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[PMNewb]

Small On-Campus ARG idea.

[notgordian]

If you're trying to keep this student-specific, take advantage of campus spaces like dorms where access is restricted to students -- a few years ago, somebody on my former campus was starting up a weekly puzzle trail competition (trying to model it after Microsoft's Summer Internship hunt). He launched it by posting a bunch of flyers with a simple cipher in dorms and class buildings (I think it was a Pigpen or something like that, but that's not particularly important).

That led to a website explaining things. Since you're dealing with students, it might be a good idea to give some indication of the level of time commitment involved.

[wolfgirl86]

Hey! This is awesome! I'm actually trying to do the same sort of thing at FGCU down in Florida for our Video Game Club. I've been trying to think up a plotline for a while and was just about to post something here asking for ideas/help when I saw your post. It's good to know I'm not the only person in this confusing boat.

*sighs* now if I could just come up with a plot line.

Any suggestions? I'm advertising a Video Game/Anime/Hobby Game (D&D, and other table top RPGs) club. I want to tie it into the club, but I also want it to be something that the University as a whole, and people from all different groups, can get immersed in. I don't want to make it too "geeky" (if you will) and push other people away. You know?

[dev]

I was also thinking about starting a similar kind of club here at RIT. I wanted to run a puzzle trail kind of thing, and I was thinking about doing it through putting up ciphers up around campus. Then have a website with a guest book thing to gauge interest.

[wolfgirl86]

I had pretty much the same idea, with cool but cheap to create drops around campus, kinda like the ones in the Prototype 161 game that were just dropped yesterday (notes on scraps of paper, CDs made with a simple video camera, etc.). Only problem is, I keep racking my brain but I can't come up with a plotline.

The first things that come to mind are Gov. conspiracies, kidnappings, and now cults (but I think that's mainly cause I've been focusing on the Prototype 161 game so much lately lol). Unfortunately, none of those will really fly on a campus, when you're trying to involve people who have never encountered an ARG before.

I want it to engage people who literally don't know they're in a game at first. I also can't trust telling our SGA about it, because they aren't exactly the most trustable lot on this campus. Well, I take that back, they haven't been in the past. This year's SGA seems to be better. But until I know they won't immediately go spreading the answers and drop points to all their frat friends, I wanna keep it close to the chest.

But launching a game with the plotline that a student has gone missing, when no one on campus knows what I'm actually doing, in a small town like Ft Myers... Well, I have a feeling it wouldn't be long before I'm trying, desperately, to explain why the nice police officers shouldn't haul me away. So I need something that will get people involved, while seeming realistic, without making them run to the cops to report what they find out from the clues.

Any help? (Please, if you've got anything help me out here. I'm seriously desperate at this point. I can't seem to think of ANYTHING.)

[jono]

What about sometihng like "The founders of this school/ an old pupil left [insert treasure here] now it is going to be found" and have players trying to slove clues to retrive whatever the founders/ old pupils left.
It just seems a nice non-offensive plotline that should give lots of scope to do many kind of drop

[wolfgirl86]

Do you think that would make sense, given the school is only 11 years old? I'm not sure if people will buy it enough, plus I don't have any funding to provide any real treasure/prize, which would more than likely be expected at the end of the game. I don't want it to be all build up with nothing to show for it at the end, you know?

I mean, I love the idea, I'm just not sure how well it will work in such a young school. We're not like big schools with hundreds of years of history and lore to draw upon. We're so young we don't even have a fake suicide ghost story, cause everyone would know it's not true....

[jono]

[wolfgirl86]

[Brave777]

Great idea! Additionally, a prize doesn't have to be $100 in ones, scower a thrift store or the next yard sale you pass! Just find something in theme with your game!

[wolfgirl86]

That's the problem, still don't have a theme *bangs head on desk* the Prof. I asked told me FGCU was just a bunch of Cypress swamp before the school was built. No real history at all. I think I'm just stuck. *sighs* I think I need to start recruiting help.

Anyone up for the task of trying to jump start my muse?

[Wittgenstein]

Hm...I'm developing a location-specific ARG for U-M Ann Arbor...I love the idea of using college campuses for ARG.

If you have any kind of research going on, see what you can find out about that. Not only might it be cutting-edge and interesting, but it could provide some kind of ethical/magical hook if you take it one step further!

[jono]

[Euchre]

Just because it was just a cypress swamp doesn't mean there's not some sort of history...

Some dark, unearthly, sinister history hidden in the buried mire of the old swamp...

[imbri]

Part of the creative process is turning your perceived weaknesses into strengths, so I'd stop looking at the lack of history as a problem and more of an opportunity (if you want to go down that path).

I had a corporate client that hired me to help come up with a system that they could use for both training & team building. They wanted to create a sort of shared experience among the workers - they were growing incredibly fast (several thousand employees) and were a relatively young company (about 10 years). They felt that they lacked some of the history of their competitors and so we created it.

There was an object on the corporate campus (several buildings) that most people had seen but hadn't paid much attention to. So, we created a legend around that - made it haunted and gave it a powerful sort of aura that reflected the important traits of the company. We inserted this legend into every aspect of training and team building that we could.

The first event was a sort of puzzle trail/team building session with the various departments competing and collaborating throughout the event - we themed everything around these traits important to the company and the history of this object - the final puzzle led them right to it and with everyone from every team gathered the power was aligned, the company was strong, and the object was happy (or some such).

We then created an ARG-like experience for new hire orientation. The experience (replayable) lasts for several weeks and uses the story to get folks to explore the campus, meet folks they needed to meet (their team, HR, the execs, etc), learn more about the company, and all the other things you expect out of orientation. What's nice is that since the story/legend has been used in company wide events and several smaller training events, they can use the current employees to share their stories of the haunted object. And, the more that the company uses this legend, the more they have to draw on.

This was a while ago now and the company, last I heard, was still using this legend as a part of their events. The legend is really beginning to take hold in the company - sure, they know it's all fictional, but there's some question of whether the company created the legend or if it came along with the object

So, yeah, it kinda sucks that you don't have a huge rich history to draw on, but that doesn't mean that you can't go that route. As a bonus, seeing as there isn't much history there, you might actually get to create some of the history & legends that students dozens of years from now will be talking about.