unforum

[Bauski]

Tons of Questions, nothing really inter-relevant

[djsampson]

How much did you spend on your last game? With so many options avalible on the Internet. You could, as some have run a full ARG without droping a dime.

If they do flock towards the cliff, how can you, as a PM, direct them back without breaking that curtain? This along with most of the questions can be handled with propper planning. Personally, I think the best way to handle this is to write characters into the story inwhich you can use to give the clues needed for your players to move forward.

Are making back-up plans a viable option? If so, what are some arbitrary ideas for directing them back? Always be prepaired. Although having a large group of players will cause you to have a large group of individulals. Noone thinks exactly the same. But, not giving proper information or leaving gaps in your info, will cause the players to speculate. wich usually leads the players chasing after something that was never there. So plan to give your players what they need when they need it.

How much contact is too much contact?I believe enough contact to make the character seem real, but not so much that it destracts from the puzzles or the players feeling envolved. If you have to much contact that it overshadows everything else. You essentually wrote a book not an ARG.

Have you ever PMed where it felt like no one saw your W.rabbit?You can get around this as well by using all of the internet tools at hand. It really just depends on your market. If you want to reach a large vast audiance. You could hit youtube, myspace, craigslist, and so forth. If you want a smaller audiance were you can monitor there activities. Use forum contacts on forums that relate to your ARG.

As a PM what are some pointers towards new PMs to making a game real? Become your character. Think out if you were that character would you do this, how would you do this. In creating a character the best thing you can do is write out 20 questions, and answer them as your character. How old, where did they live before, whats thier dads name, who is thier best friend, and so on. Having this information written down, will help you build on your character. Keep you characters real, and write only about what you know. As long as you write about thing you know you can answer the questions the players might ask you quickly. Because it is you who had the same experiance. Keep your characters believable and the rest will follow.

Have there been issues on trust and treaties that lead to group break downs? There will always be that guy who says he will help out with something, then never shows up. Its best to plan for this. PM break ups have caused quite a few ARG's to go down the toilet. So before you even think about launching make sure that anyone helping with your ARG has the time, money or patients to help you with your project. Be prepaired for anything and everything, because sooner or later something is going to happen. And you don't want to look back and say why didn't I plan for this !