unforum

[theOtherGuy]

ARG outlining and scripting

[Will 2.0]

Personally, I rarely use manuscript. The best way to set up how things will get done is to discuss them in a group and pick the best possible course of actions.

[TheOutspoken]

Try setting up your own wiki. It allows collaboration and is pretty easy to help organize your thoughts/ideas.

[jlr1001]

While I understand and appreciate the "let's listen to and integrate everyone's voice" style of collaboration, can't something be said for having one primary writer/designer whose job it is to develop the overall story, conceive of some form of gameplay, and oversee the production so that the final game matches the original concept as closely as possible?

I've sat on a couple grassroot efforts to develop ARGs and both followed the model that Will 2.0 suggested. Unfortunately I found this openness somewhat counter productive--and this could just be me.

So I think I'm more in line with how TOG understands game development.



-jlr1001

[Nighthawk]

Now, I did not work in a team and mine was solo, so I might be talking out of my ass here.

Part of it depends on how much of the ARG is scripted and how much can change. I did not have a whole helluva lot documented; I only had general concepts, and they ultimately changed anyway. I had some things that I did want to do, but everything else was fluid enough and ultimately decided by the players. The last three days (after my "four paths" puzzle) was pretty much entirely improv and never pre-planned.

It also depends on what roles the others are creating. There's a difference between content creators (who create things before the players see them) and live participants. The problem with live participants is that they each need to be aware of what's going on live, and that isn't easily feasible with documents, meetings, chats, etc...

Furthermore, depending on how paced your ARG is, you simply may not have time to do that level of documentation, or even read it if necessary. I barely had time to think of anything, and was building the story as I went.

In a team environment, it also depends on where the team is. If everyone's local it's easy to do, but in teams that span the globe (I've been on mod development teams with members from Australia to Cleveland to Berlin), it' borderline impossible. Live conversations just don't happen, so you rely on either private communications or better: a shared solution such as a forum or a wiki.

[labfly]

you could "improv" as the above poster did.. but i don't think i could do an ARG this way. everyone has their own preferred methods.

i start with the story. the character list builds naturally as you create this "storyworld". as the storyworld grows i begin to experiment with different gaming elements. i try to figure out what gaming elements work best for my characters and what elements seem like they actually belong in the world i'm creating. i also consider what platforms will best suit the characters in my world. i also spend a ton of time writing as and for my characters before i launch so that i clarify each individual's voice. (i have a couple friends who read everything for me and give me notes)

to organize everything i use storyboards for myself. it is my map. it has the story from day one to end game. my boards are day to day and moment to moment. BUT because there are many forks in the story road, i have "alternative" boards. (some might say alternate ) and i like the boards because, not only can i have these alternative boards (which i can change if presented with a big twist by the players or a player) but i can also remove any index card from the board and change each and any moment based on where my players may be taking the story. so it is like a map with one route on it from point a to point b - and then i create these many many other routes - i also have two or three endings on hand. presently, i'm smack in the middle of creating an online version of this for my next project.

i would also suggest preparing as much "content" as possible before you launch. the better prepared you are, the easier it will be to run the game.
best of luck! (post 555!)

[natas]

[Agent Lex]

[theOtherGuy]

A secure wiki with an enterprise search would be the way to go, though I like the idea of storyboarding. Do you think the facet and cluster map features on the open source Aduna's AutoFocus would be helpful?

[thebruce]

On setting up a wiki however, a key point to remember is that urls are still accessible, even if the content is not. Pages aren't restricted access by for example, an NT login. With wikis, pages are generally named on their content. So, if somehow those pages do get spidered by a search engine, someone googling for in-game assests once started might come across the pre-game planning wiki. So, point, in doing a planning wiki, make the page names (or entire urls for that matter) either coded or random or obfuscated in some manner so not to be linked once the game starts...

just thought I'd pipe in

[theOtherGuy]

Yeah, ideally the planning wiki should disappear (apparently, at least) altogether before game launch. Probably need to code the page names and URLs as thebruce says anyway so as not to leave fingerprints. Or is this going too far? Is it okay to see the curtain so long as you can't see behind it? Maybe I need a separate thread on the curtain itself.

[konamouse]

Foot prints online are still visible (google cache and blogspot found early reminents of Sammeeeees while Jan was still fleshing out the story online and that broke her curtain slightly).

If you have a wiki or forum for planning, use nonsense letters/words for the http address. If possible, use un/pw to keep the data unseen if accidentally found.

[labfly]

[konamouse]

/me finds her long lense and plans a little stalking in Santa Monica....

just kidding.

But I'd love to see some photos of the storyboards afterwards. From what you described about Sammeeeees it would have been quite a picture (or movie) to see you in action behind the curtain.

[jlr1001]

Going back to the OP, take a look at the different ARG Design charts housed at Christy Dena's website. While some might be hard to read, or make sense of, looking there could give you an idea of how some previous games have been planned...




-jlr1001