unforum

[natas]

VS.

[labfly]

city of domes

[LordIllidan]

Me and a friend have been planning something like this since January (Long before you know what, mind you!), but... This'll be our first time behind the curtain, so we'll probably fail in some spectacular manner.

Perferably something involving a few hundred pounds of pyrotechnics.

[Will 2.0]

This is a subject talked about in my project as well.

Advantages: Makes the game fun and can be played from two different perspectives as well as lets the game drive itself at times.

Cons: Players can overreact, get out of control and possibly override the story you are trying to tell. Creating all that content for both sides.

It's tough to do, which is why I believe it's best to not do VS.

Didn't Deus do something along those lines? I never really played.

[notgordian]

Deus City did it, Lawn Games for Life did something in that vein, and Beyond the Rave: Humans vs. Vampires is currently doing it.

It takes some time to allow the players to adjust to the new game mechanic (which is what makes me VERY intersted in seeing how BtR works out, since the playerbase is almost exclusively non-UFers) but generally the players reach a consensus, just as they do with pretty much any change you throw at 'em.

Those are the only non-implosion games I know that did it, although there are probably a couple more. Every example so far found a way to make the game modular enough that certain sections of the game were still purely collaborative...as far as I know a game of pure competiton hasn't worked out in the ARG setup (although you can probably look to Big Games like those "Go Cross Campus" and Casablancagames for ideas of how that might work)

[LordIllidan]

[Omega]

HaMWaR pitted players into single-elimination matches. I only lurked for a while, but from what I understand, once a player was beaten, they were essentially kicked out of the game because there was little else to do (I think there were a few tiny meta-puzzles to do on the side, but the main attraction was placed out of reach). If you weren't a winner, you weren't involved.

(Can anyone from HaMWaR correct me on this? I didn't actively watch the game, so my viewpoint is skewed.)

[redct]

HaMWaR wasn't really an ARG, so I doubt it counts. It's more of a community game.

[konamouse]

The hard part is when META information is discussed in an OOG area. Both sides have access. How do you NOT use information about what the other side is doing? You can't be sure there won't be spies or double agents.

Nash Carey tried that with one of his early games. But he had password protected forums for IG on his OOG forum (Immersion Unlimited). I can't remember all the specifics. But you always had to wonder if someone had a second account and was spying from the other side. There really isn't any way to avoid that.

I don't like it when I end up pitted against a fellow ARG player. I much prefer us against an evil IG character(s) or organization. I've seen too many hurt feelings when stuff happens IG between players.

[rowan]

[LordIllidan]

[faeryqueen21]

I'm currently playing What Is This Game and we were forced to split into teams. I still love the game, but I think it was kind of a bad move. Both teams have split into their own secret forums and the official WITG forum is pretty silent because everyone is hoarding the information. The PM's have said several times that teams only matter for challenges at the end of each stage, but people are very loyal to their teams even if it's an individual challenge. We've even had quite a bit of fighting amongst the two teams leaders. The game started off collaborative, and when we split it completely changed the dynamic of the game. And not in a good way in my opinion.

[pancito]

And of course there is the multi-team, bilingual clusterfork that is Project Rivard. I really wanted that one to work, but the PMs had a hard time at the start, all kinds of tech probs, a LOT of n00bs, etc. and at this point the teams don't matter anyway because CIA vs. Mafia turned into French (& Quebecois) players vs. anyone who doesn't speak French. I think in that case handling multiple languages would have been enough of a challenge...

I'm not sure what the perceived benfit of VS is. Maybe using teams to raise player enthusiasm? Tap into tribal pride stuff?