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[TheOutspoken]

Obvious vs. Subtle Launch

[AtionSong]

Promotional ARGs will generally go for Obvious launches, because their plan is to get the widest audience possible in a short period of time. Also, they have the ability to do this.

Subtle launches are generally for grassroots games, although some larger games have launched by doing several subtle launches to create one obvious presence.

[vpisteve]

[TheOutspoken]

[addlepated]

[TheOutspoken]

Alright... I think I'm working with a different definition of subtle and obvious than everyone else, so let me ellaborate.

I consider an obvious launch a launch where it is clear what you are supposed to do. It may be clever in its implementation, but we all know its an arg and we all know what we're supposed to solve.

I consider a subtle launch to be something that almost slips below the radar. Something which just barely registers. So low profile that you debate whether or not it was intended to be found.

Under this wording, subtle launches require an extreme amount of precision, while obvious launches do not necessarilly.

[Rekidk]

Um, well... If you look over in Rumors, you'll see a game called The Wyoming Incident. There was a Google Vid as a 'trailhead,' followed by several other videos that were posted up to a year ago.

I was involved for a bit, but we ended up spending twenty pages of posts debating what was a gamejack, what was IG, what was important, and above all whether or not it was an ARG. To be frank, that was frustrating, and partly why I decided to stop playing. We were too busy deciding if it was a game instead of just playing the game.

If that is the kind of subtle launch you might go for, you might want to reconsider. In my (admittedly limited) experience, people want to be assured that it's a game... And then never have it be mentioned again.

I'm not sure if this is what you meant. However, you might find it interesting to check out that thread to see what I mean. Sorry if this wasn't any help!