the beast 2001, a.i. movie poster:. what is an arg? an immersive storytelling experience multimedia:...
Post on 19-Dec-2015
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What is an ARG?
An immersive storytelling experience Multimedia:
Blogs, youtube, forums, phone calls, text messages, audio, GPS, IM, games-within-games, puzzles, discussions, twitter, facebook, apps, collaboration, meetups, text, secret ops…
The real world is the publishing medium Collaborative
“No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity”
Pierre Levy, Collective Intelligence
Why this kind of game?
“All my game career I’ve been looking for ways to make game stories more immersive, and a key way to do this is to reduce the number or the height of the leaps of abstraction between the player and the story. By leaps of abstraction I mean “things you have to do different because it’s a game.” Using a controller is an abstractive leap, using button combos is another, and so on. Each leap makes the game less immersive and leaves potential players behind as a result.
So when I came to Alternate Reality Games in late 2004, it was like coming home. There’s no controller, no avatar, nothing between you and the game. So I just knew I had to start working in that area.”
-Ken Eklund
Example: The Dark Knight
2008, http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/02/26/viral-recap-the-dark-knights-why-so-serious-campaign/
Vocabulary
“Rabbit Hole”: The method of an ARG’s launch
“Puppet Master” (PM): A person running an ARG
“This is not a game”: Many ARGs don’t explicitly admit they are games.
‘Viral’ vs. ‘Experience’ vs. ‘Game’
Same tools used in all three
‘Viral’ is often a one-time event or production
‘Experience’ is a trail of puzzles & interactions, linear, repeatable
‘Game’ is more collaborative, longer term
Serious Game: World Without Oil
2007, non-promotional http://worldwithoutoil.org/ Asychronous, collaborative, explicitly
educational Worked on a limited budget Lesson plans:
http://worldwithoutoil.org/metateachers.htm
Serious Game: Ghosts of a Chance
Smithsonian, 2008 www.GhostsofaChance.com
Final report:http://ghostsofachance.com/GhostsofaChance_Report2.pdf
Serious Game:Should Brandon and Nicole get Engaged?
UNC, 2010 moviestar2b.blogspot.com/ http://www.youtube.com/user/ShBANGE
More info: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1878335.1878376&coll=DL&dl=GUIDE&CFID=15009796&CFTOKEN=80479239
Serious Game:Urgent Evoke
Online, 2010 http://www.urgentevoke.com
Repeatable! Story?
Tangential Learning
Expose a player to new ideas and potential for learning, without forcing it on them (source: http://www.edge-online.com/blogs/the-power-tangential-learning )
ARGs can take it even further: learn new skills along the way
So you want to play an ARG…
Brief Experience: www.Love-Resurrected.com
Community: Unforums: http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/ www.ARGN.com