Webrunner games. Other possible antecedents include performance art and other theatrical forms that attempt to break Bertolt Brecht’s “fourth wall” and directly engage the audience.
Slide 7

Relation to What Exists

Computer/console/video games.

While ARGs generally use the internet as a central binding medium, they are not played exclusively on a computer and usually do not require the use of special software or interfaces. Non-player characters in ARGs are controlled in real-time by the puppetmasters, not computer AI.

Role-playing games and Live action role-playing games.

The role of the puppetmaster in creating ARG narratives and the puppetmaster’s relationship with an ARG’s players bears a great deal of similarity to the role of a game master, gamemaster or referee in a role-playing game. However, the role of the players is quite different. Most ARGs do not have any fixed rules -- players discover the rules and the boundaries of the game through trial and error -- and do

not require players to assume fictional identities or roleplay beyond feigning belief

in the reality of the characters they interact with (even if games where players play

‘themselves’ are a long standing variant on the genre).
Slide 8

Relation to What Exists continued

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games.

Non-player characters in ARGs are controlled by real people in real time, not by computer AI; ARGs do not generally require special software or interfaces to play; the games do not require players to roleplay or create characters or avatars; and ARGs generally use multiple media and real life in addition to the internet.

Viral marketing/internet hoaxes.

ARGs diverge sharply from the philosophy behind “sponsored consumers” or other viral marketing practices that attempt to trick consumers into believing that planted shills for a product are other independent consumers. They also diverge from sites or narratives that genuinely try to convince visitors that they are what they claim to be. Puppetmasters generally leave both subtle and overt clues to the game’s fictional nature and boundaries where players can find them and many ARGs openly flaunt obviously fictional plots. As Well, the Terms of Service of Unfiction, the central community site for the ARG genre, strictly prohibit individuals involved in creating games from posting about them without disclosing their involvement.

Design Principles

Storytelling as archaeology

Instead of presenting a chronologically unified, coherent narrative, the designers scattered pieces of the story across the Internet and other media, allowing players to reassemble it, supply connective tissue and determine what it meant.

The story was not bound to a single medium, but existed independently and used whatever media were available to make itself heard.

While it might be possible to follow the game individually, the design was directed at a collective of players that shared information and solutions almost instantly, and incorporated individuals possessing almost every conceivable area of expertise. While the game might initially attract a small group of participants, as they came across new challenges, they would reach out and draw in others with the knowledge they needed to overcome the obstacles.

Design Principles Continued

A whisper is sometimes louder than a shout

Rather than openly promoting the game and trying to attract participation by “pushing” it toward potential players, the designers attempted to “pull” players to the story by engaging in over-the-top secrecy, having elements of the game “warn” players away from them, and eschewing traditional marketing channels. Designers did not communicate about the game with players or press while it was in play.

The “this is not a game” (TINAG) aesthetic

The game itself does not acknowledge that it was a game. It did not have an acknowledged ruleset for players; as in real-life, they determined the “rules” either through trial and error or by setting their own boundaries. The narrative presented a fully-realized world: any phone number or email address that was mentioned actually worked, and any website acknowledged actually existed. The game took place in real-time and was not replayable. Characters functioned like real people and responded authentically. Some events involved meetings or live phone calls between players and actors.

Design Principles Continued

Collaborative storytelling

While the puppetmasters controlled most of the story, they incorporated player content and responded to players’ actions, analysis and speculation by adapting the narrative and intentionally left “white space” for the players to fill in.

Not a hoax

While the TINAG aesthetic might seem on the surface to be an attempt to make something indistinguishable from real life, there were both subtle and overt metacommunications in place to reveal the game’s framework and most of its boundaries.

The most obvious was that the story itself took place in the year 2142, and the websites ostensibly existed in the future (visitors to some of the sites would trigger a pop up warning that their browser was obsolete and unrecognized). The designers also outlined the borders of the game more subtly, e.g. through the names on the site registrations.
Slide 12

Where do you find one?

You can find the currently running ARGs by visiting ARGN, the best basic resource for ARG news and events. You’ll see a list of the most popular (and confirmed!) games at the top of the page with links to the forums where it’s being discussed as well as any other important resources (such as the game chat room). Also, the forums at unfiction (uf) as even more games are being played there, many of which are small grassroots games that are put on by fans of the genre for other fans.
How do you play?

You play can play by exploring websites, sending emails, and calling the phone number. However, most players find that there’s more joy in playing along with others and, in many cases, playing in large groups is necessary. There are several forums out there dedicated to playing ARGs, the most popular are the forums at unfiction. Because of the collaborative nature, you will likely come to rely on the community, even if you are just a lurker (someone who reads the boards, but doesn’t post to them).

Example

Example Continued

While you were waiting for your reply from the crazy monkey man, you poked around a bit more on the everyonelovesmonkeys.com website and happened to notice a phone number and address on their contact page. Out of curiosity, you decide to use a few of your free cell phone minutes to call the number. Convinced it’s a fake, you are completely surprised when someone answered the phone. In a panic, you talk to the receptionist and learn that all of the monkey keepers are outside monkeying around.
Now you are interacting with a fictional world using your real world phone and your real world you. Not all ARGs have those exact features and most are much more original than this little example. The one thing that ties all ARGs together is that you are interacting with the fictional world using things that you use every day to interact with the real world. Also, you aren’t interacting as a character, as you would in most computer and video games. You also don’t need any special equipment, as you would with most console games. Most games take advantage of computers and the internet (websites and emails) as well as phones and even the occasional live event (finding something hidden in your city, gathering around payphones, or even live parties with character interaction!).
Slide 15

Why are ARG’s Important?

Most ARGs are free to players and the only expense might be the cost of gas to get to a live event or a stamp to send a letter to a character. This is great due to the fact that in this failing economy you can still stimulate yourself and get involved in something without having to pay for it like many other games. You also don’t necessarily have to even play it yourself and instead merely lurk.
ARGs are now being recognized by the mainstream entertainment world: The Fallen

Alternate Reality game , produced in the fall of 2007 by Xenophile Media Inc. was awarded a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for an Interactive Television Program.

They create a link between the online and real world. Now a days people are becoming more and more antisocial and using the internet and text messaging as their sole source of communication. With ARG’s people are encouraged to go outside of the 1’s and 0’s and communicate with other people as well as collaborating with others in order to solve the various puzzles presented.
Slide 16

Weaknesses

• 
  It is not always obvious what is an ARG and what isn’t.
  
• 
  Hoaxes are often disguised as ARG’s.
  
• 
  The “game” can’t be played multiple times.
  
• 
  A game could be abandoned leaving players to waste their time and aggravated.
  
• 
  A game is never truly finished, thus leaving the player without a true sense of accomplishment.
  

Slide 17

When first looking into ARG’s I was really in aww that there was something like this out there. However the more I delve into it I discover that it really isnt for me and is rather annoying. It seems like there are actually a large number of people doing ARG’s and that they seem to really enjoy it. It is a great way for promotion as used for many movies such as A.I. and District-9.

New Developements

2006 produced fewer large-scale corporate ARGs than past years, but the ARG form continued to spread and be adapted for promotional uses, as an increasing number of TV shows and movies extended their universes onto the internet through such means as character blogs and ARG-like puzzle trails, and as an increasing number of independent/grassroots games launched, with varying levels of success. One of the more popular indie ARGs to launch in the fall of 2006 was Jan Libby’s dark yet whimsical “Sammeeeees”. Lonelygirl15, a popular series of videos on YouTube, relinquished an unprecedented amount of control to its audience by recognizing a fan-created game as the “official” ARG.
2007 got off to a strong start immediately, with Microsoft’s Vanishing Point to promote the launch of Windows Vista. The game was designed by 42 Entertainment and, due in part to many large-scale real world events, such as a lavish show at the Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas as well as a prizes of a trip into space and having a winner’s name engraved on all AMD Athlon 64 FX chips for a certain period of time, received large media attention.
Slide 19

New Developments Continued

In May 2007, 42 Entertainment launched Why So Serious, an ARG to promote the feature film The Dark Knight. Hailed as being the single most impressive viral marketing campaign of all-time , it played out over 15 months, concluding in July 2008. Millions of players in 177 countries participated both online and taking part in live events, and it reached hundreds of millions through internet buzz and exposure.
In March 2008 McDonalds and the IOC launched Find The Lost Ring (game official site), a global ARG promoting the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The game was run simultaneously in six languages with new story lines developing in each, encouraging players to communicate with residents of other countries to facilitate sharing of clues and details of the game as a whole. American track and field athlete Edwin Moses acted as a celebrity Game Master, and McDonalds Corporation promised to donate $100,000 (USD) to Ronald McDonald House Charities China on behalf of the players.
Slide 20

What the Future Could Bring

There are many possibilities open for the future of ARG’s. They are fastly becoming one of the best marketing tools. Tons of movies, TV shows, corporations, ect. have started using ARG’s in order to gain interest in their product or just gain a better reputation. I believe for ARG’s to become really successful, they need to be talked about more, publicized more. The world needs to become aware of this phenomenon and get to work in being more involved. It has the potential to unite people from all cultures and races, to make people more friendly and socialable, and make a more pleasant society and world in general through working together for a similar goal.
Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game