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[RangerSergeant]

Let's call ARG...

[konamouse]

"Extended Media Storytelling" If it's not a game to find clues and unlock the story, then it's not a "game". If you are not changing the story as you play along, it's not very Chaotic. So you are probably left with an extension of the medium (the show).

IMHO

[anonymousloli]

Sometimes PMs make it very obvious it's a game when they might come into legal trouble for something. Like if they were pretending to kill people or.. something.

However this is just stupid. Labeling it as a viral will only get it negative attention.

The whole point of this is to have some mystery behind it.

[PostLarval]

I've been following Gemini Division for a while, and was really intrigued by the idea of an ARG/Viral being tied into it. The fact that the show itself is distributed online, and has a mysterious sci-fi theme, make it prime material for an interactive 'experience'.

But so far, both the webisodes and the viral have been disappointing.

As for the show- I've worked with a lot of folks who both produce and distribute online content, and NBC is just doing this ALL WRONG. Not that the material itself is bad... it's the distribution that's a major turnoff. Each meager 2 minute webisode (with credits each time!) is prefaced with a 30 second ad, filled with microsoft product placement, and viewable from a page that's loaded with banners and haphazardly organized. I feel like I'm getting more commercial than show. And with only 1 or 2 of these 2 minute webisodes per week, the story progresses too slowly... plus I find myself having to rewatch the previous webisodes (and commercials!) each time, just to remind me what the hell is going on.

If they gave me at least 5 minutes of story twice a week, cleaned up their site, and were less intrusive with their advertising, I'd be hooked. But in it's current state, I might drop in once a month in order to maximize how much show I can see while minimizing how much time I have to spend on their webpage.

Now for the viral- I could almost overlook everything I just mentioned if they were to produce a truly exciting interactive experience that gave me something to delve into while waiting for the next week's webisodes. Unfortunately, at least thus far, it doesn't look like they're headed in that direction. For example, the video that you mentioned (which they did actually title "Viral 1") is nothing more than a 1 1/2 minute recap of everything that happened in the first 8 minutes! WTF?

The myspace page isn't terrible, but it's doesn't raise my hopes. I've been through the blogs, and there's a definite 'game' quality to what they're trying to do. But I'm completely lost as to what's expected of me, and I don't find myself at all interested in interacting with this character. This is, of course, only the first 'viral' content we've seen... it could get better... but in a market that's nearly saturated with games to participate in, if one doesn't catch and hold my attention quickly I'll move on to something that does.

So what the hell is going on here? Well... it's just a bit of a clusterf***. They've got a show that's barely a show and a game that's barely a game, both of which are being delivered to us in an unattractive way. If they had come at this from a different angle, and put it all out there as one complete 'experience', I think it might have worked. But they've defined the two as separate, and with the show's short-format online distribution model that just doesn't make sense.

Online extensions of network programs succeed, in part, because they draw a large established TELEVISION audience to participate interactively in a different medium. It's a fun change of pace. But in this case the show itself is delivered through the same medium... the same PAGE even... as the 'interaction'. So why define one as being THIS and one as being THAT? Especially when the webisodes are no longer and no more frequent than video content found in many actual ARGs. It just confuses things and takes the fun out of it.

'ARG' is becoming a catch-all buzzword for any form of advertising that provides a consumer an interactive experience. 'Viral' is often more appropriate... and with a lot of television programs now, 'extended experience' better defines what we're getting. Gemini Division doesn't fit well into any of these categories. If you're just trying to define the 'game' itself, I suppose the closest description would have to be 'extended experience'... but an extension of what? 4 to 6 minutes of show a week? It took me twice that to read though the myspace page today. And if there were some actual participatory game play, I'd be spending AT LEAST 10x as much time (still only an hour) playing the game as watching the show. That just doesn't make sense to me.

Altogether, Gemini Division has the makings for a fantastic ARG. If it had been presented that way, it might have drawn a decent audience and been a breakthrough for a large network. But from what I've seen so far, they've just got a fantastic story and a poor way of telling it.

[catherwood]

Re: Let's call ARG...

[Gregoriev]

It truly is a horrible way of showing things. I don't quite follow the chart of flights, the videos are unrealistic as hell(Yes, I realize I'm just nitpicking at a Sci-fi show, but i mean in terms of other things), the acting is HORRIBLE. I honestly expected better from Rosario Dawson, but she seems to be sucking lately.

I'm not sure how a VIRAL is a recap of the episodes, it's quite possible everyone over at NBC in charge of it are just extremely high.

[anonymousloli]

[RangerSergeant]

Thanks for the feedback folks; I appreciate it. Instead of flames I received the intelligent discussion that I was counting on.

In addition to the entertainment blog I also manage the official fan site for Gemini and my email has been flooded for the last two days...mostly with disappointed fans venting about the 'viral' vids.

I wanted an outside perspective on the situation and you have provided that; unfortunately your feedback mirrors what I am getting in email and my own feelings on the matter.

My larger concern is for Electric Farms, the folks that created the show. They create quality properties and to have a distributor bungle this badly the week before the series goes to daily episode release will reflect poorly on Electric Farms in the long run.

[Rogi Ocnorb]

Others may differ, but my simple take is...

If you can't "play" it (or be played by it), it' isn't a game. It's a story.

[catherwood]

[RangerSergeant]

And the completed article: http://www.primetimeforchange.com/

Thank you for the feedback folks; it beats the flame emails I was receiving at the fan site.

[konamouse]

[RangerSergeant]