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[morph1138]

[OT] Tron and 42 Entertainments Future

[stinji]

I am personally loving this arg. I hope it really helps the Tron box office so we can have more of these. Actually, i really wasnt all the excited about Tron, then I got hooked into the arg. Then after all the awsome stuff that happened at comic con (I got to meet bruce and get a pic with him in the club) im sooo looking forward to this movie.
Cant wait,
Im hoping there are more like this.

[Mikey3211]

 

[morph1138]

Yeah this ARG has definitely gotten me and my friends far more excited for Tron than I previously was. I wish I had have played the Dark Knight ARG. Hopefully there will be one for Batman 3.

[Euchre]

If Cloverfield and TDK didn't do it for this kind of marketing, I don't know what will. Cloverfield wasn't huge compared to TDK in box office returns, but Cloverfield set January records and most of the business it did was a direct result of the marketing. TDK was huge and was likely to be so anyway, but the campaign for it added to that and made the whole deal a lot deeper for the fans of the franchise.

I don't think these sorts of campaigns for films is reserved for just 'geekier' titles, it just works best with them. I think the greater change is that our culture has as a whole become more geeky, so this fits the norm.

I'll take this over 6 mos. of repetitive ads and lame wannabe-news stories about the film. Another plastic McDonald's collector cup is crap compared to the swag I've got!

[mudcatthefish]

Like others in this thread, I have never participated in an ARG prior to this one. Although I would have been quite interested in seeing the film anyway, this ARG has definitely turned me into a rabid fanboy. I have been enthusiastically showing off my hard-earned loot to friends and family. These are the earned badges symbolizing my level of commitment. At the same time, I am also the crazy evangelist telling them how amazing this movie is going to be. None of them can believe all the effort being put into this - both by 42E and by us players.

What really fascinates me, though, is the blurring of fantasy vs. reality. They are mashing up cooperative gaming, puzzle-solving, public gatherings, etc. to essentially promote, advertise, and build buzz for a huge Hollywood film.

Before anyone lights me up, let me be clear: this medium has already evolved WAY past what is considered traditional advertising. However, would it be safe to assume that 42E is being compensated for all of this straight out of Disney's advertising and promotion budget?

42E refers to it as "immersive entertainment", but so is auto-erotic asphyxiation. Look, they are the artists and evil geniuses, so they get to call this whatever they want. You can cram almost anything into the entertainment bucket, but 42E still delivers, in their own words, marketing campaigns, brand engagement, and ROI to the customer. But what they are delivering to us as fans goes much deeper than that.

I would have to assume that both Disney and 42E are considering Flynn Lives a major success. More importantly, we the players have formed some sort of diverse community in and around this fictional universe.

The best part for me: what we are participating in hasn't even been truly defined yet, and it shouldn't be. How could it? As we are playing, our involvement is actually changing the game itself, which in turn changes the way we play - a feedback loop. The various forms of media and technology being used is rapidly moving forward as well. All of it will continue to evolve in ways are going to surprise us.

Is anyone else doing this as good as 42Entertainment? I honestly do not know, but this type of fan engagement will get real huge real quick. There are going to be all sorts of "new media" outfits clawing for their piece of the market. My money is on the majority of these companies forever playing catch-up, producing poorly mimicked dupes of everything that has already been done before. Exactly like some this movement's core components - cinema and television, video games, and the internet.

We can also count on amazingly talented people getting together to share wild ideas and create for us those exquisite little gems. Some of them are probably members of these forums. Folks all over the world are connected and fully engaged, hanging on a thread to see what comes next. Whatever it is, I know we will be ready to experience it together.

And by the way: great topic morph1138!

I definitely wasn't planning to stay up this late writing a long post. I have been thinking quite a bit and wondering where this is going, so I can't wait to read other people's perspective on the topic.

[AlanOne]

Although I have been waiting almost 30 years to see this movie, I stumbled upon the ARG by pure accident. I just thought that the Flynn Lives website was just for promotion. I had no idea what it was all leading to!

So, I too am now an ARG nut! But, I've always been a Tron fanboy since the original was released. Can't wait to see what else is coming. I'll bet that 42E will be doing stuff right-up until the release. And because there will be two more films after Legacy, methinks there will be much, much more in the coming years.

Sheesh! Its enough to make one's head spin!

[MarshallTeller]

It's been a wild ride. I've been up to SF and down to SD to follow this ARG and get all the badges (I'm missing gridlock rendezvous ) and this is the first ARG I've participated in too - it's the only one that piqued my interest.

I was mildly interested when I first signed up, but I could not get off work to try for the gridlock rendezvous... I secured myself two seats for the Los Angeles Bridge "event" and managed to hook myself a signed poster... From then on I became devoted to following the ARG to the letter. I literally check FL/Unfiction every day. I took time off for Wondercon and SDCC, even though I had no guarantee of getting a ticket for SDCC...

...and my coworkers think I'm nuts.

When I got back from SDCC I showed them the HD trailer I got with my Identity Disc. I feel somewhat vindicated - I just got them to join FL.

I've met some cool people too, although I didn't get their names, I bet they're reading Unfiction because from talking to them, almost every dedicated FL player uses UF.... I guess I'm trying to say UF and 42E are awesome for bringing us all together, even if unintentionally on UF's part. It's clear that whatever 42E wanted to do with FL, it's working, maybe even better than they originally intended.

What more can I say? Thank you, 42E and UF!

[morph1138]

[Billhouse]

I was excited for Legacy before I knew about FL. I found Arcade Aid through a classic arcade forum and got a badge thinking it was a nice one-time souvenir. Then I saw what it was all about and got hooked! The whole experience so far has been incredible and kind of scares me. I don't think there's any way that the movie can possibly live up to ALL of my expectations. I'm sure I'll love it, and see it several times, but no way can it hang with the experience that this interactive campaign has.

The other Tron films yet to come will benefit from the ARG for sure. Tron as a brand would have made its money anyway, but blowing up the brand with the ARG and other marketing will ensure a large following past this offering.

Side note:

Not counting the cost to produce or the resale value of the swag you have received (don't sell your stuff!!!) how much in postage has the ARG spent on you? Some who got bits have a different total, so I'd like them to chime in too. I'm interested in seeing how many dollars in postage 42E spends on an individual, then subtract that from the ticket price at your theater. Of course the word of mouth to those who aren't FL members, plus the multiple screenings most of us are sure to attend more than makes up for it.

[eolith]

I made sure to personally thank the producer of the whole EOL Club and mention the entire ARG to her (when I was at the EOL Club) after someone pointed her out. I specifically stated I was happy with all the effort Disney was going to with Tron.

[thebruce]

[Rogi Ocnorb]

I think these large campaigns for movies will always be the defining efforts for the genre.

But I think it'll be television that catapults it into the mainstream. Followed by the web and then movies as far as mass adoption goes.
It amazes me how we're still on rails for the most part. When we can have fans truly feel like they are driving the storyline of their favorite show, it'll get nuts. Just like American Idol. The initial variation need be nothing more than a few retakes of scenes to cover the possible scenario outcomes.

And, sometimes, it's the little things that matter most. Like the show Psych and how they try to keep the story current. Example from last week: "I was at Comic Con, last weekend!".

[thebruce]

This thread is also a quaint summary of the general evolution of the ARG genre in mainstream entertainment. And it touches on some of the sensitive, taboo points in its growing pains, where various developers have had very different feelings about how ARGs and viral campaigns like this should progress. Depending on your philosophy of what constitutes an "ARG" vs typical "marketing", a lot of sentiments here seem to show what hits home with the target audience.

Also, every big campaign brings in new people to the genre, and each seem to usher in some 'new era' of ARGs. We saw it with TDK, and with ILB, among others. But it's great to see so much enthusiasm and excitement! Whatever one's opinions are of terms and definitions in this form of entertainment, this sure is what gets the most attention in the public. So yeah, I don't think this form of interactive marketing/entertainment will be dying any time soon. Changing or evolving? Sure. And I agree with Rogi - I think TV will continue to provide the best platform for mass engagement and extended story-telling.

Anyway, for more discussion on stuff like this, you should check out the Meta forum here at UF.

[eolith]