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 Forum index » Meta » General META Discussion
Interesting idea for an ARG....
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OmegaX
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Joined: 08 Sep 2004
Posts: 360
Location: Dartmouth, NS, Canada

 		Interesting idea for an ARG....
Now, I don't quite know enough about ARGs to pull this off, but I actually came up with an interesting idea. Anyone else here heard of the underground-comic/tv show "Delta State"? I think something along the lines of that series would make an interesting ARG.

The basic concept (of the series, not of my idea) is that the Earth is being invaded by "rifters" from another plane of existence, and a group of four amnesiacs with psychic powers are trying to stop them. That's the show, I'm not sure about the comic.

If someone were to turn this into an ARG, I imagine it could be done basically by having the characters (Claire, 'see from a distance'/clairvoyance; Luna, 'see into the future'/precognition; Phillip, 'go back in time (as a vision, in relation to an object's past or its owner's past)'/psychometry; and Martin, 'mind reading'/telepathy) send out messages to the players ('outside assistance' or something similar).... Okay, I'll admit I didn't think this through very well, but overall, I till think the world, with the 'rifters' and all, would make for a great ARG.

EDIT: For more information on "Delta State", go to http://www.thedetour.ca or http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-23353/Delta_State/
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 11:34 pm
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Katsurame
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 		I don't know about other PMs, but I tend to steer away from any Sci-Fi or Fantasy stylings in my games. My games usually end up happening real-time, so when my characters are speaking on AIM, the players should be thinking "Somewhere, there's someone actually typing to me". What I'm saying is that anything Sci-Fi or Fantasy completely ruins realism for me.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:01 am
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Nightmare Tony
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Joined: 07 Jun 2004
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 		For me personally, I wouldnt set an arbitrary limit of no sci fi. Sci fi can take most any form and is a free for all with some fantasdtic ideas in and out of the regular ken.

A good story is one that will grab your players that they will want to finish the game. Without that basis, you have a series of teaser puzzles and websites, nothing more.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:08 am
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Dorkmaster
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Joined: 27 Jul 2004
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 		It's definitely an imaginative idea, but I also think (and it's been discussed on both sides of either "it's cool, or it's dangerous" in relation to Matrix-Themed ARGs) that you could run into copyright issues. Mind you, it could be considered fanfic, but still, it's something that if I were wanting to PM a project, I would stay away from, just to ensure that I don't get sued or something.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:25 pm
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bill
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Nightmare Tony wrote:
For me personally, I wouldnt set an arbitrary limit of no sci fi. Sci fi can take most any form and is a free for all with some fantasdtic ideas in and out of the regular ken.

A good story is one that will grab your players that they will want to finish the game. Without that basis, you have a series of teaser puzzles and websites, nothing more.


Keep in mind that sci fi doesn't mean it's not set in he here and now. I think The Matrix is an excellent example of Sci Fi that doesn't directly contradict actual reality (on the surface at least).

Metacortechs did an awesome job of capitalizing on that. Using weird stuff in the real world and proposing an explanation that they are glitches in the matrix was a brilliant idea.

A good exercise in any story development is to question every assumption to see where you can plausibly bend them. You might be surprised at how much material you could come up with just by doing that.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:33 pm
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Katsurame
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 		My main problem is time-travel. I think it takes away from the realism of a game by saying "This is all happening in 3025, and you're taking part in it".
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:47 am
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Alzheimers
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Joined: 02 Aug 2004
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 		My opinion on SciFi/Unpossible ARGs:

I don't have a problem with futuristic or fantastic elements in what's supposed to be a "reality", as long as the project meets these three requirements:

a) Logically recognizes/deals with communication barrier (see: ILoveBees)
b) Is internally consistent (see: PerplexCity)
c) IS INTERESTING (see: AresStation)

For every fan who says they dislike "Sci-fi" projects, remember that the reason most of us are here are because of games like The Beast, ILB, and PerplexCity, none of which were even a small step away from our reality.

ps. and yes, the use of "unpossible" is intentional. Deal with it.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:52 am
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bagsbee
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Alzheimers wrote:
ps. and yes, the use of "unpossible" is intentional. Deal with it.


You, fail English?

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:51 pm
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Scisco
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Joined: 03 Jan 2005
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 		Probably just aced newspeak. Laughing
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:58 pm
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GuyP
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 		I'm with you guys, and I definitely don't think sci-fi is out of bounds if it's logical, consistent and justifies the manner in which it intersects with our world. Plus, if you ever pick up a copy of the New Scientist, it's trailheadlicious! Some of the latest tech stuff is amazing/scary.

Right, that's it - I'm launching my ARG through an ad in the New Scientist.
After I've actually made an ARG, that is.
Any day now...
or not.

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:16 pm
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StercusMaximus
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Joined: 19 Nov 2002
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GuyP wrote:
Right, that's it - I'm launching my ARG through an ad in the New Scientist.


I hope you follow up with rabbit holes in The Christian Science Monitor and Highlights!

SM
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:20 pm
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krystyn
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:57 pm
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Dorkmaster
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Joined: 27 Jul 2004
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 		I can just picture the back-side cover of Highlights...

"Find the cube in this picture"

Laughing
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:25 pm
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orphaen
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Joined: 09 Jan 2005
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 		Oh man I totally loved all that!!! THANKS!!! Very Happy
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 10:47 pm
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tongues
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Joined: 14 Mar 2005
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 		Oh, late to the party
Actually I saw this months ago but didn't want to respond while Ares Station was still running.

First, thanks for saying AS was interesting Alzheimers. That was a nice confidence booster while we were all running around trying to catch up to our own runaway train.

As far as fantasy / sci fi vs reality goes... I don't think it's that immersion breaking to have fantastic or science fiction elements. A lot of people have done studies on cognition and media. The general concensus is that as long as you don't do something TOO jarring to knock people into a "This can't be real" state, the brain will naturally take just about everything it sees as "real."

And our players were more than happy to play along too, even though it was obvious that our characters were speaking from the future. Heck, in response, a lot of our players cast THEMSELVES in the future when speaking to our characters. In fact, if I'd anticipated that I think that I would have played up the earth vs station bit more.

So, as long as you are consistent and believeable within your own fictions, sci fi or fantasy (Chasing the Wish, anyone?) can be done.

Unfortunatly it does open up some additional problems that need to be addressed or at least explained... for instance we were denied certain modes of communication. Things going through the mail, for instance, or phone calls. We even fudged the fact that there's supposed to be a several second (or was it minute? I forget) delay between communications between Mars and Earth. I'm sure you can find reasons for doing those things in a game set in the future, but you have to explain it a bit more than a game set in the here and now. I'm not going to question a letter being sent to me now, but if it was sent from the future...


PS. That bit about the new scientist gives me ideas. ( Mu ha ha )

PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 11:30 am
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