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[malakath]

Fairly new to the world of ARG.

[MageSteff]

[malakath]

When I said actors, I was mostly referring to people for a video, which will probably be a one time thing. Rather than use friends (whom people will recognize) I planned on going to the next best thing: drama students.

I am having trouble getting a PM team together. I have a few friends who have agreed to help, but I need more, and I'm kind of worried that it will go something like this:

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Me: "I'm running this thing called an alternate reality game. It's kind of like a game where people aren't told that it's a game, and they have to solve puzzles and etc. Would you be interested in helping?"

Friend: "No thanks."

A month later...

Random player: "I really can't figure out this <puzzle>..."

Friend: "lol, that looks like that thing that Josh was talking about like a month ago. You know it's just a game right?"

Random player: "What? Who's Josh and where can I find him?"

Friend: "Oh, he's always hanging out at..."
-----------------------------------------------------

I suppose I could ask whoever I let in on the secret not to say anything about it, but it's still such a huge risk.

I will run it by administration however, as I can see how suspicious it will look otherwise.

[notgordian]

malakath: the curtain doesn't have to be impenetrable.

That's not saying you should include large blaring messages saying <<THIS>> over all of your websites. But having people aware on a meta-level who is behind the game doesn't really destroy it.

There are two ways that can happen without any major trouble (maybe more, but I can think of two): you have companies like GMD Studios with Eldritch Errors where there are meta-sites created. Or your players figure it out through an honest slip-up (if I remember correctly, Year Zero was linked to 42 because the IP address was in the same block as the Vanishing Point page)

Did knowing the source ruin the game? No, because the game universe was self-contained. Frankly, I don't even mind when games are labeled outright (Save My Husband, The Human Pet) out of concern for the player base.

All you really need to do is, if somebody does approach you, respond "sorry, I can't help you with that" and then point them to whatever collaborative resource the players are using.

* * * * *
If you're worried about puzzle information being revealed, there are a couple of ways to deal with that problem. I remember hearing in some of Dave Szulborski's games, information was given out on a "need to know" basis to people on the team. So actors would know about their part in things, and website designers would know theirs, but only Dave would know how things fit together [I could be remembering this incorrectly, though]

Unless you're offering a prize of some sort, however, I don't see why these collaborators would feel a great urge to reveal answers. Part of the fun of designing puzzles is to see how people go about solving them.