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[Phaedra]

And with that, we're way off topic.

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[The Grinder]

Re: Bogus!

[mkgirl]

Re: Bogus!

[Phaedra]

For those who are curious, for an ARG or something ARG-like, this seems to have been an awfully "hard sell." Many ARGs are promotions for different companies or products, but usually, the company or product they're marketing is barely mentioned, if at all.

E.g. a very famous ARG called ILoveBees (which is the one that was my introduction to the ARG world) was a promotion for the video game Halo 2. Part of the story took place within the universe of the games, but it was a stand-alone experience -- you didn't have to be a Halo player to enjoy it. It also never mentioned Halo or Halo 2, and there was barely any overlap with their stories (in fact, the game designers avoided an overt connection to the Halo storyline so strenuously, that when they did mention a ship from the Halo games, instead of feeling like they'd been marketed to, most people were really excited that they'd finally gotten a solid connection.

How ARGs work as marketing is a very complicated discussion (one that, if you're interested, we've had in detail here, but in short, the basic concept is usually that of "pull" rather than "push" marketing. Rather than shouting a product or brand or company name at you, like traditional marketing, ARGs whisper that in exchange for your attention, they're going to tell you a good story or provide a fun game, and then run away as fast as they can and hope that you'll chase them.

I want to stress that most ARG designers try very hard to provide a satisfying experience to players and to make them feel respected. If you feel like you've been "used" by an ARG, something's gone very wrong on the design end.

Long story short, if you're feeling disappointed or used, please don't let this turn you off of ARGs generally.

[Shayla Morris]

MY 2 Cents