KW,  Oursky   

—  Alternate  Reality  Game   

—  Alternate  Reality  Game   An  alternate  reality  game  (ARG)  is  an  interactive   narrative  that  uses  the  real  world  as  a  platform  and   uses  trans-­‐media  storytelling  to  deliver  a  story  that   may  be  altered  by  participants'  ideas  or  actions.  The   form  is  defined  by  intense  player  involvement  with  a   story  that  takes  place  in  real-­‐time  and  evolves   according  to  participants'  responses.  Subsequently,  it   is  shaped  by  characters  that  are  actively  controlled  by   the  game's  designers.     -­‐  Wikipedia  entry:  “Alternate  reality  game”   “ ” 

—  Alternate  Reality  Game   An  alternate  reality  game  (ARG)  is  an  interactive   narrative  that  uses  the  real  world  as  a  platform  and   uses  trans-­‐media  storytelling  to  deliver  a  story  that   may  be  altered  by  participants'  ideas  or  actions.  The   form  is  defined  by  intense  player  involvement  with  a   story  that  takes  place  in  real-­‐time  and  evolves   according  to  participants'  responses.  Subsequently,  it   is  shaped  by  characters  that  are  actively  controlled  by   the  game's  designers.     -­‐  Wikipedia  entry:  “Alternate  reality  game”   “ ” Genre definition 

—  Alternate  Reality  Game   An  alternate  reality  game  (ARG)  is  an  interactive   narrative  that  uses  the  real  world  as  a  platform  and   uses  trans-­‐media  storytelling  to  deliver  a  story  that   may  be  altered  by  participants'  ideas  or  actions.  The   form  is  defined  by  intense  player  involvement  with  a   story  that  takes  place  in  real-­‐time  and  evolves   according  to  participants'  responses.  Subsequently,  it   is  shaped  by  characters  that  are  actively  controlled  by   the  game's  designers.     -­‐  Wikipedia  entry:  “Alternate  reality  game”   “ ” Media 

—  Alternate  Reality  Game   An  alternate  reality  game  (ARG)  is  an  interactive   narrative  that  uses  the  real  world  as  a  platform  and   uses  trans-­‐media  storytelling  to  deliver  a  story  that   may  be  altered  by  participants'  ideas  or  actions.  The   form  is  defined  by  intense  player  involvement  with  a   story  that  takes  place  in  real-­‐time  and  evolves   according  to  participants'  responses.  Subsequently,  it   is  shaped  by  characters  that  are  actively  controlled  by   the  game's  designers.     -­‐  Wikipedia  entry:  “Alternate  reality  game”   “ ” Common traits 

—  An  ARG  take  by  Google  on  Android   http://ingress.com/   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ingress_screenshot_showing_portals,_links,_and_fields.png   

—  Puppetmaster  (PM)   —  Rabbit  hole   —  Curtain   

—  Puppetmaster  (PM)   —  Designer/Organizer  (Storyteller  in  roles)   —  Rabbit  hole   —  Curtain   http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3156785408/tt1504467   

—  Puppetmaster  (PM)   —  Rabbit  hole   —  The  media  artifact  that  draws  in  players   —  Curtain   http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19033/19033-­‐h/19033-­‐h.htm   

—  Puppetmaster  (PM)   —  Rabbit  hole   —  Curtain   —  Separation  between  PM  and  players   http://www.dougledbetter.org/howto/puppet_stage/   

—  Storytelling  as  archaeology   —  Platformless  narrative  (or  multiplatform  narrative)   —  Allows  easy  disunitified/incoherent  descriptions   —  For  example…   —  Imagine  a  murder  or  a  heist…   —  …  on  the  victim’s  personal  Facebook?   —  …  on  the  news  feed  of  Police  Force  website?   —  …  on  a  Pro-­‐Liberation  paper?   —  …  on  a  tabloid?   —  …  on  an  anonymous  blog,  suspected  to  be  the  offender’s?   

—  This  Is  Not  A  Game   —  PMs  do  not  acknowledge  that  they  are  games.   —  Game  worlds  are  realized  (website,  phone)   —  Characters  controlled  by  real  people   http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-­‐Is-­‐Not-­‐Game-­‐Alternate/dp/1411625951   

—  Real-­‐life  as  a  Platform   —  Players  need  not  roleplay  (characters  as  themselves)     http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3532808/Fabulous+roleplaying/   

—  Designed  for  a  hive  mind   —  So  much  brilliant  minds  out  there!   http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/12/wisdom-­‐of-­‐the-­‐crowd-­‐and-­‐the-­‐internet/   

—  Collaborative  storytelling   —  Whitespace   This space is intentionally left blank. 

—  Developed  by  EA,  a  failed  attempt   in  commercialization  of  ARG   —  Characteristics:   —  Starts  out  from  a  game,  instead  of   viral  marketing  attempt   —  Episodic  subscription   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Majestic_logo.jpg   

—  Landmark  for  modern  ARGs   —  Developed  at  Microsoft  (later  42  Entertainment)   —  For  marketing  of  A.I.  the  movie   http://42entertainment.com/beast.html   

—  Developed  by  42  Entertainment  for  Halo  2   —  Thousands  of  players  participated   —  Spanned  several  weeks   http://ilovebees.com/   

—  Six  weeks  tie-­‐in  with  Lost   —  Millions  of  players  playing   —  Website  archive  of  Hanso  Foundation   http:///thehansofoundation.org/   

—  One  of  the  first  commercial   (non-­‐amateur)  ARGs  not   driven  by  marketing   attempts.   —  Income  by  selling  puzzle   cards   —  Developed  by  Mind  Candy,   an  UK  company   —  Spanned  around  22  months   http://perplexcity.com/   

—  Viral  marketing?   —  Fun?   —  Fail  rate   —  How  to  captivate  players?   —  Cost   

—  LARP  [WP]  [Stanford]  [RPGWiki]   —  “Improvisional  drama”   —  Rel:  Assassin  (game)  [WP]  [Stanford]   —  Rel:  Murder  Mysteries  [WP]   —  Historical  reenactments  [WP]   —  Cosplay  [WP]   

—  The  Game  [WP]   —  Name  maybe  inspired  by  the  movie  in  1997  [WP]   —  Some  noteworthy  games:   —  Midnight  Madness  (V.L.  in  Arkansa,  Florida,  NYC)   —  Microsoft  Intern  Game  (Washington,  1999,  2000-­‐2009)  [Site]   —  Shelby  Logan’s  Run  (Las  Vegas,  2002)  [Site]  [TED]   —  Masquerade  [WP]   

—  More  engaging  devices?   —  Cool  gadget  as  in  sci-­‐fi  movies?   —  What  if  in  a  future  when  senses  are  constructed   digitally?   —  Extended  experiences  for  more  other  media?  (From   TV  series  to  bands  to…?)   

—  Portal  site  for  ARGers   —  http://argn.com/   —  http://unfiction.com/   —  ARG  FAQs   —  http://giantmice.com/features/arg-­‐quickstart/   —  Exocog,  a  case-­‐study  (2004)   —  http://www.miramontes.com/writing/exocog/