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albrackin
Boot

Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Posts: 15
Location: Dallas

 		 PM thread
Post-game PM Q&A, for your pleasure and ours.
Hi there.

I feel like I know many of you so well already, but we're looking forward to answering your Q's. I'll get us started...

This game was born of an idea I had while writing a screenplay named "Deus Ex Machina" in 2004, starring a Cyber Noir cop named N. Sawyer, later re-written as the micro-novella you know as ch. 1-13.

The DC ARG was envisioned as a sort of Massive Multi Player Role-Playing Game with stats, but which worked on a mechanic similar to puzzle cards. The difference? Free to all, student created, intended to explore multiple ARG delivery methods, and with no expectations of success or failure.

Much of what you may know about me is true. I wrote myself in as a character fairly realistically at first. I AM a UT Dallas PhD student doing my dissertation. I'm from Dallas, I love Nostradamus, End time prophecy and post-apoc. fiction, as well as conspiracy theories and have a great love for time-travel and time-com theory. I AM writing my final dissertation now, and intend to graduate in May - god willing.

Want to be a part of my post-game data collection and included in my published dissertation? Simply answer the following dozen questions as thoroughly as possible... the more of you the better! I reserve the right to quote you using your UF login and/or DC login. You can email them to me if you want to remain anonymous: albrackin(splat)gmail.com, or post them for the world to see and try to sway the masses...

1) What was your favorite aspect of DC? Explain.
2) What was your least favorite aspect of DC? Explain.
3) What would you like to see change in a future similar project?
4) Did DC push the current boundaries of ARG/CF? Explain.
5) Was the "one year time line" successful? (11-11-06 to 11-11-07)
6) How did you find out about DC? (specify IG/OOG and/or trailhead)
7) How does DC's structure compare to the commonly accepted 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction? http://www.42entertainment.com/see_images/triangle.jpg
8) How does your interaction compare to the 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction?
9) What do you see as the future of ARG/CF?
10) Would you play/avoid a "grass-roots" low budget ARG/CF (such as DC) versus a big-budget "Commercial" ARG/CF?
11) Rank the following "ARG/CF elements" from most to least important: Design (website, graphics, pics), Story (writing), Puzzles (tasks), Player Interaction (forums, IM, etc), Real-world elements (non-internet), Videos (acting, sets, youtube, etc), Other (specify)
12) In what ways was DC "broken" or a "failure"?

Can't wait to hear from you... Looking forward to the upcoming live chat.
Now it's your turn... ask your questions bridgekeeper we are not afraid.
- (The real) Adam Brackin, DC head writer

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:01 am
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Hook
Guest


 		1) What was your favorite aspect of DC: The interactive nature of it and the fact that intuition actually played a role in the game. I am terrible at solving most puzzles - the only reason I got first solve on the roacher puzzle is because I am a traveller and hang out with hobos and crusties and other traveller types - but I am very good at intuiting things about characters and situations. So the fact that I could do well in the game and have an impact on it (important) just through intuition and character interaction was wonderful and a main part of what kept me coming back for more. I also really appreciated the fact that the game kept on giving me chills, especially with the reveal that Tara Mercer had been selling false subcue identities when I myself had requested just that service from her with no prior knowledge of her scheme.

2) What was your least favorite aspect of DC: My least favorite aspect was actually the interface itself. Though the simplicity of the site design certainly made the game more accessible it simply did not feel like the piece of high technology it presumambly was intended to be, nor did it feel like something that a corporation like DefenseCorp would have produced. Pair that with the video quality of the early videos (later videos got subsequently better) and it definitely impaired the suspension of disbelief integral for an alternate reality game. That said, the storyline and the characters more than made up for it as far as suspension of disbelief is concerned.

3) What would you like to see change in a future similar project: Well for one I do not think that we would be receiving news reports in text form. I would say make greater use of video technology (coughcoughcough) and make the website more appropriate to the level of in-game technology being discussed. Similarly I think that a lot of the problems of communication could have been solved by maybe setting up one batch release at the end of each week including news and communications and new tasks, rather than every day, and make use of puzzles as weekly tasks between batch interface loads. That is just how I would have managed it anyway.

4) Did DC push the current boundaries of ARG/CF: Honestly I still do not know enough about ARG type of stuff to really say. This was my second ARG and the first that really involved me as a player.

5) Was the "one year time line" successful? (11-11-06 to 11-11-07): I think so, though personally I would have preferred to see the game continue on longer than that. If at all possible I would have honestly liked for the game to continue straight up to 2012 and then have us witness it all shut down. That would have been something. But yes the one year timeline was successful despite some snafu type of stuff, at least in my own opinion. You told the story and you involved the players, which is what is most important in something like this, and even though some people talked about leaving due to frustration it was a frustration born from the fact that wanted to interact with the setting more and not less which I think is actually a pretty solid achievement.

6) How did you find out about DC: I was looking at ARGs after MeiGeist ended and it interested me. Smile

7) How does DC's structure compare to the commonly accepted 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction: Not knowing enough about ARG theory? I really could not say.

Cool How does your interaction compare to the 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction: I would say that I was one of those enthusiastic players, and it was great. I mean I freakin drove all the way to New Mexico during one of my tours just so I could check out the library for one of those folio pages! By the end I would say that most of us involved were enthusiastic players.

9) What do you see as the future of ARG/CF: Zuul. No no, I mean... well I really do not know.

10) Would you play/avoid a "grass-roots" low budget ARG/CF (such as DC) versus a big-budget "Commercial" ARG/CF: Grass Roots all the way. One thing I do not like about commercial ARGs is that they always seem to try to be selling me something. I am a freaking travelling punk and entertainer! I have no money to buy things.

11) Rank the following "ARG/CF elements" from most to least important: Story, Player Interaction, Design, Videos, Real World Elements, Other (swag, stuff, etc)

12) In what ways was DC "broken" or a "failure": Honestly I feel that the only real problem was that content was not released often enough. It would have been an easy fix (have all the content prepared several weeks before release) so I guess that is the only way in which I would say that it was broken.

------------------------

MY TURN!

Hook's Big Question #1: So am I dead in the future? (Seriously dude, it put a lump in my chest the size of a grapefruit seeing the Godkiller say my name)

Hook's Big Question #2: What was up with Jenna Jansen?

Hook's Big Question #3: What did Tara mean when she referred to the death of the skiver in the red dress as a "snowjob" for which I was to be congratulated? And what did she mean when she told me that she was in my debt to a degree I could not imagine or however she worded it?

Hook's Big Question #4: Was the release of the worm on the 30th just a coincedence or was it somehow tied in to that reclamation thing I kept on harping about?

Hooks Big Question #5: Beneath the Street Publishing? Smile

Hooks Big Question #6: So, just how far off the deep end had Future Hook really gone anyway? Cause I get the feeling that I turned out pretty cracked by one of the last iterations.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:17 am
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cfreak
Boot

Joined: 11 Nov 2006
Posts: 11

 		Hey folks ... The real Chris Brown here. Originally I was just the technical guy for this whole thing but kind of got sucked into it all and played Chris Brown of the future and the past. (BTW, they aren't the same person, post your theories about that Wink )

Actually playing Chris Brown came about because of you guys finding my phone number and business email on my site Smile ... I've also been reading some of the end game threads here. I'm simply amazed by all the stuff you have come up with. Kudos to everyone for having so much fun with it.

I must say that we I think Adam and I learned a lot from Deus City about ARG and about limits of ARG. Some stuff worked, some stuff failed miserably! From a technical stand-point we had tons of ideas that we simply couldn't roll-out just from the time involved in putting them together. I think sometimes we wanted to cram in everything causing us at times to lose focus.

That learning isn't going to waste either ... there are future projects (we know because we asked ourselves, using this space-laser technology we have ... Very Happy ) ... we hope to see everyone involved in those as well.

That's it for my ramblings! I'm here for questions and I'll be in the IRC chat when that happens!

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:36 am
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Silent
Boot

Joined: 05 Aug 2007
Posts: 56
Quote:
1) What was your favorite aspect of DC? Explain.


PvP.

I am a fan of an indie RPG known as [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_(role-playing_game)]PARANOIA[url], where players play as RED Troubleshooters, defending a capitalist Alpha Complex, led by The Computer, battling against Commies, Mutants, and Traitors. However, Troubleshooters may secretly be working for the very enemies of Alpha Complex, which leads to players plotting against each other. It is billed as a 'darkly humorous future', somewhat like Catch-22. (The offical forum of PARANOIA is here.)

Unlike other RPGs where the goal is for everyone to work together, players work only for themselves. The game is in fact quite fun indeed, and has a pretty active community.

ARGs never really interested me before Deus City because everyone worked together. There was no way to 'lose'. You were guarranted to trimpuh, as you are fighting against the 'Puppet Master', who always give the players easy puzzles so that the players trimpuh and feel happy. In Deus City, there is a real challenge. You fight against real players, which means you can very well lose the game.

Adding in PvP made me take an interest in ARGs, and even attempted to cause me to make a similar project. I think this is a wonderful innovation on the ARG gerne, but to be honest, it is likely to only appeal to a niche who prefer PvP. A niche of a niche, if you will. Anyway, thank you for providing such a chance.

Quote:
2) What was your least favorite aspect of DC? Explain.


Inactivity. If the PMs had been more active, in feeding us puzzles, interacting with the players, and making the news items feel less like filler and more like very important stuff, then DC would have been much more likely to stay alive. It led to tense players trying to one-up each other, but without the PMs to decide if the plots actually was succesful in changing Deus City, it really led to decline of interest in the game.

Inactivity is a bane of ARGs like this, I know. But you are likely to have to deal with it.

Quote:
3) What would you like to see change in a future similar project?


Maybe this is the wrong place to put this suggestion, but I'll suggest: "The illusion of Control."

Obivously, you don't want to lose real control over the storyline (altough if you do want to do that, more power to us, and I'd be very happy!). Still, you missed certain chances to modify the storyline to make us think we are important. Comestic details.

For example, Agent Bronce was some random nobody that we only heard of just so that he'll get killed off by Future Hook. However, what if it was Agent Wavecrest (who was confirmed to be working in Deus City in the future) or Agent Davidson/TGI Friday (who had a long-standing rivarly with Agent Hook). The latter could pose an interesting twist on the rivarly: Agent Davidson may desire to stop Agent Hook in order to save his own Future self from being murdered off.

What if "Pi" was related to one of the IG-created factions? What if he was a known sympathizer for The Union or one of the last remaining Guardians after VioletNightshade's faction degraded?

What if we actually played through Devil's Night? Deus City send us RED agent tasks to try and solve it rather quickly to stop the damage of Agent Hook's mobs while the GREEN Karma agents aid Agent Hook's mayhem by solving tasks related to that field? Whatever side can solve the tasks quicker will have their side prevail on Oct. 30th and change Deus City.

There are so much you can do here to provide us with more control. Letting the players create factions is just one step in that direction.

Another thing I would like is different endings based on thea ctions of the players: DefenseCorp wins and revert the future, the Brotherhood wins and...uh...nothing happens, Agent Hook prevails and overthrow Deus City, or the dreaded time paradox problem happens. I was somewhat disappointed this did not happen, but it was your ARG after all. It would give 'actual control' rather than just the 'illusion of control', altough you get to decide the options the Players chooses, so it really is just the "Illusion of Control" again.

(A note to add: If you do intend to try and have this 'alterante ending' aspect and keep PvP, try not to have any bias towards any of the factions in the game [I'm assuming that there is a bias against DefenseCorp, altough it may be wrong]. Bias towards one faction as 'good' or 'bad' makes it bad from a PvP sense, as then that faction can become overpowered with the support of the PMs. Allowing the players to think about what to do and believe that "My choice has far-reaching implications" is actually a good idea in keeping players interested.)

Quote:
4) Did DC push the current boundaries of ARG/CF? Explain.


ARG, yes. CF, no.

CF has been in existence ever since the rise of the Internet and the first "Board Game". And Board Games has had this type of PvP combat and roleplay. Basically, they had it as you intended, Massive Multi Player Role-Playing Game with stats. I can point you to many obscure bulliten boards where I played in this sort of MMRPG, with stats. Even that indie RPG I mentioned before, PARANOIA, has this sort of thing: "Phase IV", hosted on the offical board I linked before.

I've actually ran one CF game, "The Chaos War", but I ran it straight to the ground, so I'm not too proud of it. Still, I had experience.

Some had it intergrated with the "board", making it like the Interface...other people had it that all players keep track of stats. Regardless, this is how it was. Most board games implode rather quickly, but a few can last for years.

The difference between these other CFs and Deus City was the TINAG motif. In other CFs, you can have combat as you battle against other people, but you usally describe your 'strat', and then a GM come in and rule if you beat the enemy or not. In Deus City, there is no combat, and in fact, no GM presence at all, everyone pretended the game was real. This is why it was innovaite from an ARG sense, but from a CF sense, this was not really unique at all.

Quote:
5) Was the "one year time line" successful? (11-11-06 to 11-11-07)


I haven't been here for a year, so I honeslty cannot comment.

Quote:
6) How did you find out about DC? (specify IG/OOG and/or trailhead)


A friend of mine who plays PARANOIA, named Aratos, recruited me about Deus City, keeping the whole TINAG motif. I knew what ARGs are, but when Aratos talked about how he was working for DefenseCorp but secretly funneling secrets to the Underground, I decided to try it out. I stayed in Deus City while Aratos lost interest in the game. He found out of the end of Deus City when I actually told him.

Quote:
7) How does DC's structure compare to the commonly accepted 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction? http://www.42entertainment.com/see_images/triangle.jpg


I am not an ARG expert, but from my experience in CF (and looking at that chart), it seems that most CFs dies due to having only Tier 3 supporters, like me...and that Deus City, at the very end, had Tier 3 supporters. This probraly was bad from a business point of view if you wanted to attract more causal players. I'm not sure if "Hardcore players" act as a very big market share at all, but it doesn't mean that courting them is not a bad thing. This is also furthered by the fact that Tier 3 supporters are the ones who get to benieft from changing the world, Tier 1 and Tier 2 people only solve puzzles and tasks (which, admittingly enough, breaks the fiction for me, as if we are supposed to be agents, solving puzzles should be beneath us...and why is it that everyone can solve a puzzle AFTER it is already solved 60 times).

The reason CFs die after they have only Tier 3 supporters is because the Tier 1 and Tier 2 people decide to move onto a different game or not care that much (they've got better things to do). The Tier 3 people are going to be stuck in the game until its conclusion.

Quote:
Cool How does your interaction compare to the 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction?


I do not know about that, as I do not know of 4orty 2wo's model of player interaction.

Quote:
9) What do you see as the future of ARG/CF?


A new time of gerne. Just like the gerne of sandbox, FPS, RTS, RPG, Adventure Game. It is a gerne that picks up interest, and people start copying it, but later on, it just fizzles out and become just more type of game to play. It's not a whole new platform, it's just a different type of game.

Quote:
10) Would you play/avoid a "grass-roots" low budget ARG/CF (such as DC) versus a big-budget "Commercial" ARG/CF?


Grassroots it seems I will play more likely. A Commerical ARG, unless it deals with themse that I like (politics), will not be on my priority list, because it's all commericalized, and there is no chance of you effecting the game. Unless the ARG is made purely to make money, and the ARG itself is a business (as you intended Deus City to be), then it will be based on if I like what the game is.

Quote:
11) Rank the following "ARG/CF elements" from most to least important: Design (website, graphics, pics), Story (writing), Puzzles (tasks), Player Interaction (forums, IM, etc), Real-world elements (non-internet), Videos (acting, sets, youtube, etc), Other (specify)

1. Player Interaction
2. "Illusion of Control" (mentioned above)
3. Story [usually tied to 1 and 2]
4. Design
5. Real-World Elements
6. Videos

Quote:
12) In what ways was DC "broken" or a "failure"?


Not enough interactivity, and too much inactivity by the PMs is what killed it in the end. If the PMs were more active, then I suppose DC wouldn't have selfdestructed as it did before. Having content prepared weeks before would have been a good idea as well.

Questions:
1. Is Deus City destroyed by the 'worm'?

2. What was the point of the "UMN versus the OJ" War? Why didn't you play around with it more than you did?

3. Was DefenseCorp fated to lose control over Deus City (as in, did you intend for this to happen...or did we players have a role)? [The former is more likely to be true, but I like confirmation]

4. Where was Foo within the summer and fall? Smile

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:13 am
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Agent Lex
Entrenched


Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 1188
Location: No longer London, still in England

 		Ahh, so good to finally be able to post here again!

I'm going to have to agree with Chris about this being a learning experience. the main reason for my going behind the curtain was to gain some experience in PMing, and being part of Deus City has shown me:

1) Writing good puzzles that actually fit a theme (and aren't all ciphers!) is actually rather tricky.
2) Staying in character can be a pain. I ended up re-reading messages to make sure they were in character.
3) Planning is important. Very important.

Anyway, I hope I can catch the PM chat, and if I do then I'll see yas all there.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:32 am
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albrackin
Boot

Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Posts: 15
Location: Dallas
Hook wrote:
Hook's Big Question #1: So am I dead in the future? (Seriously dude, it put a lump in my chest the size of a grapefruit seeing the Godkiller say my name)


Yep. Sorry about the shoes.

Hook wrote:
Hook's Big Question #2: What was up with Jenna Jansen?


That one was a bus accident. It became a plot point when "future hook" took interest. Got her noticed and killed actually.

Hook wrote:
Hook's Big Question #3: What did Tara mean when she referred to the death of the skiver in the red dress as a "snowjob" for which I was to be congratulated? And what did she mean when she told me that she was in my debt to a degree I could not imagine or however she worded it?


Tara was in over her head. She was convinced she was talking with people who were helping her - but really she was the GK's pawn. She also had trouble thinking 4th dimensionally - one little question (on her part) could have cleared up who was who... a technique other agents and citizens used a lot!

Hook wrote:
Hook's Big Question #4: Was the release of the worm on the 30th just a coincedence or was it somehow tied in to that reclamation thing I kept on harping about?


Your reclamation was the distraction that the GK needed to do his dirty work. He succeeded in his dastardly plan to bring down the system because of the identities he stole - not the least of which was yours.

Hook wrote:
Hooks Big Question #5: Beneath the Street Publishing? :-)


"Life imitates arg..." or is it the other way around?

Hook wrote:
Hooks Big Question #6: So, just how far off the deep end had Future Hook really gone anyway? Cause I get the feeling that I turned out pretty cracked by one of the last iterations.


"Future Hook" did some horrible and dastardly things... history may never know whether it was her or the GK though...

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:53 pm
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cfreak
Boot

Joined: 11 Nov 2006
Posts: 11

 		Well we are really sorry for the inactivity toward the end. Adam and I both run businesses (mine is behind on projects), my wife and I had a baby!

In addition we hoped to have some more technical items in place that would allow more player activity in the interface. With all the stuff going on it just didn't completely happen. We also got gung-ho and started early without having everything in place.

That's not all meant to be an excuse, just an explanation. We're doing much more planning for our new project to make sure we don't suffer from this problem again.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 1:01 pm
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albrackin
Boot

Joined: 21 Nov 2007
Posts: 15
Location: Dallas
Silent wrote:
Maybe this is the wrong place to put this suggestion, but I'll suggest: "The illusion of Control."(...) Another thing I would like is different endings based on thea ctions of the players: DefenseCorp wins and revert the future, the Brotherhood wins and...uh...nothing happens, Agent Hook prevails and overthrow Deus City, or the dreaded time paradox problem happens. I was somewhat disappointed this did not happen, but it was your ARG after all. It would give 'actual control' rather than just the 'illusion of control', altough you get to decide the options the Players chooses, so it really is just the "Illusion of Control" again.


Great insight, and in many ways you are absolutely right, but reality (alternate or otherwise) usually only has one ending - and while DC's ending was NOT scripted... you all had a hand in determining what that ending would be. Some of the "open ended" plot points simply didn't play out because nobody took them. Then there were little nothings that you ran with and became major issues. Emergent properties! Cool. 'Course with DC, these time streams and alternate iterations might lend itself to "alternate" endings more easily... hmm.

Silent wrote:
Questions:
1. Is Deus City destroyed by the 'worm'?


The time-com technology definitely was. [joke]Guess we'll have to wait for "DC2: The search for a signal" to find out if they can fix it. [/joke]

Quote:
2. What was the point of the "UMN versus the OJ" War? Why didn't you play around with it more than you did?


There was actually a lot of interaction regarding this with the HFU's Father Ziod and Theophilus regarding Mabus and his enemy. Not everybody experienced it or posted it. Google Mabus and you just might glimpse some of the intricacies hidden there.

Quote:
3. Was DefenseCorp fated to lose control over Deus City (as in, did you intend for this to happen...or did we players have a role)? (The former is more likely to be true, but I like confirmation)


There is an overwhelming majority of "positive" karma on the system. This was a big part. Interaction and your tendency to screw over D-corp at every turn (by helping the GK however indirectly) caused the future to change. The question "The future is coming. Can you change it?" was partly a challenge to the players... and partly a philosophical question. You determined by majority that it could... so it did. (or did it? Hmm...)

Quote:
4. Where was Foo within the summer and fall? :)


Foo is a busy man, he has an evil empire to create! - oh and he was also primarily a "pre-game" character... his aloof and impersonal nature was part of his character, so that later on he had "people" to deal with the riff-raff and was not an integral part of the later game. The few who kept in contact with him were trusted friends, but he was burned pretty bad by a few traitors and went into seclusion.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 1:51 pm
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VQ.Wavecrest
Veteran

Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 124
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Quote:

1) What was your favorite aspect of DC? Explain.
2) What was your least favorite aspect of DC? Explain.
3) What would you like to see change in a future similar project?
4) Did DC push the current boundaries of ARG/CF? Explain.
5) Was the "one year time line" successful? (11-11-06 to 11-11-07)
6) How did you find out about DC? (specify IG/OOG and/or trailhead)
7) How does DC's structure compare to the commonly accepted 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction? http://www.42entertainment.com/see_images/triangle.jpg
Cool How does your interaction compare to the 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction?
9) What do you see as the future of ARG/CF?
10) Would you play/avoid a "grass-roots" low budget ARG/CF (such as DC) versus a big-budget "Commercial" ARG/CF?
11) Rank the following "ARG/CF elements" from most to least important: Design (website, graphics, pics), Story (writing), Puzzles (tasks), Player Interaction (forums, IM, etc), Real-world elements (non-internet), Videos (acting, sets, youtube, etc), Other (specify)
12) In what ways was DC "broken" or a "failure"?


So weird actually seeing you guys post here on UF, but a good kind of weird. Smile
Anyway, onto the questions...

1. Favorite was storyline and (active) characters. Also my fellow players! Awesome folks, they are, and having them around to tackle puzzles and tasks made me wish you guys are around when I have to do reports!

2. Least favorite... well, the fact that some plot lines were just dropped without explanation. Also the inactivity at some points, though I understand you guys being busy.

3. Hm... change... actually, this came up in IRC before. I think we were mentioning things about karma and prestige. Neither really mattered, especially towards the end. Higher prestige didn't mean much, and the karma got to the point where it was a bit bothersome (especially since the greenies got the epilogue!)

4. Well... this is only my second ARG, and the first where I was active in the story part, and not just the tasks, so I suppose I'll have to skip this one, since I don't really know.

5. It would have been, I think, had more of us been around from the beginning. I was around since February, and I had missed a lot, so I can only imagine the players who came in after me.

6. I found out about it through ARGN. I was looking for a game, since PXC wasn't doing anything in its season 2 that interested me. DC did, so I checked it out. The rest, as they say, is history.

7. A lot more were casual, due to the inactivity at parts, but a lot of people were enthusiastic. A lot of the interaction took place via chat, IM, & email, so it seemed a significant part of a person's day.

8. Can I be a level 2.5? I didn't add too much of my "own" per say, but I helped others with their ideas and I did my own thing with interaction and such, on and off the site/interface.

9. Shouldn't you be able to answer that, oh great time-communicator? Wink
But, on the serious note, ARGs aren't exactly "mainstream" or something similar, though the concept was mentioned on a show (Numb3ers), and the sponsorship of different ARGs by companies show that people know about them... essentially, I don't see too much of a difference, except for variations from game to game.

10. If something interests me, I'll check it out. If it still does, I'm in. Doesn't matter which category.

11. Story, Character/PM Development (my "other"), Player Interaction, Videos, Design, and Real World elements (hard getting from place to place if it's not near).

12. Honestly? The lapses in activity/interaction and the dropped plotlines. That's it; it really was a good game.
_____________________________

Questions for you guys... let's see... at the moment here's what comes to mind:

That tCotSA puzzle that was never solved... what was the answer?

The "N." in "N. Sawyer" stands for what?

What happened to Will Forth? That's one of the dropped plotlines I was referring to.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:55 pm
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Hook
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 		So it -was- me in the heels and dress. Again you chill me! Something that happened before I said something still fit. How is this game so damn prescient. And I am glad to hear that the future so warped me. It is kind of what I had been expecting and anticipating as we went deeper into the game. Swanktastic.

Two last questions from me!

1: Was there a way to trounce DefenseCorp without helping the GodKiller?

2: Sawyer told Bishop I was cute once. Did we know each other?

(Poor Jenna... Oh the horrible irony)

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:11 pm
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mac_monkey
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Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 250
VQ.Wavecrest wrote:

What happened to Will Forth? That's one of the dropped plotlines I was referring to.


Very good question!

There's a number of reasons for Will / Slewth's disappearance. Firstly, his role in the grand scheme of things didn't seem as clear as it should have been. We were planning a whole separate arc for Will, but then at the time of execution it didn't really seem to fit in with the direction of the game.

The other reason is unfortunately, time commitments. I was role playing Will and Slewth and uncovered some unexpected things I had to deal with (that's no excuse of course).

Thirdly, and actually a very serious factor in Will's disappearance is the actions of yourselves, the players. Since the game was intended to be more of a role-play, it made sense to have the players' actions having direct consequences. Will needed help to save his wife from dying (death being something which set Will off the rails before), he couldn't let it happen again. Unfortunately, despite repeat warnings he was contacted both in the interface and out of it.

What happened to him then? I guess I'm open to more probing, but basically the contact he received accelerated the need to save his wife, and around the time he disappeared he returned to being Slewth; a lazy, depressed alcoholic. I think you can work out the rest Wink
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 3:18 pm
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taureanfreak
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Joined: 25 Dec 2006
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 		1) What was your favorite aspect of DC? I loved the characters. Each one was very different. Bishop was always my favourite. I also liked the facts that the players got to interact and make something of ourselves.
2) What was your least favorite aspect of DC? Besides inactivity, I guess it was the lack of realism. Then again, I'm finding that it's a problem with all ARG/RPGs. There comes a point when it seems that what would normally happen in real life just isn't possible in a game. Like after a week of a puzzle being solved, I see no reason that it should still be listed and the correct answer rewarded like we where the first.
3) What would you like to see change in a future similar project? More of a chance to change sides. Afterawhile, you were locked into a karma.
4) Did DC push the current boundaries of ARG/CF? I think it did. Though I don't have the experience to say where. I noticed that other games did everything by blog. I liked to personal responses through the message system.
5) Was the "one year time line" successful? I think it fairly was. I would have liked more player interaction on that though.
6) How did you find out about DC? I was brought back into ARGs by a friend. the only other one I played was Majestic. I saw this one on argnet.com and liked it after looking at 3 or 4 others and not liking them.
7) How does DC's structure compare to the commonly accepted 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction? I don't know.
Cool How does your interaction compare to the 4orty 2wo entertainment model of player interaction? Again, don't know.
9) What do you see as the future of ARG/CF?
10) Would you play/avoid a "grass-roots" low budget ARG/CF (such as DC) versus a big-budget "Commercial" ARG/CF? I'd prefer smaller ones. More interaction with the characters that way. I think it would make for more personal play.
11) Rank the following "ARG/CF elements" from most to least important: Design (website, graphics, pics), Story (writing), Puzzles (tasks), Player Interaction (forums, IM, etc), Real-world elements (non-internet), Videos (acting, sets, youtube, etc), Other (specify) player interaction, story, real world elements, puzzles, other
12) In what ways was DC "broken" or a "failure"? The fact that open plot lines were left behind because of inactivity. And the bad timing. For that I want to apogolize. I probably was too harsh on the PMs. Maybe if the older/trusted members of could have had some control and we would have been able to keep things going amoung each other while you needed some time.


Ok, my questions. Which one of you was Bishop? I mean both in writing and the video.
Who was Ethan? He was my other favourite and I hated his drop off of the game.
Are there any folio pages in libraries out there?
I know there were several of us running as double agents. Did we ever confuse you?
What was your favourite part of this? I enjoyed inacting and all, but what did you enjoy the most?
In DC:2, are we going to learn more about who Sawyer is? I really want to know. And who did he become? Can you tell us now?
If DC:2 happens, are any of our stats going to carry over or are we going to special in any way (and not short bus special)?
I'd love to see something happen to Bunkercorp. Thanks to wolfhawk, it was something that at least here came to some fruitition. It'd been in my head for a long time- i'm betting on a natural disaster to do us in.

And i'm so glad to see you back Lex!!!! I meant it when I messaged you saying I missed talking to you. The game really did get a little boring without your imput here.
Thanks guys for making this game. It was a big distraction to what has been a terrible year.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:32 pm
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notgordian
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Joined: 23 Nov 2006
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 		Couple of quick (for me) questions that've been festering for a while

1. What were some of the plot points you set out that you wish we pursued more, but didn't? Concurrently, was there anything you really wished we didn't discover or pursue?
2. Who really killed Alex Wright Sr.?
3. What were Alex and Phil talking about in that 2012 video, and why was the video taken down?

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:38 pm
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cfreak
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Joined: 11 Nov 2006
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taureanfreak wrote:
Ok, my questions. Which one of you was Bishop? I mean both in writing and the video.


Adam did the writing and responses for him. The guy in the video is Will, a friend of ours from college.

Quote:
Who was Ethan? He was my other favourite and I hated his drop off of the game.


I'll let him answer when he gets here.

Quote:
Are there any folio pages in libraries out there?

I believe there is still one, but Adam knows for sure. Unfortunately the Folio didn't really take the direction we intended. Smile

Quote:
I know there were several of us running as double agents. Did we ever confuse you?


For me, I don't know if "confusion" was the right word. There were several people that I thought were new and found out later they were alter-egos Smile. In a lot of ways it was easier not knowing so I never actively tried to figure it out and just played off each message I got.

Quote:
What was your favourite part of this? I enjoyed inacting and all, but what did you enjoy the most?


I enjoyed being the God Killer Very Happy and sending people on wild goose chases to find him. A little sad though that no one ever out-right accused me of it Smile

Quote:
In DC:2, are we going to learn more about who Sawyer is? I really want to know. And who did he become? Can you tell us now?
If DC:2 happens, are any of our stats going to carry over or are we going to special in any way (and not short bus special)?
I'd love to see something happen to Bunkercorp. Thanks to wolfhawk, it was something that at least here came to some fruitition. It'd been in my head for a long time- i'm betting on a natural disaster to do us in.


I don't want to give too much away about what our future plans Smile. I will say we haven't talked about the stats so I honestly don't know. If it makes sense to do so we will. As for Bunkercorp ... I don't know, that's going to be up to the players Smile

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:47 pm
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cfreak
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Joined: 11 Nov 2006
Posts: 11
notgordian wrote:
Couple of quick (for me) questions that've been festering for a while

1. What were some of the plot points you set out that you wish we pursued more, but didn't? Concurrently, was there anything you really wished we didn't discover or pursue?
2. Who really killed Alex Wright Sr.?
3. What were Alex and Phil talking about in that 2012 video, and why was the video taken down?


1: the God Killer and the folio
2: See point 1, Alex Wright Sr. isn't dead (his plane crashed, no one ever said his body was found). The pursuing of the folio would have led to this discovery.
3: I'll let Adam answer the first part ... it was taken down due to an oversight on my part in one of the upgrades ... I mean Foo found it! And he ordered it removed and destroyed ... yeah that's it Smile

PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:53 pm
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