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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Orbital Colony » Orbital Colony: Meta/Questions
[OT] Introductions
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Daveman424
Boot

Joined: 19 Jun 2005
Posts: 63

 		Oh yeah, forgot that I played City of Domes till the big flop. That game was going to be great, I could tell...

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 2:52 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Re: introduction & question
RandMod6 wrote:
Greetings,

I'm was ILB crew (hello to all my beekeeping, axon hunting friends) under a different identity.


Hi! Smile

Who were you during ILB?
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World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:05 pm
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rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

 		registration
Quote:
Are players entering the Name that Rock (tm - don't sue me) contest under their real life names/addresses etc? I realize that true anonymity is essentially an illusion for all but the most paranoid, but I'd like to keep a little space (OC pun unintended) between my ARGing life & professional one.


Good question. I think each person chooses what he or she feels comfortable revealing. Most players have separate email accounts -at gmail, yahoo, or hotmail -under fictional names that they can use to play the game. You can register under that name. As for your address, you can leave that off the registration page, if I recall correctly. I usually don't submit my address or my phone numbers.
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I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass

Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:14 pm
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Pauloulou
Veteran


Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 75
Location: Alberta, Canada

 		Re: registration
rose wrote:
I usually don't submit my address or my phone numbers.


I have a Post Office Box, which is a completly different address than my house address (obviously). I always pop that in whenever I send out my info, so that I can still get packages etc etc but don't have to worry about crazy internet stalkers and the like. Confused Though, how many people have turned up dead because they play ARGs? Oooo.
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They still have mail order brides?!?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:24 pm
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addlepated
Unfictologist


Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 1885
Location: Austin, Texas

 		Re: registration
Pauloulou wrote:
Though, how many people have turned up dead because they play ARGs? Oooo.

At least one person. Happily, she was resurrected later.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:52 pm
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RandMod6`
Guest


 		multitasking responses
Lewis the Second wrote:
Well it doesn't actually ask you to enter your own name, does it? Just one for the rock. Unless I'm mistaken.
Umm, the first 4 fields requested are: Name That Rock, First Name, Middle, Last Name. I'm assuming it is referring to the name of the person registering for the 'contest'.
Phaedra wrote:
Who were you during ILB?
Hello again! I was/am this guy ; ) Nice to see you again. I look forward to more of your mad skillz and insightful conversations.
rose wrote:
Most players have separate email accounts ... to play the game. You can register under that name. As for your address, you can leave that off the registration page, if I recall correctly. I usually don't submit my address or my phone numbers.
Sure, that makes sense. I thought about using an alias name, but I trust them w/ my address - I was worried that mail might get denied if the address matched but the name did not. One of my favorite parts from ILB were the live calls to my personal axon - I actually liked having to duck out of meetings, classes, etc for in game calls - it added elements of tension and suspense.
Pauloulou wrote:
don't have to worry about crazy internet stalkers and the like. Confused Though, how many people have turned up dead because they play ARGs? Oooo.
It's not stalkers, but name rank. When I played ILB the first page of hits on my name went to the ILB forums. At some point, I'd like to seek gainful employment - I wouldn't want a prospective institution to read some in-character interaction and walk away with questions about my grip on (un)reality.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:58 pm
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Giskard
Sassypants


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 2066
Location: Chicago

 		Re: registration
rose wrote:
Good question. I think each person chooses what he or she feels comfortable revealing. Most players have separate email accounts -at gmail, yahoo, or hotmail -under fictional names that they can use to play the game. You can register under that name. As for your address, you can leave that off the registration page, if I recall correctly. I usually don't submit my address or my phone numbers.


It is indeed a good question, and I think this way of gathering information on your players is a pretty good one for PM's in general... every player can decide for him/herself what information to give out and what to keep private. This way, you can set your own level of immersiveness, up to a certain degree... (we do not know yet what OC will bring us, but you can already rule out participating in reallife events/recieving e-mail/phonecalls/etc.)

I did not enter my real name, mostly I guess out of not knowing where it might end up, so I entered my full nickname instead (R. Giskard Reventlov Smile), but I did enter all other private information because I would not mind any interaction the game might feature.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:19 pm
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Lewis the Second
Decorated

Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 198

 		Re: multitasking responses
RandMod6 wrote:
Lewis the Second wrote:
Well it doesn't actually ask you to enter your own name, does it? Just one for the rock. Unless I'm mistaken.
Umm, the first 4 fields requested are: Name That Rock, First Name, Middle, Last Name. I'm assuming it is referring to the name of the person registering for the 'contest'.


Oh... fuh. I don't know, my memory is awful.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:25 pm
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rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

 		immersion
Quote:
but you can already rule out participating in reallife events/recieving e-mail/phonecalls/etc.)


I did give them an email address so that should be fine. Also, I have found that games allow you to opt-in later as the game progresses. I don't really want (or need) total immersion with a game calling me at any time or place , faxing me, texting me or mailing me packages. I know that many people want that. I agree that it is great that PMs can vary the level of immersion based on a player's preference.

But my approach hasn't caused me to miss out on very much. After I found out Melissa posted in advance when she would call, I got on her crew - by calling Dana's voicemail after Melissa took it over -- and gave her my number. Also, I went, with my son, to the ilb live event in New York.

I participated in two Heist live events without committing info at the beginning of the game --although there the PMs didn't ask for the information until just before the live events.

What else... I got a PPC postcard from the New York Public Library. Plus I got the ARGFest stuff from Omnifam and ARGTalk.

So far, I don't feel the slightest bit left out. Smile

Addie wrote:
Quote:
At least one person. Happily, she was resurrected later.


And, just in time to make some posters.
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Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:39 pm
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jokerstrademark
Veteran


Joined: 25 Sep 2004
Posts: 71
Location: Out to Lunch

 		I'm going to be playing this one. I've lurked and done a little with Perplex City, I played Synagoga all the way through, and yeah, that's about my entire history. I've been waiting for a game to start up that i could hope won't die on me and I think this one is a good bet.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:09 pm
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Jonny10
Boot


Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 69
Location: West Michigan

 		I got in on the last challenge of OurColony and was totally confused. I was watching the silly webcam at work and my boss walked up behind me and I got in big trouble.

Then I jumped into City of Domes with both feet. I was all excited for my Sandman interview, I kept a copy of the Sandman Code of Conduct and my cell phone with me at all times. I got a call at my wife's softball game. I heard "Is this the Sandman?" in a faux gruff voice and then unmitigated snickering. I looked over and one of my buddies was hiding behind the player's bench with his cell phone. When I finally did get the call it was in the middle of the night. . .


Why do I play these things again? Oh yeah it's because all that time I was being laughed at and called a geek I was really excited about what was going on. And because I love all my clever new friends. Rock on codebreakers!!! Rock On

On the topic of personal info it is hard in this day and age to be willynilly with your identity on the net. But that balances against the thrill of being involved, versus the feeling of being on the outside if you don't get the nifty package in the mail or whatnot. Personally that phone call in the middle of the night, while it did annoy my wife, had me smiling at the ceiling. For me though the best feeling is when you solve a puzzle before anyone else does and rush to post it on unfiction. I have only done it once, but I jumped up off the pot to post this. I know, I know, gross. But it shows how excited I was.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 11:33 pm
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Giskard
Sassypants


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 2066
Location: Chicago

 		Re: immersion
rose wrote:
So far, I don't feel the slightest bit left out. Smile

Well, here I am, on the other side of the world and never having recieved anything other than e-mails... I even had to fake my own axon phonecall... life in ARGs ain't fair Wink
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"They never tell you truth is subjective, they only tell you not to lie." -- Gary Jules

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:57 am
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Thunderwolf
Unfettered


Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 419
Location: The Sprawl

 		Hi all, like many, I'm new to ARGs, although I have a very heavy roleplaying history. ARGs to me sound like the next logical step in RPGs, so here I am.

I'm trying to read up everything I can and get up to speed so that I can properly participate, but if I'm doing anything wrong, let me know so I can get better.

Cheerrs.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 3:30 pm
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously
Thunderwolf wrote:
Hi all, like many, I'm new to ARGs


Welcome! Glad you found Unfiction. Very Happy

Thunderwolf wrote:
although I have a very heavy roleplaying history. ARGs to me sound like the next logical step in RPGs, so here I am.


Funny, we were just having a discussion about this in chat.

If you're looking to ARGs for an intensification of the kind of roleplaying that occurs in RPGs, you might not find it. I still think you'll enjoy ARGs, but they are not really RPGs+. That's not to say that there's not a connection, as ARGs have some roots in RPGs, but they're not equivalent, and it's not to say that roleplaying never takes place, as it does, but it's much less central than it is in an actual RPG.

The focus of an RPG is pretending to be a character, right? Well, the focus of an ARG is generally trying to figure out what's going on.

I think the only safe generalization that can be said to apply to all ARGs is that the puppetmasters (PMs -- the people who run the game) roleplay.

Some players roleplay while playing ARGs, and some don't. Different games tend to elicit different levels of roleplaying, but there's always going to be variation, and if you try to roleplay in an out-of-game setting (like, for example, here on the forum) some players may not go along with it.

If you're reading up on ARGs, you're going to encounter the term "TINAG "pretty often. If you don't already know, this stands for "This Is Not A Game," which was the mantra of the Beast, the first ARG.

The whole idea was to create a game that never admitted that it was actually a game. This is connected to the concept of the "curtain" -- the idea that the people running the game don't participate in the game as themselves -- i.e. they remain hidden behind layers of characters and technology. Often this translates to absolute secrecy on the part of the PMs while the game is going -- i.e. they don't admit who they are, they deny any knowledge of the game, and so on -- but there are different schools of thought on that one, as well.

But this is generally one-sided. Players recognize and admit that the ARG is a game, they have META discussions about it, and so on.

Returning to a more direct discussion of roleplaying and its role in ARGs, again, different people participate differently.

Really the only level of roleplaying that's required is a bare minimum to preserve the game's belief in itself -- players don't try to convince in-game characters that they are just characters in a game. Otherwise, it's pretty much up to the player.

The difference between an ARG and an RPG, in this respect, is in the way the reality of the game views the players.

In an RPG, for example, there is basically a simple divergence between the game reality (henceforth "GR") and real life ("RL"). In RL, for example, you are a 20-year-old male college student playing a game. In GR, you are a wizard or a vampire or a secret agent or whatever. And ne'er the twain shall meet. In GR, the people you are playing with are also wizards or vampires or secret agents or whatever, and they treat you as if you are as well. This is the roleplaying, obviously. In RL, well -- there's a distinct line, because a wizard probably isn't going to call you on your cell phone.

In an ARG, in RL, the players are a group of people on the internet who noticed something odd and are now playing the game it led to. In the GR, they are also a group of people on the internet who noticed something odd and are...doing something with it. Sometimes that something involves acting or roleplaying or whatever, but it may not. If it does, it's usually one more layer.

The GR is still "a bunch of people on the internet," but it may be "a bunch of people on the internet pretending to be something else." This makes the RL side "a bunch of people on the internet playing a game pretending to be a bunch of people on the internet not playing a game and pretending to be 'crew' on a spaceship." This is rather than the RPG reality of "a bunch of people pretending to be vampires."

To make it more concrete, I'll use Ilovebees as an example. In the eyes of a vampire RPG, for example, players are vampires (or people dealing with vampires or whatever), yes? That's as far as it goes.

In Ilovebees, we were a group of people on the internet who noticed a cry for help on the blog of a young woman named Dana. In order to get information out of the crazy AI (Melissa) who had corrupted her website, we had to pretend to be the crew for her ship when we were talking to her.

But it's important to note that in the eyes of the game, we weren't crew. The game, and Dana, and eventually even Melissa were aware that we were just a random group of people on the internet.

So, the only real role-playing took place when we were on the phone with Melissa or emailing her. Other than that, in-game we were what we are out-of-game -- a group of people on the internet. The only difference was that in-game, we never admitted it was a game. We treated Dana and Melissa as if they were real people, not characters played by actors.

And for most players, in a big game, the majority of interaction in an ARG is interaction with other players, not with in-game characters -- coordinating events, discussing the game, sharing stories about interacting, etc. So, the majority of the time, you won't be role-playing.

Most of the time, "playing" will be exactly what you're doing in real life: trying to figure out what the *heck* is going on -- solving puzzles, speculating about things, and discussing it with other players.

That's why these are called "alternate reality" games rather than "role-playing" games. And that "reality" aspect is what makes them so much fun. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 4:39 pm
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Thunderwolf
Unfettered


Joined: 18 Aug 2005
Posts: 419
Location: The Sprawl

 		What you're saying makes sense, but you're assuming that all RPG's are set in fantasy worlds and not the real world. Playing an RPG as yourself is possible with some rules systems.

And with those two words I think I've hit on the fundamental difference between RPGs and ARGs.

Smile


Thanks for the support and the warm welcome though - I think I'm going to have a lot of fun.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:52 pm
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