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[Cooler_King]

 Worries...

[gamersquest]

Would be more than happy to help - feel free to PM me if I can

[Lovek]

Re: Worries...

[Cooler_King]

Thanks guys, let me put together a detailed outline etc and I will forward it.

[shaze]

hi cooler_king,

Feel free to PM me if you want some feedback on your plot.

[imbri]

I do hope you're working with others. It's so very hard to put together a solid ARG on your own. Aside from the massive work load and offering protection against other life forces, it's a good idea to have people that you can bounce these ideas and such off of.

This topic and the dangers of going forward alone has been discussed ad nauseam and folks that ignore and/or think they're above it all tend to grate on my nerves - so sorry if this seems rude, but...

It does NOT make you better / cooler / special if you design and execute an ARG on your own. It implies that you're foolish and arrogant. And even if you do succeed, how much greater it would have all been if there were others helping out.

WHY are you making an ARG?

If it is for the creative outlet - think about having others to work with. People with strengths that don't mirror your own. They can take on some of the things you don't like to do, giving you more freedom to do the things that you do like to do.

If it is for the experience - you will get more experience and learn more things if you have team members throwing out ideas and such that you didn't even think of.

If it is for the attention that you get when you're a PM - you'll get more attention if you put out a solid game. And you cannot put out a solid game on your own. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can.

If it is to bring joy and happiness to the players - then do everything that you can to ensure that they'll have an experience that won't be tied to your life schedule - what if something happens and you have to take a break for a week or two? Oh, just screw the players, they'll understand. Not acceptable.

There is NO reason to go forward on creating an ARG on your own. So, please don't be a fool. Find others to help you out. If you care for your game, you will.

(though, good on you for asking for sharing and asking opinions)

[Cooler_King]

I agree with everything you just wrote...however I am going to progress tentatively on my own for several reasons...

1. My ideas will be forwaded to yourselves several times before I even get anywhere near to publishing a rabbit hole.

2. It is very much a story driven, narrative experience centred around only a few locations and characters. Very few. Making the administration easier than some of the solo sweeping epics I have seen people attempt.

3. The subject matter is derived my own fictional writing (from my undergrad days) which I am familiar with on a molecular level lol and the ARG is more... *attempts diplomacy* an extension of something I am interested in, and, I hope others will be as well.

4. My motives are purely creative, I really wouldn't care if no-one knew I had created it. I just want to expand my story telling skills. I also want to attempt it alone because I have some other ideas about arg/story crossovers that I would like to explore and this is a tester.

5. The drive of the ARG will be more investigative rather than puzzle based...more BBC than Binary, more human than hexi...

6. Plus the other reason a solo effort...I have 6 months to kill between now and June!!

[imbri]

Justify it however you would like. I still think it's foolish and, based on your other posts, you don't strike me as a fool. Think about it, seriously.

[krystyn]

I would like to echo imbri.

Get a team, even a smallish one. imbri and I worked on Lockjaw with just 4 (technically 5) other people. To have a network like that was invaluable.

Going it alone is something I don't think I could ever do, even if I had your list of justifications. You just can't know the amount of work it is until you're in the thick of it. You can guess, but the reality is pretty freaking demanding.

[Lovek]

Ok, I'll admit it... that's why I volunteered. I was planning to talk my way into joining in, and maybe get a couple of other people.

Actually, Cooler_King, I was kind of under the impression that might be what you were looking for.

I'll still be happy to talk about it if you want to go it alone though.

[Cooler_King]

OK, a small team....

Lovek, I have PM'd you already.

What i really need is a digital artist, fluent with freehand, photoshop and other such software. Any takers?

However, the subject matter might not be to everyone's taste.

[White_Knight]

[Nightmare Tony]

echo for team creation, especially if the campaign is too big for a single campaign. Even what appears to be a minor GAIM can require several people if the storyline is intricate enough, each playing various roles.

Gotta make sure they can commit to keep things going, as it were. There are horror stories about key members who became unavailable at critical times....

[Jas0n]

I agree whole heartedly with everyone that says it helps to have a team... if nothing else than you don't want to spend 23 hours a day working on it and going solo will cost you about that much time if you want to put together a good game.

Each game is an adventure and for it to be most successful, you need to have fun running it - it'll show to the players - and they'll enjoy it as well.

[Melthris]

I agree with everyone on the team topic. Jason and I worked on Ny Takma and pretty much three people working on that ARG was quite difficult at times. You seriously do not realise how easily you would burn up going solo.

ARG's are fun and I know why you would want to make one by yourself but seriously, getting workload off your back, even if its a little bit, pays off TREMENDOUSLY my friend.

Btw when are you planning on launching your ARG? Depending on how work pans out for the future, I may be able to help you out with the graphics side of things (Photoshop, Flash etc)