unforum

[imbri]

Interaction

[Phaedra]

Personalized interaction with individual characters, no, I don't think is necessary for it to be an ARG. But as part of that whole "email addresses should be real" and "phone numbers should work" element of TINAG, I do think that there should be some way that if you poke the game, it pokes back.

And as far as being able to interact with the game itself, I believe it's necessary that players be able to affect it. The Beast may have presented itself as largely impersonal (and lacked a "cry for help," yes? Instead it had a few popups telling you that if you knew what was good for you, you'd stay the hell away from the whole thing, didn't it?), but as you note, players' presence was definitely felt. Something that runs its course whether anyone is watching or not, I think, is not an ARG.

Blowing Loki up, to me, was still a form of character interaction. It just wasn't personalized or direct.

So, I'd say that interaction is a necessary component of an ARG, but I think I define it very differently than you do. I don't necessarily need the characters to talk to me (although for me the most thrilling part of ILB was unexpectedly talking to Melissa), but I do want to be able to affect them somehow and have them respond to my actions within their world.

[imbri]

[Phaedra]

Well, you said you didn't like "character interaction" so I assumed you weren't considering group interaction, like the Loki incident, to be interaction with characters rather than just with the game.

And I think maybe you sell yourself short on what would have happened with you and Melissa -- I was terrified and shaking at the time, but I felt like the friends I'd made playing on the game were counting on me to do my best at it, and afterward I was like "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME!"

When she first spoke, though, I did have a second or two where I contemplated just handing the phone off to someone else.

(Of course, learning later that Kristen was nervous to be talking to me makes the whole thing really amusing.)

Anyway, point being, the adrenaline is part of what makes the experience memorable.

[thebruce]

I think this deals with the idea that every ARG has different 'roles' players can take... some don't like interaction, some thrive on it. I think a good ARG definitely requires the flexibility to have players affect the plot, but whether it includes direct interaction or general interaction I think is hit or miss. I think either can be greatly accepted depending on the makeup of the player-base, but generally I think you can assume that a small fraction of players desire direct personal interaction over having at least a general influence... and again, an ARG will only attract people who can connect with the style of gameplay it offers. If it's too heavy on personal interaction, or too heavy on sitting back and watching it play out, it'll naturally shrink the player base. Of course there are always exceptions.

Personally I'm not all that excited about personal direct interaction, though having an indirect effect on the story is huge. But I do like it when there is a bit of direct interaction by someone of the players, so it adds a bit more to the reality and connection, but again it depends on the story then, as to whether it's realistic interaction or not. I loved in ILB that there were people who hunted the phones, that some were the ones who became 'friends' with the princess or melissa and whatnot. The variety of interaction there is what made that ARG so memorable, even though I never interacted myself.

I guess my conclusion would be that I personally feel that it's a balance of numerous interaction methods, where some are weighted more than others -- not a lot of direct interaction, but some, by a few people, with lots of room for anyone to potentially indirectly influence the plot by how they take part in the ARG.
-Too much direct interaction personalizes it for a minute few and locks people out of the experience.
-Too little direct interaction may distance the ARG from reality (depending on its plot, of course).
But general flexibility is essential to let non-interacting players still have a sense of belonging and connection, rather than just watching things unfold on their own.

For me, the ARG experience is less of what I do directly (that's more of a bonus to the experience), and more of what everyone else does within the context of the plot, and its believability, knowing that there are many 'roles' to play in the experience.

[imbri]

[jwiv]