unforum

[pretense]

Pitching an ARG plan for my company, need help

[Will 2.0]

Well for launch you would probably want to do drop points, something for someone to find. I would suggest if your skill is physical interaction that you would create some sort of a scavenger hunt or event whether final or whatever in wherever you are located.

Things that kill ARG's (in my opinion):

Low amounts of interaction
While puzzles are engaging, making them einstein hard only angers people
Lack of information or backstory in my opinion kinda leaves out some story
Rough, uninteresting characters

Good things:
Fancy smancy media such as websites for videos are a great turn on
Well written story with twists and turns
Great interaction and ways to drop clues and other things to move the story along
Characters that are witty and engaging.
Physical interaction I think is a good point for those in the area
Make that finale a big one, please no "to be continued" or a "thanks, now I'll never contact you again, game over!"
Innovative ways to play

[natas]

I have never been a PM or helped create an ARG but am very creative, if you were a little more descriptive about what your company does, you might get a lot of ideas on possible kick-offs or presentation ideas. Just thinking aloud.

[Rekidk]

[AtionSong]

One thing that does a pretty good job of guaranteeing the success of an ARG is featuring interaction in the real world, i.e. getting players into the streets and out from behind their computers.

e.x. Perplex City - in addition to hiding clues in the real world, featured large group gathering events, tons of stuff.
I Love Bees - had players heading to actual pay phones to uncover story
Vanishing Point - Had huge scale events at famous locations in the real world at the start of each week, including a laser light show at the Belagio fountain, fireworks, and more.

[Will 2.0]

[Rekidk]

[konamouse]

I like interaction that both individuals and everyone can see. Like some emails but then also a video or blog post that is found after solving a puzzle. Following the trail of information to piece together the story.

Live world items to be found - puzzle to determine the location (might need a group of people to bring all their clues together to solve it). Find the object or it's a puzzle to bring people to a certain place at a designated time for a live interaction payoff.

Just thinking out loud about stuff I've enjoyed/would like to see in an ARG.

But there should be a reason for the interaction, the STORY!!!

[Jas0n]

The thread seemed to turn meta away from the quest of the original post...

to the OP, I want to let you know that there are several groups out there that can help. I would recommend talking with Brian Clark at GMD studios, but I'm not sure what they're plans are in the near future or if they can handle any more clients - or if they'd be within your budget.

Things you should be considering:

What type of audience are you targetting? Regional, National, Worldwide?

What's the purpose of the game in regards to the marketing? bringing consumers to the site or increasing brand awareness?

Christy Dena has some great stats posted on her site:
http://www.christydena.com/online-essays/arg-stats/


Games can be made with very small budgets (see the grassroots games) and very large budgets. You'll have to decide how you'd want the players to conclude the story... such as a live event for a grand re-launch (re-opening) or whatever would cost a bit depending on the attractions at the event.

Another person I might would recommend would be Brooke Thompson, she's often found in the #pm-guide chat room. (see the chat link on unfiction.com)

Best of luck to you in your search, and last but not least - I might be able to help as well depending on the size of the game you're trying to put together. Feel free to e-mail me jason oversplat aporiacme.com

[pretense]

The ARG stats page is excellent, thank you very much for that. I likely will be in touch with anyone who's said they're willing to help. I'm just happy to be able to bounce ideas off of people.

The exact figures and examples of failed games are what is specifically important to me right now.

I believe we're in a good position to provide an excellent ARG, and the budget will be thin to the point that I don't believe I could go to an outside contractor for this project.

To be honest, the field our business is in is small enough that someone dedicated could figure out who I work for without too much trouble, I'm sure, but as this is all pre-pitch at the moment, I'd rather not be specific in that regard. Thanks for understanding.

The lists of what you like and dislike in a game are great too.

Great moments in ARGs for you personally, and great disappointments are very relevant to me.

Also - Riddle me this:

Can you have different bars of entry to an ARG?

Can you provide the hardcore with hardcore puzzles and the masses with a running storyline and a level of involvement that they are more comfortable with and bring the press in at yet another level?

Presently I'm thinking:

1: Large seed via a media partner who will get us into their text messaging/radio/print/social networks.

2: Deliveries of puzzle boxes to those people who publicly make themselves out to be fans of puzzles, ARGs or just revel in gamer/geek-dom.

3: Individually targeted press kits go out to the media while the game is in-progress. These will introduce the media to our re-launch, our game and will give them a cheat-sheet of the first stages of the game, dropping them off right in the thick of things so they don't have to work to figure out what's worth reporting on.

I welcome your thoughts.

P.S. - sorry for my delayed response, I've been traveling.

[Rogi Ocnorb]

Yes. You can feed/care for each group, independently of the others.
But at the point where the groups realize they're all talking about the same "thing", it'll get harder to come up with ways to keep the more experienced players from solving everything. A wiki or other means of reporting progress, summarily, might be warranted.

About the only way to avoid that is to target references/puzzles at specific groups most likely to have the canon/tools/experience/industry knowledge or jargon needed to progress.

[pretense]

[pretense]

I hope bumping isn't super-poor etiquette, but...bump.

Thanks!

[Jas0n]