unforum

[fonograph]

How do you decide which ARGs to play?

[notgordian]

There are a couple of signals that I look for in evaluating games early on...however, these metrics don't always work, which is why I have no problem picking up a really cool game after some time passes.

FIRST, novelty in story. There are a lot of "XYZ was kidnapped" or "Alphabet Soup Government agency needs to be stopped" games out there. And while that type of story doesn't automatically discredit the game for me, it gives me pause. I like to see the format applied to different types of stories (which is why I'm looking forward to the Aporia Agathon Project, which seems to be going for something we don't see as much). I'm personally really interested in privacy issues and the internet, so I'm looking forward to "The Ministry" right off the bat, without even knowing how the gameplay is set up.

SECOND, novelty in launch. Because there are generally so many games out there, the initial contact is the PM's "hard sell" -- a chance to display their creative chops. And while instant messages and email gets the message across, it doesn't necessarily show the PMs have thought their way through an experience. It doesn't have to be mailing packages (although, if you'd notice, that definitely helps...look at Eldritch Errors and Find the Lost Rings right now). A really good example of a novel launch is "You Sucjk at Photoshop".

THIRD, target other communities. There's nothing wrong with having a playerbase of exclusively UF people. But as you've said, there's a lot of stuff out there. And this stuff is a lot more fun when you're around people who are just discovering the genre, or not expecting it. Look at this video for an example from Find the Lost Rings.

FINALLY, and most importantly for me, there needs to be a "fun" factor. Solving puzzles and piecing together a story can be interesting, but there needs to be something else -- an additional and persistent mechanic that generates a desire to help out. This is the hard one to describe -- to horribly misquote Justice Stewart, "I can't define [fun] but I know it when I see it."

Chain Factor had that "fun" factor. A few of my friends are still playing the casual game even though the ARG is over -- some of them don't even care what an ARG is! The "Graveyard Games" from Last Call Poker had the "fun" factor.

This is more of an addendum rather than a factor I use to "judge" games, but the community matters. Since I do look into games after they've been running for a while, wikis are a huge boon (shorthand rule if you don't want to run through the above list: if thebruce made a wiki for it, it's a good game).
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As for the reviews, it's hard to tell what a game's going to be like early on -- there have been some amazingly cool games that would "fail" every one of the metrics I use. It's much easier and more fair to point out when something IS "getting it".

[avengedsamurai7]

First, for me, if it about a movie, music, or game, then I'm hooked

Second, if it has an interesting story, pointed out by the gentleman who posted above, I'll bite.

Third, if it's quirky and weird, I'll lurk, 'cause my computer sucks, so I really can't participate in an actual ARG.

[thebruce]

[SirQuady]