unforum

[luvinpush]

General question for those "in the know"

[LordKinbote]

Every game is different. This one is unique in that it uses a television show to present the clues. So, the only way I could answer your question is if I were running the game or were involved with the show, which I'm not.

Just stick around and you'll see how we usually narrow things down.

And God I HOPE there's a point where it all clicks. Or my foot is going straight up Ben Affleck's backside.

---Scott

[luvinpush]

[Ozy_y2k]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, if not necessarily at this game, then at least with the ARG experience in general and the various ARG communities out there. LordKinbote is correct in that, at least so far, this is the first U.S. based game explicitly, inseparably, and directly tied to a TV show (although other TV shows, such as Alias in the U.S. and Spooks in the U.K., have had and continue to have ARG-like elements as a COROLLARY to the television show which do not directly affect the show's weekly plotting). However, in my experience as a veteran of something like six different ARGs now, the usual pattern is similar to that of solving any mystery; you are confronted with a morass of seemingly unconnected and disparate strands of information. At first, it is exceedingly difficult to separate "signal" from "noise", both in figuring out what clues are important and also in filtering out truly random speculation from the good stuff, but patience pays off over a span of weeks and the picture DOES become clearer as you move on.

One of the strengths of any collective solving group, as SpaceBass astutely recognized in his essay on the topic elsewhere on this site (check the Compendium forum for more details), is that, thanks to the laws of probability, the more separate brains you throw at a topic, the more possibility you will have that SOMEONE, or some group of folks working together or independently, will eventually put the pieces together in the correct way. (It's sort of an Internet version of the "infinite number of monkeys banging on typewriters long enough to reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare" theory.) Part of the frustration, but also part of the exhilarating challenge, of good ARG playing lies in the process of sifting through repetitive layers of dross, and bad, clumsy, or uninformed SPECCing or puzzle solving, to pick out the few jewels in the pile. When you happen to stumble across one, or actually manage to generate one yourself, it's an excellent feeling of accomplishment which makes all the scut-work almost worthwhile.

Welcome, luvinpush, and one and all, to the ARG universe. We're glad you're joining us, whether it's on this board or anywhere else. Don't be afraid to throw your SPEC on the pile; we only ask that you do a little bit of preliminary digging first, so you don't unnecessarily repeat the efforts of others and frustrate your fellow questers.

Ozy

[kxmom11x]

As usual, well put Oz!

[Wouldn't u like 2 no?]

the only game this is really like is Twin Peaks...but that wasn't a game, was it...?