unforum

[Jetamo]

[RECRUITMENT] For a PS2 game mini-arg

[sequoya]

How long is a piece of string?

How hard it would be completely depends on the scope you envision for the game - how many types of media, how much interaction, how many websites, how professional you want everything to look, and all other kinds of factors that are far too numerous to mention, plus a few more on top. Basically, the more effort you put in the better it is likely to be

[catherwood]

Perhaps you're really aiming for a puzzle trail. It's hard as a player to immerse into the world of an ARG if it lasts only one week.

[imbri]

I agree with Sequoya, there are so many variables and it really depends on how complex you want to make it as well as your goals for the project.

I disagree with Catherwood that you'd be looking just at puzzle trail and believe that people can become immersed in a world in such a short time... it just takes the right story and set up. One of the larger issues with such short games are getting the puzzles right and I've found that it's easier to just work with the larger story puzzles in short games than to throw on all sorts of cyphers and whatnot. With so little time, the puzzles tend to distract from the story more than enhance it. Heck, even in some of the longer games the puzzles are more of a distraction, partially, because they're used to "buy time" and to "keep the players occupied" which is really saying nothing more than "distract the players until the next update." That has its use, but far too many games put an overreliance on that tool and that's why it takes longer and is more difficult to become immersed in the world.

So, my recommendation, if you do want an ARG... come up with a strong story that is simple enough to be told in such a short time period without so many loose ends that players are frustrated. Keep it to one main thread and, perhaps, a subplot or two - but no more. Focus on the character development and figure out how to make them as rich as possible - try not to rely on images for this because a person's imagination is key to them becoming immersed.

Make the websites solid and keep the extraneous clutter to a minimum - just enough to liven up the world but not enough to completely confuse the story. You've gotta work hard and fast, so keep the confusion to a minimum as you don't want to have to waste time getting people back on track.

Work on a daily or every other day update and stick with those plans. With a short game, stuttering on delivery hurts because it frustrates the players. Make sure that you're story and websites (and other media) are as fully developed as possible before launch. You'll want to make a couple changes as things go but won't have time to make those changes if you also have to build websites, gather media, write content, or whatever else you haven't finished up.

I'd also keep the puzzles to a minimum, one 'big' puzzle a day at most. If they fail to solve it, they're stuck and you're not finishing within your short time frame - this is esp true and/or difficult when dealing with small audience numbers - unless you bring in some mechanism to drop hints and that's as frustrating for the players as it is for the PM team and it takes time from development that could be better used elsewhere.

It's possible to do, but it's not exceptionally easy and, really, it's not much easier than creating a longer game for a bigger audience. Sure, you get a nice big break on the number of assets and whatnot, but you still need a strong story and you have less room for error.

[Jetamo]

Heh, there's only TWO possible characters in this.

[MageSteff]

[pushECX]

alright, we have completely dropped the current storyline and we are looking for a writer to help us come up with a new one. All we haveis the team now, the previous storyline was...well....crap. Anyone wanting to join would be welcomed!

*EDIT* Our team is now complete, we are no longer in need of anyone, sorry.

[jlr1001]

I'd be interested in helping you, if I could get more info...

I'm sending you a PM now.



-jlr1001