unforum

[gott_sei_dank]

I wasn't around for ILB no broadband, but I can understand fans wanting more or a fitting finale, plenty of TV shows I watch have been axed for example John Doe, with no ending to the story and I guess the nature of an ARG is the feeling of belonging, that the investment of your time was worth it.

However at the end of day money talks, unless there is a way for an ARG to be profitable, and I no idea how much an ILB2 would have cost, it will always be tied to marketing, and M$ and Bungie obviously have different plans.

Plus selling it as an ARG is better than a Interactive Marketing Experience,

edit ) It looks like M$ and Bungie haven't been selling Iris as an ARG rather as a spiral experience, my mistake, peoples expectations have gotten the better of them and I was replying to that without checking.

[=/]

[Spec4Ski]

In all Fairness

[TridenT]

Oh crap! I forgot all about that law!

Good call. Oh well, I suppose seeing the PuppetMaster's shoes won't kill immersion too much...

[Ranger D]

Re: In all Fairness

[Tomahawk214]

It sucks because we haven't really done anything. A lot of the material we have now from this "ARG" is stuff that was not unlocked by us. The material we have hasn't gotten us anywhere, as we haven't gotten any real facts or more clues from them. It's been more of a theater game, where we just watch as they unfold everything. Sure there was the whole key thing, but that was a 25 digit code you put in, big deal.

[Cash]

[Cash]

[quote="=/"]

[HitsHerMark]

Okay everybody. We're here to work together on this.

If you want to snark at each other, I suggest you do that in PMs so it doesn't clutter up the forums for the rest of us.

[Drew]

[sfsdfd]

What defines an ARG? What's unique about it?

Puzzles are not a defining trait of an ARG. Many, many games have tried to stitch a story together out of puzzles, but simply ended up as a string of puzzles.

I was hooked on the Beast in 2001 - almost failed a semester of school because of it. And, I was hooked on ILB in 2004 - I had to let significant things in my life slide in order to participate.

Yet, other ARGs - I'm thinking of Perplex City - bored me to tears, and I gave up almost immediately. Why? There simply wasn't enough substance. It was a string of diabolical puzzles with a story holding it together. I was challenged, but not engaged. I was entertained, but I didn't care.

So... what's the difference? Why are a small number of ARGs catastrophically addictive, while others are instantly mundane?

For me, the essence is distinct and tangible. I love ARGs that present an engaging and mysterious environment, and invite me to be a part of it.

The Beast had that, of course. The feel of Evan Chan's world seeped into my own. The sense of humanity spinning out of control, caught between the immense power of advanced computing and the steady loss of hegemony - that felt neither fictional nor futuristic. It felt immediate, and important... as if we were merely a few steps earlier in this chain of events. I had nightmares and daydreams about vividly sentient AI. The buzzing thrill of that idea has endured, and stays with me today.

ILB had that quality, too - a very different feeling, but spun of the same fabric. The initial "puzzle" was non-interactive - it was simply to chip away at the bizarre communications laid before us. The coordinate list was deliciously disturbing: why go to those spots? What should we expect? And in light of the theme of the game - an impending invasion of Earth, years in the future but somehow tied to that moment - that lent a whole new air to the coordinates. It had the same sense as the culmination of the movie Seven: were we knowingly walking into a trap?

When the phones started ringing and the story started to be told, I admit that I was a bit disappointed; it seemed gimmicky, and the audio drama started a bit slow. But the story was told masterfully that I couldn't help but grow to love and identify with the characters... I still listen to episodes of that drama, and it makes me tear up. That feeling of being part of a crew also resonates to this day.

So, don't overemphasize puzzles. Puzzles are tools. They have their place, and an ARG isn't an ARG unless it frequently challenges the players. But our patience has been rewarded in the past - many times over.

So, let's be generous, and patient, and forgiving, and gracious. Maybe this will evolve into a delicious experience that stays with us for years. Maybe it won't. But, hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained...

Besides, what's your alternative? If watching America's Next Top Model is more appealing, you're welcome to go do that instead.

- David Stein

[DeathDefi]

Well, all I can say is at least this isn't some alliwantforxmasisapsp.com viral campaign....

Edit: Heh, I just noticed that if you go to that link now it is owned by Haagen-Dazs. What a odd choice for a buy.

[Spec4Ski]

Re: In all Fairness

[konamouse]

Simply put, the law refers to people who have blogs or journals that do not appear to be advertising sites, that are "regular folk" who start posting about some product/clothing/shoes/etc - how great it is, how they love it, but they neglect to post they are being PAID to shill the product/clothing/shoes/etc.

In these Innovative Marketing Campaigns, we do not have "regular folk" posting about how great is some product/clothing/shoes/etc. There might be some product placement (i.e. what you see in TV & movies) but not promotional text.

Very different animals.

[DarkStorm]

I think the difference here is that I Love Bees only directly mentioned Halo right at the beginning (with the trailhead being in a Halo 2 trailer) and right at the end (the "training simulation"). The rest was all on the ilovebees.com site and at payphones. Not a company logo anywhere to be found. (As I recall, until the end, a lot of the Halo connections were just specualtion)

Now, on the other hand, one of the main in-game sites is the official Halo site, and the supposed "alien" site has Bungie and Xbox logos (not to mention "Rated M for Mature" ratings) plastered all over it. That's a completely different feel, right off the bat, one that immedaitely tears me out of the "reality" the game's trying to project.

Maybe I'm just more cynical now, and maybe that all ARGs from now on will have huge "Sponsored by" logos everywhere you look, but that kind of kills the whole point for me.

=DS=