unforum

[Shiningfist]

Communication ARG?

[eegleburger]

I'm totally diggin' this idea. Nice one Shiningfist.

[Shiningfist]

Thanks for the feedback...


Although I'm probably not going to launch an ARG like (maybe not for a while)


Because i'm currently in the process of compiling my plans for ARG that will be launched soon and isn't like the one i described. So don't think this'll happen anytime soon. But anyways, thanks, anyone else support this idea?

[konamouse]

There are many positives & negatives. Do a [Search] for "GAIMs" - ARGs that have played out via AOL chats.

It's super nice to have these personalized interactions with characters. But sharing information becomes a difficult part of playing. Entire chat logs are, for many, very difficult to read through. And some players don't check their emails constantly, so important information may be stuck in an inbox for days (or longer if the player has real life obligations that remove them from the ARG).

Open chat rooms (more than one player & character can interact) allow increased participation, but then also decreased control of information by the PM.

By avoiding websites, you limit one possible form of gamejacking. If it is clear from the onset that there are NO websites - yet this form of ARG delivery does really open the door for gamejacks, both non-PM created websites and jackers showing up in chat/IM.

But this is a good forum to flesh out your ideas. Read up on some other games that utilized chat/IMs/emails for the bulk of their delivery - so far I don't recall any success - maybe yours would be the first - but I think you'd have to be super dedicated to pull it off.

[Shiningfist]

[Rekidk]

Didn't the first 'Project Ashcroft' (which used only AIM, IIRC) have a successful (albeit smallish) run?

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Ditto what Kona said about reading long AIM logs... It's just not something a lot of people enjoy.

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The main thing about GAIMS is that they provide a highly immersive, highly interactive experience for a small group of people.

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But if you can make it work: more power to ya.

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(If you had one site hosting all your chat logs/emails/etc., that may alleviate the information-sharing problem.)

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(I think I'm overusing the ---s.)

[sixsidedsquare]

Right, time to release some of my pent up post energy.

The first ARG I played from start to finish (almost) was called Avelon Tech. It was a small grassroots game from a single PM and played out across (if I remember right) one blogspot, one registered website and a bunch of irc chat. A reasonably small, tight knit group of players formed around the game and it was really a lot of fun for all of us. The fact there was only one person working behind the scenes did show, but none the less it was a solid game lasting 3 weeks.

It did a lot of what you (Shiningfist) were getting at, the main volume of interaction and progression of the story throughout the game took place in irc, and man were there lots of logs to read. However, having a small and close group involved in playing, we all looked forward to finding out what had happened while we were gone, so the long logs (and chats themselves) were fine. However I'm sure this did limit the
playerbase of the game for people without much time to spare, so I couldn't see this format working so well with a game that had much of a larger audience.


Right, to break this down more (as people have talked about before) there are essentially 3 different types of players of ARGs: (The following names, expect lurker of course, I'm just making up to make things easier)

• The immersive ARGer likes to immerse themselves in the world of the game, sending emails and interacting with the characters. They'll be the ones posting the most on the fourms because they're right into the world of the game enjoying themselves.
  
  
• The armchair ARGer is a bit more distant, often leaving the interaction to others and tending be more casual about keeping up with things, reading the forums, checking the odd update and solving the odd puzzle (somehow the puzzle solvers tend to fit here more from what I've seen). They tend to post about the game on the forums, but not so much in the actual world of the game itself.
  
  
• The lurker, well, lurks. They don't post on the forums much (if at all), and don't tend to get involved with the interaction. They'll read the forums and read the updates themselves, just choosing to follow along rather than get involved.

Now there are infinitely more ways you can break players down, and there are many ways to play that don't fit these 3 descriptions, but generally you could fit most players close to one of them. So you can see the problem with long chat logs and keeping most of the story told though close interaction, is that you basically cut your playerbase down to only the immersive ARGers.

(I'm sure others would argue against this next bit, but) In my eyes, ARGs are essentially fiction using a variety of everyday means as a vehicle to get their story across, at the same time making them gel with your own reality making them seem more real. In deciding on what 'vehicle(s)' you wish to use in telling this story, you must first make sure it makes sense in the story's context, but also think about your intended audience. Sure it's fine to have a game that is heavily into chat interaction, but you must realize that this will limit the players you get. I'd still say that context of the story itself should be most important in deciding how the game should be played, but that doesn't mean you can't craft the story differently to change this play style.


So summing that all up, I say you can have a game based entirely around communication, but this does cut down on people that might play. I guess though, with more and more people wanting to play ARGs these days there would still be many that may want to get involved. But again, you have to realize that with personal interaction, as the number of players goes up, the amount of work involved also goes up too. In my opinion you can tell the story an ARG pretty much however you want, you just have to think about it fitting with the story context and achieving what it is that you want to achieve. It's much easier to attract 10 players than 100, and much easier to cater for and deal with them too (I don't envy you in this regard big company PMs )


(On a side note, I personally really don't like AIM type 1 on 1 interaction, in that while it provides great immersion for one person, it excludes anyone who doesn't like doing the whole 'roleplay' thing like myself. I can't help but feel silly even when I'm emailing an in game character. I'm in it more for the story and puzzles really, a self confessed armchair ARGer.)

[Shiningfist]

Well, that was a LOT to read, sixsidedsquare. But i see your point very well. If i went through with an ARG that bases around contact, then i would have a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very small audience( compared the audience size of other popular ARGS from the past).

Thanks for your input, lets keep the criticism coming!

[Agent Lex]

What Six said reminds me very much of 42's famous inverted pyramid (scroll down a bit). Not only is the group of immersive/enthusastic/level 3 players only a part of the wider audience, but they're also the smallest part.

I can imagine a game based entirely on IRC working, but the audience would be very small indeed. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since you could say it's easier to tell a story to 10 rather than 10,000 people, but just bear it in mind.

As for gamejacking, I'm of the opinion that you can't decide on your delivery system based on whether or not there will be gamejackers. The one simple reason is that there will always be a way for gamejackers to pop up, unless you limited contact to a single IRC channel, where only characters are given ops, or something similarly restrictive. And even then, the gamejacker could open up another IRC channel or somesuch...

[Rekidk]

However, the very design of the game suggests that gamejacking will not occur. Why? Because if you appeal (and have) only a small, dedicated playerbase, it is unlikely that any one of them will gamejack the ARG--because they are all dedicated and want to see the game to a successful conclusion.

[Shiningfist]

[Rekidk]

Hm, true...

I suppose you could just have all canon things be referenced in other canon things...

Ex. In your main characters emails, have him mention two names and an IRC channel, making them canon, etc. Then, when something pops out of nowhere, players will accuse it of being a gamejack.

I asked about gamejacking a while ago, and I was essentially told not to worry about it. There are a multitude of in-game ways to deal with gamejacks on the fly--and the playerbase is often eager to point out potential gamejacks, as well.

I'd worry more about making sure nothing official was misinterpreted as a gamejack.