unforum

[klobbermeister]

[Phyltre]

[Anton P. Nym]

[Urk]

So, what we're saying is wait and it will become both, an ARG and a marketing campaign.

[Phoenix1337]

[Phoenix1337]

See, this is why I hate forums. It always ends with me taking an unpopular position, and next thing you know I'm a pariah. It all ends in tears.
Hmmm... maybe I'm just not good with people.

@Anton P. Nym: I really think that a better selection of movies would be "Sleepless in Seatle" and "You've got Mail". Or something where there's an obvious link between the two movies. I'm sure you can pick once that coincide more with your position and less with mine tough.

[turbov21]

[TridenT]

Rather than continuing the debate, I'm simply going to reply to the title:

This is a Marketing Campaign, and Not (yet) an ARG, because Microsoft wants it to be. (I'm as clueless as you are as to why they think the most anticipated FPS in the history of gaming needs more marketing.)

That said, the things we've seen up to and, in some parts, including today, all point at this having more to come, and possibly still being an ARG. We have yet to really even get waist-deep in the rabbit hole here.

Just because they're faux-pas'ing and leaving the curtain a little open at the bottom (ads, etc.) doesn't mean there's not still someone behind it pulling the strings. It's just... you know, we can see their feet.

[Phoenix1337]

Again, not nearly as interested in this being EXACTLY like ILB than I am in it becoming more than just a spoon fed marketing campaign. What bothers me, is I think we're just going to be spending time sitting around wasting time until new details are GIVEN to us.

Is this going to be an active experience or a passive one? There are a whole lot of people coming up with theories and looking through code who seem to think it will be an active one. I'm afraid they're going to be disappointed.

[Ranger D]

I agree with the sentiment of the OP.

One of the things that makes ARGs exciting is it's This Is Not A Game mantra. The best ARGs tell you this, scream it to you, but let you figure out that it really is a game. (but it's not ) In the case with Iris here, that is totally non-existent. We have the email linking to halo3.com. When the Trasmission Log went live with the whole flash based floating server thingie, it asks for your birthdate. Why does a Forerunner AI need my birthdate? Because this is an "M for Mature" game? Oh yeah, that's why. And probably because of those Bungie and Xbox and Microsoft logos at the bottom the screen. I bet those have something to do with it. And when you download the files from the floating server, your dl window says "from www.microsoft.com..."

At that point it's totally blown for me. The immersion is gone, and I just feel like I'm drinking the kool-aid.

[HitsHerMark]

[Phoenix1337]

I guess what it comes down to is this.
In the time I am spending here, I could go to the gym and get a decent workout before my night class. I could catch up on my readings for any one of the 3 summer/intersession courses I'm currently in. I could go to the Oarhouse (it's a bar. Ask Anton P. Nym, he's probably heard of it) and have a few drinks with my brother.. I could go to the park and play soccer with my son (assuming my X doesn't have plans).
What makes wasting time waiting for marketing materials to appear more important than any of those things?
I think I just answered my own question. It's not.

I'm taking a break. I'll check back in a week or two to see if this actually turns into a game. But right now it's just not worth the time

Edit: One more thing. Me not being here is probably a very good thing for the rest of you, because every time I've left so far( to , say, attend class. or eat) invariably something cool has happened.

SLaTFAtF

[apcfreak]

[Schmeck]

I'm actually pretty impressed at the amount of content that has been delivered this far. And this has been going for what, a week?

But, I am worried about the quality. It's hard to decide if things like META data are supposed to be important to the advancement of the story if they have obvious out-of-game references. I hope the quality will be improved, but I'm not holding my breath. Heck, this morning I decompiled the Server 05 flash file and found very obvious references to the supposed PMs...things that would have been easy to change.

I think a good ARG would have an explanation for these missteps (remember the ILB ocean coordinates?), but I'm guessing this one will silently fix problems, or just move on to the next batch of content.

I hope it will become more interactive, but either way, I'm on board. I'm interested in the new secrets that will be revealed about the Halo universe, even if they are delivered a bit ham-handedly.

[Anton P. Nym]

To look at this another way (and, of course, to further inflate my own ego) I suppose you could ask folks if an ARG-like experience can still be immersive without interactivity. People tell me that mine was very immersive and enjoyable... and the only interaction within-game between players and PM came from a very few forum posts. There weren't even any puzzles, beyond figuring out how the story elements hung together.

So I'll hold by my earlier statements; I think it's too early to tell how Iris is going to come out, and the ILB experience is not the only model upon which to base definitions on interactive fiction.

-- Steve will agree that there've been a few hiccups so far, but none yet big enough to spoil the experience for him.