unforum

[eOgas]

[META] Whine about the PMs

[dposse]

LOL OMG TEH PMS ARENT TALKIN I R VERY MAD I R GONNA QUIT DIS GAME IT IS TOO HARD MY BRAIN HURTS LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL





...was that going too far?

[catherwood]

I think EVERY game needs a thread like this!

[Relia]

Re: Whine about the PMs

[eOgas]

Hehe, sorry, I'm just having my fun. Anyway, I always thought that the coolness of an ARG came from the lack of OOG communication between the PMs and the players. Also, I think they'd let us know if the game was over.

I understand why this apparent radio silence is disheartening to some. It just seems that a lot of people on here expect the ARG to continue regardless of whether or not we solve the puzzles.

So, in the spirit of Anna Tate Mellon, we should redouble our efforts to find whatever it is that we missed. Excelsior!

[krystyn]

I posted to my LJ about the codes been needin' cracking, so I hope someone takes me up on it and at least takes a look, since I am horrible at ciphers.

I, uh, like making the puzzles more than I am capable of solving them, haha. Sigh.

[jebreject]

[Anon AntipoJamesDean]

It's simple games design. You set the system to respond to the player's success rate. The game, whether it's a shoot em up or an ARG, should scale to provide the balance between enjoyment and annoyance. It's a dynamic tension where two forces push against each other.

In this situation we have an obvious case of a puzzle that has been made on a tangent that no one is 'getting'. It's worthwhile removing some red herrings. Say for example the piano angle is wrong and the stall has gone on for weeks. The best tactic is to provide an (ambiguous) indication that the idea is incorrect.

Another factor is immersion. This game is losing immersion because the game world has been withdrawn. It's like seeing a blank screen and there's not a good reason for it.

This is after all a GAME, and enjoyment and immersion are two necessary factors.

[rose]

No whining in ARGs.

[EnsO]

Re: Whine about the PMs

[rose]

Just to clarify, my comment was a bit of a joke in response to cath's wish that we need a thread like this for every game. Sorry that I didn't make that clear.

Based on past experience, I'm fairly sure that the PMs know that the players are frustrated with the lack of progress -probably the PMs are frustrated as well. Of course it is still valuable to the PMs to know how the players are feeling, and the only way for the PMs to know is for people to express their feelings.

I'm not sure how much experience these PMs have, there are unquestionably some design flaws. But the video was awesome, there was constant phone contact, the materials seem cleverly designed and the Central Park stunt was hilarious. Heck, the whole idea is charming. Maybe they have designed themselves into a corner, or maybe they just want people to figure out the puzzle. Or maybe they are stalling for a whole other reason.

I don't think there is anything inherently "wrong" with PMs expecting players to figure something out before the game goes forward, as long as the PMs are willing to deal with the consequences (i.e. the game stalling and player frustration) of the players failing to solve it. There is something nice about PMs thinking: we have confidence in our players and these people will figure it out given enough time.

While a general game design principle might be that games have to scale or rewards have to be given in a certain way, I see no reason why these PMs (or any other ARG PMs) need to be constrained by those principles. This is a whole new genre and experimenting with design ideas is, to me anyway, a good thing.

Ens0 wrote:

[krystyn]

I have to admit, I was feeling pretty sad when I saw that they gave in and gave an OOG message to one of our fellow players, but it's also a super-hard temptation to resist.

What's done is done, though, and ultimately, I am glad I know what I know (there is more to come, and we just needed to solve what we had, and pay more attention to everything we've seen thus far, etc.) -- I admit to feeling a little curious if maybe the complete standstill is something that is real to the game. Maybe Milwaukee was consumed again, who knows?

But, I mean, Chuck never stops eating. Does he? He's nudged us before, and the fact that he didn't this time, that the PMs went OOG is intriguing, at the very least.

We'll see, I guess!

[Nonono]

nononono

[krystyn]

Re: nononono

[parm]

We've now had two anonymous posters turn up, drop a big lump of useful information as to how to solve or progress in the game, and then disappear again after falling out with the other forumites. Either we're all horrible, horrible people, or...

Just thinkin' aloud, like.