unforum

[Sheep]

Websites?

[konamouse]

You should talk to labfly. She worked about a year & a half developing her game (Sammeeeees) and used all free resources. Interesting thing about using blogspot & You Tube & MySpace - there is no WhoIs data to trace. She did a great job keeping that curtain locked tight.

Note I point out she worked "about a year & a half" in planning the game.

When 42 or Dave S. make their games - they have separate domains/websites as appropriate for the characters/businesses/towns, etc.

There have been some games that have no websites but have done all their contact via email & chat. And then there is one currently running that is all snail mail.

Read through some of the archived games. In some cases, in game use of free sites wouldn't match the character or situation. A big corporation or a business would have it's own dedicated site. Teens would use MySpace. Others might use blogspot but there should be a reason a character is blogging.
Again - it depends on the situation and the storyline.

[Sheep]

thanks

[konamouse]

Personally?
I think you need to play some ARGs. Read about some previous ARGs. Play some more ARGs. Build up some relationships with other folks who are also interested in running a game. Join an established PM team and learn the craft.

Work on your story, plan out your information, the interaction, any puzzles you need/want. Have backups (you have no idea what your audience is capable of doing).

If you can't make it to the ARGFest in SF next weekend (where there is an incredible panel of PMs talking about making games, running games and the future of games), maybe there will be some recordings available after the fact.

Take your time. No reason to rush into anything. Sit back and enjoy the ride for awhile.

[notgordian]

In addition to Sammeeees (I always get the wrong number of "e's" so just fake it) Doom Skull, a game wrapping up just about now, seems to have balanced the "free game" sites well.

Each character utilizes its choice of free site for a reason, giving you an idea of the "personality" of the different blogging and social networking sites. It's one of the factors that has me so entertained with the game.

The trailhead site has a good summary of the personalities and websites so you don't need to reread the archives (although if you're considering running a game, I would highly suggest it).

Realize that, for good or ill, your choice of free sites vs paid sites will play a large part in selecting your player-base, at least at first.

[AngriBuddhist]

[Rekidk]

I think that Notgordian is saying that, unfortunately, some experienced ARGers will may a quick judgment if a game uses free websites. Until the game can prove itself to have a good story, good characters, etc., a game that only utilizes free websites will often go unplayed by experienced ARGers.

However, as Sammeeeees has proved, a strong narrative, strong characters, and strong personal interaction can overcome the negative stigma attached to free websites.

The nice thing about using paid websites is that it gives your game a little boost right off the bat, because (knowing that the PM invested money in the game) some players will be more willing to watch your game.

[konamouse]

Or, it's easier to rule out gamejacks.
If the game uses paid sites and some free blogspot shows up claiming to be IG, it is easier to suspect.
When the game is all free sites, then other free sites might be gamejacks unless a known IG site specifically links or a known character GIVES you the new website.

[sixsidedsquare]

Sort of expanding on what Rekidk said, I'd say many of the 'older' players have become somewhat jaded with grassroots games. Over time there have been SO many grassroots that have imploded, faded away or just plain cut off. There are many arguments about games that die (I've been involved in a couple so know there are two sides to the coin) but no matter what the reasons behind it, if players have become involved and invested into your game/world and then it dies, it does hurt them. After getting this again and again, you somewhat grow tired of that same pattern and tend to look for things that you know have some sort of assurance of completing (i.e. corporate games).

The thing with sites that people have put money into, you know the PMs at least have something invested in it themselves so would be less likely to just drop it. With a free site it is much easier to just abandon it without much consequence and disappear without any personal loss or people even knowing who you were. That isn't to say games with purchased sites don't die too, I've seen a few myself, but in my eye (not sure if it's actually true or not) I think I've seen more free site games go belly up.

Going back to what I was first saying though, even though I am one of the jaded many, I really feel it is somewhat a shame that so many people (myself included) feel this way. Some of the best games I've played were grassroots and there are really some amazing grassroots games out there, but it's hard to shake that learned bias I've developed. It's sad that the failing of a few has had such negative effect on the whole.

* Six goes off somewhere to be glum

[Rekidk]

And it is unfortunate that it has to be that way. Earlier this year, I played DoomSkull (run entirely on free websites), and it was great! Good story, fun puzzles, great characters, and a 'choose-your-own-adventure' kind of control for the players.

What's sad is that I bet that there were some people that missed out on a great game because they were nervous about it imploding.

Meanwhile, there have been corporate games that have imploded. (I can't remember offhand, but didn't VirtuQuest 4 implode?)

However, like sixsidedsquare said, you see a lot more imploding games run on free websites than you do on paid websites, and so there is a stigma attached to games run on free websites. And like konamouse said, running your game on paid websites has the added advantage of a lower possibility of gamejacking. (Now the bonus to free websites is that there is no whois data, so you can maintain an iron curtain if you want.)

But in the end, if free websites fit your game better than paid websites, use them. The websites should fit the reality of the game, but if they don't the players will gripe about it. Let the teenager have a MySpace, let the uncle have a Blogspot; but please, don't make the FBI have a Freewebs site.

[Nightmare Tony]

For some cheap hosting and domains, I am wild about Godaddy. Something like 30 bucks a year hosting, bout 3 or 4 bucks for a domain name. Love their service and uptime...

[Phaedra]

It's been said elsewhere, but there's nothing wrong with using free sites -- for certain purposes.

There's no reason, for example, why a character's blog has to be a WordPress blog hosted on their own website. A free site will do just fine for that. Whether you host your blog on your own site or on a free site like LiveJournal or Blogspot seems to be largely a matter of preference.

But there are some sorts of in-game sites that just aren't plausible on a free site.

A law firm or biotech company would not, in real life, have their site on FreeWebs. So, IMO, an in-game law firm or biotech company shouldn't have their site on FreeWebs either. Just as, design-wise, their site should be in keeping with real sites for those type of companies.

But that's not to say that you can't work out creative ways around it. Even if a biotech firm features somehow in your storyline, they don't necessarily have to have a website -- especially if you aren't planning to use that website to deliver part of the story. (I personally prefer that if, as a player, I have another website to add to my list of sites to watch, it be doing actual narrative work; not a fan of filler.) Especially in the case of villains, sometimes what you don't see makes a bigger impression than what you do see.