unforum

[witsEkr]

Questions for ARG Players (for a UND course discussion)

[rose]

1. this is awesome and one of the best aspects of ARGs. The dynamic between the PMs and the players, what Sean Stewart calls the jazz, is one of the best parts of ARGs.

2. Absolutely. I think it is a shame that the use of the collective intelligence in ARGs hasn't spread more into problem solving of major problems.

3. No, I don't feel this conflict. I feel that my contributions are recognized as an individual contribution to the group.

4. Yes, this may be a long answer so I might add more later if I can. But I have used my ARG skills in life outside of games just as I used my life skills in ARGs.

5. Another long list... in ilovebees: when the Sleeping Princess first wrote back to us in response to our emails to her and she could only use the words we gave her; when the Operator asked krystyn to prove she was human and krystyn sang to her;when bagsbee sang to the Operator outside a construction site near the Staten Island ferry at rush hour; when Pita talked to Melissa; Melissa's farewell to us...taking my son to play Halo2 at the big screen at the theater, when he picked up a new weapon people applauded....(that was one of my most awesome ARG moments ever.)

[notgordian]

1. I have no problem with ARG designers basing puzzles off ongoing discussion boards and wikis (even operating under the assumption that the puzzles/tasks are derived from the same game) as long as it fits with the story.

2. I believe it can and has been used in this manner. World Without Oil dealt with the peak oil crisis. Superstruct and Signtific Labs engage a number of global issues we might face in the future. Ruby's Bequest deals with how we treat our infirm and elderly. And in May, Hawaii will be testing their pandemic planning through an ARG.

The strength of this type of collective intelligence can probably best be realized across disciplines. We're already seeing the incorporation of gaming/play into business and research. So yes, I think as the line between work and play degrades, we'll see a lot more serendipitous, world-changing moments coming from things like ARGs.

3. I don't see as much of a conflict, because people tend to express their individuality through their particularized contributions. The concept of teamwork isn't foreign to American culture. Individual pride and achievement is often vested in group successes. Consider the pride that sports fans feel where their teams win: better yet, consider the pride an individual player feels about team victories.

The collective intelligence has to embrace individuality, since it relies on the unique experiences and knowledge possessed by its composite experts.

For a fairly interesting look at the cultural considerations that DO figure in to ARGs, read Jane McGonigal's post on the international community playing The Lost Ring.

4. While I have found myself using "ARG skills" in real life, I tend to filter information for relevance before sharing it with others. It's not particularly necessary to flood the other party with information when all they're looking for is an executive summary.

But yes, I've used skills I learned from ARGs to track down contact information for people and contribute to detail-oriented investigations.

5. A number of bloggers reported receiving an envelope with the letters "tb" stamped on the envelope with a red seal containing a message written in Cuneiform. Through the efforts of a number of communities, the recipients discovered each other and the website chishio.jp, which contained copies of all the different messages that were mailed out. What impressed me was not that the message was decoded, but rather that the individual recipients found each other before solving the puzzle by leveraging the power of their respective communities.

This trailhead eventually transformed into Blood Copy, the alternate reality game for "True Blood". The game did an admirable job of making the experience available for mass consumption ranging from "True Blood" drink advertisements to an HBO "documentary" special that summarized the game.

[oraclle]

1. The adaptive nature of ARGs is one of their more alluring traits. The idea that a player can affect the narrative is not a new one, but ARGs implement it as a more central aspect. That being said, the story-line must appear to evolve naturally, not just change as new [SPEC] gets posted. I think it's a compromise between telling the story you want to and telling the story the players want you to. Also, always remember The Acronym That Shall Not Be Named and how complicated it can be to maintain that ruse while drawing on OOG sources.

2. The way that ARGs are played is essentially distributed processing, SETI@Home is a good example in the real world. The only difference is that, instead of raw number crunching, the puzzles require the "processor" to have certain skills (an enzyme/protein metaphor may be more appropriate). So, yes: I think the approach can be and is used, to a certain extent, for more than entertainment.

3. I'm not an American but British culture is probably close enough. While I do have quite a competitive streak, I'm used to working as part of a team at my job. So, though I sometimes have the "dammit! I was 5 minutes from solving that myself" moments, they quickly become "good job guys, lets get on with the next puzzle" moments.

4. I think it's actually more a question of real life skills crossing over in to ARG playing. That's the point of the community, right? E.g. you get a clue in Japanese, so you need someone who speaks the language to translate. Also, I think you'll find that most people who play already have the skills and don't actually learn any new ones just to play a game. ARGs that have the specific purpose of teaching a new skill are obviously a different kettle of fish.

5. The Vanishing Point Bellagio fountains projection. The players were left with a whole mess of information and I could feel my brain racing as I tried to remember everything and make sense of it. Then I replayed the footage several times to glean every conceivable detail. It was also spectacular to watch - you got a combination of an epic introduction to the ARG with more than enough information to feed in to the old grey matter.
The "Oh sh!t" moments are usually pretty cool, too. Everything's gone South in a big way and now you've got to start over but you don't know where and there's little time and OMG cl00!


Hmmm, a little wordy but I think I got my points down.