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[Gupfee]

Community

[Puppy_Zwolle]

Uhm yes,... yes,.. yes, yes, yes.

Well, reminds me of:
"If a tree falls in the forest and noone is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

"If an ARG is not played is it still an ARG?"

Community makes an ARG live.. but it does not make the ARG. (ask any PM who likes his TINAG )
Comunity is always a group of individuals. Thats why it works, lots of different views piling up.
btw: agreeing here not halfbaked contradicting you.

[krystyn]

I likes my TINAG, but without players, nearly all of the motivation to create a living, breathing ARG goes right out the window.

As a writer, I could certainly publish a collection of short stories for my own edification, and could conceivably feel complete satisfaction with my work without a single other reader taking the time to absorb my words.

I am not sure I could say that about PMing ARGs, actually. I liken the dynamic of Puppetmastering to when I am on stage as a performer, and there is a full audience who is engaged in some small way (even if they're hating the show).

-- Without getting too artsy-fartsy (FARTsy?), there is an energy exchange there - it is an active conversation between the stage/performer and the audience. The shock of recognition, the discomfort of a violent act (and its impact on society at large), the learning process, the sheer joy of song bursting forth - those tend to stand alright on their own, but ask any stage actor why they love the stage (and why many will eschew working in film and television), and you'll get answers that will likely supply very good reasons as to why ARGs are sparkling, fantastic, emphatically influential creatures when the community is fully engaged.

So I guess that was all a sort of response to Puppy.

Also, Gupfee is my favorite for understanding the whole "we" thing.

ETA: I wanted to also say that many ARGs have been made for me by the incidents that happen with the players.

- I had some serious frustrations with feeling engaged/involved/invested in ilovebees until the live calls started happening, which then led into the crew tasks (axon photos, relay missions, etc.). Hearing dragonrider's live call, getting feedback on my singing to Melissa, having one of the first crew members tell me in IRC that I wasn't a "confirmed" crew member (and somehow therefore my story/information was negated until further notice), debating for HOURS upon HOURS that Melissa != Cortana -- all of those, for better or for worse, heightened, enriched, and earmarked the events of that game to make it memorable. To this day, I still play Halo pretty regularly with many of the original Beekeepers. Gilada leaping off the payphone counter to show his role as a Paratrooper is still one of my favorite ARG moments EVER, no lie.

- Last Call Poker was also difficult for me, as my work computer couldn't handle the poker utility very well, and I was not as clever as the others at finding character cards. The change for me came when I started doing Favors. The conversations I had with people about them, the personal fulfillment I got from the tasks, etc., all served to connect me to a complex, competitive game in a meaningful way. I even got my mom to go to two cemeteries with me, which (I think) gave her a huge amount of insight as to how my life works for me nowadays.

Anyway, just two examples, since I feel like I am being wordy and stuff.

As a PM, seeing this community stuff happen is totally (for me) what makes it all worth it.

[Puppy_Zwolle]

[krystyn]

She's pretty old skool, actually.

She was even a character in an ARG some years back. She's been such a good sport, but I think keeping her involved on some level means a lot to her, and helps her to understand all this weird stuff I do. Heh.

[MageSteff]

Re: Community