unforum

[WebPillar]

The Place to be

[Phaedra]

Hi! And welcome back! It's always nice when a beekeeper returns.

There are actually a number of games currently running (for a quick visual representation of popular, currently-running games, it's always good to check the "what's hot" feature at ARGNet.

Studio Cypher is producing pay-to-play mini-args, or "chapters" in a "multi-player novel." Chapter 4 is just getting started, so you're right on time. (You don't need to have played the previous chapters to play.) I believe the cost for playing is $9.99.

Of the other ARGs currently in play, in no particular order:

• NeoVenus Construction is an ARG related to Lost Planet. See the ARGNet article on it here, or check out the trailhead thread. Other threads related to the game can be found in the ARGs With Potential forum.
  
• Monster Hunter Club recently launched as a promotion for the movie The Host. The ARGNet article gives a summary and also provides links to resources such as an official blog to help you catch up quickly. Trailhead thread here.
  
• The Committee of the Sedulous Amalgamation appears poised to move from pre-game to a more active stage, and uses a lot of snail-mail, which is always fun. The ARGNet article describes it more fully. Trailhead thread here.
  
• Meigeist is a corporate-produced ARG that players have been very pleased with. It hasn't been going that long. There's a guest ARGNet article here that summarizes the most recent developments, as well as an older introductory article here. The game's forum is here.
  
• Not sure what's going on with U-Media, but you can find the discussion here, and ARGNet coverage here and here.
  
• If you like horror, you might be interested in The Human Pet, which appears to be conducting itself with a certain black-humoured aplomb. UF discussion is here and ARGNet coverage is here.
  
• I believe BristelGoodman is also horror-themed. I don't think there's ARGNet coverage of it (except in the netcasts, maybe), but the UF thread is here.
  
• Doom Skull has been described as an "ARG with training wheels" -- the puzzles and story are fairly simple, and an in-game guide makes it easy to catch up. UF discussion is here, and ARGNet netcast coverage is in this netcast.
  
• NBC is doing Heroes 360 in connection with the show Heroes, but it doesn't really seem to be a full-fledged ARG. ARGNet coverage is here, UF discussion is here.
  
• Finally, if you liked I Love Bees, 42 Entertainment (the company behind it) recently put out Cathy's Book, which is sort of an ARG-in-a-book. ARGNet coverage here.

Welcome back, and hope that helps you get started!

[WebPillar]

Thanks so much for your enthusiastic reply! This is some great information, and a blessing of a summary to have amidst all the information of ARGs. I think I will look into both Cathy's book and the Committee of Sedulous Amalgamation. I looooove the idea of snailmail. Now I just need to figure out how to get started...

[JohnnyCon7]

We could use some help over in tCotSA, things are moving a bit slowly on the puzzle solving front. If ya need any help catching up, WebPillar, feel free to send me a PM, I'll help as much as I can .

[Rusty(didntlogin)]

I know I didn't ask, but thanks for listing those. I was looking for an ARG to get into. Is Cathy's Book deep in, is it too late to get involved?

[konamouse]

Cathy's book is a "play at any time" sort of game. Get the book and read it. You can check out the websites and call the phone number(s)....or you can just read the book for itself.

[Mikeyj]

Plus Perplexcity Season 2 kicks off at the beginning of March. It looks like the ARGish aspect is going to be covered by www.perplexcitystories.com (what can I say? I'm a one trick pony )

[coffeegirl18]

[coffeegirl18]

Any recommendations....

[setters393]

I might be talking out of turn here but I wouldn't commit too much to Meigeist as it may be finishing quite soon, like next week?!

The only reason I say that is the publicity around it suggested it was going to run for 8 weeks & we're very close to it BUT don;t let that put you off....

And this is a great thread for me as what am I going to do when Meigeist finishes?

I might take JohnnyCon7 up on his kind offer to join in with tCotSA!

[coffeegirl18]

[NoSubject]

Ratings

[konamouse]

Re: Ratings

[Phaedra]

Yeah, ratings systems of various kinds have been discussed before, but it's so subjective that I think the general consensus is that we don't want to go there...

[thebruce]

Then again, you know, for arguments' sake, video games are also subjective... as is anything where enjoyment is had by individuals. ...Yet they do get reviewed. *shrug*

But no, I don't think an across-the-board rating system would work. Now if people want to start up ARG review websites, I think that's indicative of the 'scene'/'industry' growth. By nature, reviews are subjective, and a person will best associate with certain reviews, respecting their opinions. Right now, ARGN.com exists, but it's mainly for news reporting, with the odd editorial, and some opinion strewn about. It can't really review, since there's 'options' for people who may not agree. The Netcast is technically unaffiliated with argn, so it's general panel discussion, and as is frequently disclaimed, often biased by the commentators and by no means the be all and end all of right/wrong/good/bad in the ARG world.

Otherwise, for now the equivalent content of an ARG review site is spread across players' sites/blogs, forum signatures, and whatever other personal sources you can find. Once ARGdb.com launches, you could also find ARG reviews posted much like imdb, et al.

So for the moment, I'd say and arg's ratings are most relative to general popularity, but there are some exceptions.