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 Forum index » Meta » Player Help
How to Choose an ARG That's Right for You
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rowan
Unfictologist

Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 1966

 		 How to Choose an ARG That's Right for You
aka "I'm new and I don't know what game to play"
As of late, we've had numerous requests from newcomers asking what games they should get involved in playing. This post is designed to help answer some of the questions, and make a general thread where newcomers can continue posting to gain insight into games, rather than scattering posts throughout the entire board.

So, the quick answer to "Can you recommend a game for me to play" is this: Not really

Now, I know you're thinking. "That really isn't any help at all." But, just generally asking which ARG to play is kind of like walking into a movie theatre and asking the ticket taker which movie you should go see. If you're lucky and your tastes match, you'll see a movie that you like. However, there is also the possibility that you could be sent into a slasher film when all you really care for are chick flicks. Without knowing what your tastes are, no one is going to be able to accurately suggest a game that you will want to finish out.

So, there are basically two things you can do. You can A: specify the qualities you would like in a game and receive recommendations, or B: browse currently playing games and dabble in them until you find one that suits you.

A: Game Qualities

Five of the most common reasons people say they play one game over another are: Storyline, Interaction, Puzzles, Community Size and Game Progress. Keep in mind, these are just general categories and are not all inclusive. Just because reason XXX isn't listed doesn't mean that it's not important - but five is a nice number and I'm sticking to that.

Storyline: Light to Dark / Full to Sparse
ARGs are just like books and movies in that they all have various genres that they can fall in. Some are more light-hearted. Some play up the conspiracy angles. Others are quite dark and contain adult material. Even if a game has every other characteristic that you like, if the storyline doesn't appeal to you, chances are you'll bypass it. There are also variations into how detailed the story is. Some games have a rich universe, filled with detailed backgrounds on every item in it. Others have a very basic storyline that can often times be just one step above a random puzzle trail.

Interaction: High to Low
Some games are almost pure interaction (IRC, IM, emails) with websites almost as filler. Other games provide players with very little direct contact with characters. You may only ever see their websites. In the middle, you can have games with various means of interaction, but that interaction may be limited (voicemails, auto-responders).

Puzzles: Hard to Easy / High to Low
Puzzles are a bit of a double category in that they can vary by number and by difficulty. Puzzlers will love numerous hard puzzles while non-puzzlers would like just a few easy ones. There are also those that don't mind the difficulty or the number so long as the puzzles fit the story and are well constructed.

Community Size: Large to Small
Quite a number of people will say that Corporate = Large while Grassroots = Small, however this is an over-simplification as both types of game may engender either community size. Larger communities tend to solve puzzles quicker and may help move the game along more quickly (especially if live events are required in the game plot). Smaller communities may feel more tightly knit and will often have a better signal-to-noise ratio.

Game Progress: Just Starting to Almost Ending
Probably the single biggest reason I hear as to why newcomers do not want to get into a game: "It's too far along." However, this is probably the least important reason one should weigh when considering what games to check out. Even if an ARG is in endgame, new participants can still end up enjoying themselves. While it's nice to start a game from the beginning, unless you are willing to check the boards daily for the newest trailhead, your chances of finding a brand new game are slim. A game discovered today may have 5 new pages in its thread by tomorrow and thus might be dropped into that 'too far along' category before it's given a chance. Most games can be caught up on in a few hours, especially if you ask established players what you need to know. Games that are past the initial launch also have one other benefit: they've already established what type of game they are. It's better to waste an hour or so determining that an older game isn't for you, rather than wasting days watching a once promising game turn into something that you don't like.

So now, if you were to ask "Are there any low interaction games with medium puzzles and a detailed storyline going on?" (my personal preference), someone should be able to point you in the direction of a game that you should enjoy, rather than taking your chances on a random recommendation. But don't forget, there's always a second way to go about finding a game to play as well, and that is to...

B: Browse Currently Playing Games

There are several ways you can find out what games are playing right now.

News & Rumors
This is the first stop for almost every ARG we find. Just keep in mind that not every item in N&R is an ARG. Many are posts on viral campaigns, interesting finds that the community might like, and imploded games. However, if you are still convinced that you need to get in a game from the very beginning, keep this board bookmarked and check in often.

ARGs with Potential
This is where established games from N&R go when they need more than one thread to keep things organized, but don't have quite enough for an entire subforum. These games have usually moved well beyond the initial launch, so you can get a good feel for what they are all about.

Game Subforums
When a game legitimately grows big enough, it will be moved into its own subforum. These games are well established and often times have resources on how to catch newcomers up on what has happened so far. You'll also find that the subforums are much more organized with various [TAGS] helping you to easily see what each thread is about.

Timewasters
Not ARGs per se, but may contain one or more elements of ARGs that may appeal to you. However, new ARGs have sometimes masqueraded as random Timewasters in the past, so it never hurts to keep an eye out on the thread. Plus, you have to have something to while you're waiting for a game to play.

ARGN
The biggest ARG news site, ARGN has lists of the current established games in their 'What's Hot' section, as well as brief descriptions on many of the games that currently being played. There is also the (mostly) weekly Netcast where various panel members will discuss 3-4 current games as well as hot topics in the ARG community.

#unfiction on irc.chat-solutions.org
Yes, we do occasionally discuss games in there when we're not being overly silly or overly argumentative. There has even been a time or two when #uf discussed the contents of a trailhead before it was posted to N&R. If you do happen to drop by, just let us know you're a newcomer looking for some advice and someone will help you. And please don't get discouraged if it appears that no one is talking. We all have to take a break sometime, and if you're patient enough, someone will assist you. I promise.

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

Hopefully this will help people understand why it's so hard to just randomly recommend games and why previous 'What should I play?' threads just contained lists of games that were probably out of date by the time you read them. There are just so many variables (even more then what I listed above) that randomly trying to fill those criteria isn't going to be that sucessful. By you narrowing things down for us, you get more accurate help and we don't feel as if we're rehashing the entire site.

Feel free to reply to this thread if you are looking for a specific recommendation so that current players will know exactly where to look if they want to help point new players towards their game of choice. (If you're looking to criticize my choices as to what one chooses when picking an ARG, go start a META topic and I'll see you there.)
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:52 pm
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krystyn
I Never Tire of My Own Voice


Joined: 26 Sep 2002
Posts: 3651
Location: Is not Chicago

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 9:18 pm
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konamouse
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Joined: 02 Dec 2002
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:12 pm
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Phaedra
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Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Wow, Rowan. Very Happy That's an instant classic like imbri's Quickstart Guide.

Just a one additional points:

Rowan wrote:
Now, I know you're thinking. "That really isn't any help at all." But, just generally asking which ARG to play is kind of like walking into a movie theatre and asking the ticket taker which movie you should go see. If you're lucky and your tastes match, you'll see a movie that you like. However, there is also the possibility that you could be sent into a slasher film when all you really care for are chick flicks.


That's an excellent metaphor. But I would like to say that the genre of the story probably doesn't matter quite as much in an ARG as it would in a movie, because ARGs are a lot more multifaceted than movies.

So keep in mind the following:

Maybe you and the ticket-taker have different tastes, but on the other hand, the ticket-taker spends his entire shift at the movie theater watching people go in and out and overhearing them talk about movies, so, if you asked him, he might say "Well, everyone I've heard talk about Film X really loved it." Even if Film X is a genre you normally aren't interested in, it might be worth it.

To translate into ARGs:

If there's a game a lot of people in the community are raving about, it might be worth taking a look even if the story doesn't initially interest you.

My two favorite ARGs are I Love Bees and Last Call Poker. ILB was a story set in the Halo universe, and normally video-game-related stories are a major turnoff for me, just like TV and movie novelizations or spinoffs.

Similarly, Last Call Poker was a western (normally, bleh).

I'm glad I jumped into both without paying attention to genre.

As Rowan points out, Storyline is only one factor (and I say this as a dedicated story person), and genre may turn out to matter a lot less for your enjoyment of an ARG than it would have for your enjoyment of a movie or book. Which is why it's good to consider all those other factors. Wink
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:13 pm
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Schrijvertje
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Joined: 14 May 2007
Posts: 205
Location: Belgium

 		I posted just such a question yesterday, of course in a different part of the forum? Luckily someone pointed me out to this thread, so I'll ask my question again here while apologizing for posting it in the wrong place first. Administrators, feel free to remove my previous post.

I'm a newcomer to Unforums but not really so to ARG's. Last year I stumbled upon "The Ocular Effect" and had a lot of fun with it. While playing, I got to know what ARG's are about, because I had no idea they existed before. The Faith Arella story came to an end some time ago (there are rumours it'll continue when the next season of the television show "Fallen" to which it is linked, will start). So now I'm looking for a similar game in regards to genre, storyline, puzzle difficulty etc. I'd rather not have something too difficult, I'm no hardcore gamer. Something with blogs, e-mails, video's. It doesn't really have to be a genuine ARG, one of the smaller categories is fine as well (what did you cal them, timewasters?)

Thanks!

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:08 am
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ryu_chi2
Boot


Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Posts: 16

 		gdrfniop
Well I am new to this whole ARG genre. I have just started up on Bristel Goodman and of course like most things that seem fairly interesting, i have gotten obsessed with it. But could anyone tell me of a newer ARG to some out (as of Aug. 1 2007)?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:18 pm
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BubbleBoy
Decorated


Joined: 16 Jul 2007
Posts: 271
Location: United States

 		What is this game about?
I am actually in the process of creating a freewebs site where people can go to get a basic rundown of currently running games. I'd hate to advertise in fear of breaking any forum rules, but if you would like the link I would be more then happy to respond to PMs. I figured if there was any place to mention it (and ask for people to send story information to me so that I can post it on the site) the "player help" section would probably be the best place to start.

If any mods would like to offer their suggestions as to how I can go about letting people know about the site without breaking any forum rules, please PM me.

I thank you in advance.

Kyle Stallone

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:17 pm
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sunshineone
Boot

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 18

 		Im also new to ARGs... this is really helpful to understand it all!

PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:08 am
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infrarad
Kilroy

Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Posts: 2

 		Choosing ARG by puppetmasters?
I became intrigued by Jane McGonigal's work after hearing a radio interview, and I'm cautiously interested in playing an ARG. (From how I understand the glossary, this puts me on, like, the rabbit welcome mat?) It appears as though the Lost Ring has ended with the Olympics, but I am interested in following whatever her next project may be.

Since I don't fully understand where the curtain hangs and how transparent it tends to be, I'm wondering if this is possible, or if part of the game is finding out who's behind it? Can I join ARGaming through being a groupie?

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:00 pm
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catherwood
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee

Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 4109
Location: Silicon Valley, CA

 		Re: Choosing ARG by puppetmasters?
infrarad wrote:
this puts me on, like, the rabbit welcome mat?

...but I am interested in following whatever her next project may be.


I love that turn of phrase, I may borrow it one day :)

As for following Jane, did you know she has a blog? She'll often mention her next live event and invite people to join in. (I'll go looking for that bookmark shortly) But not all of her games are ARGs, so I'm not sure what kind of fun you may be looking for. Pop into almost any thread in "News & Rumors" here and you'll find an ARG in progress, by a variety of PM teams (some known, some anonymous for now.) You may find you like ARGs as much as Jane's other "pervasive gaming" things.

oh yeah, http://www.avantgame.com/ is her business and academic site, with a link to her blog

PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 3:28 pm
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pancito
I Have No Life


Joined: 24 Feb 2008
Posts: 2095
Location: In my happy place.

 		Re: Choosing ARG by puppetmasters?
infrarad wrote:
Can I join ARGaming through being a groupie?
Why not?

You might look at Superstruct, here. Not sure if it's actually an ARG...
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:36 pm
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Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth

 		Re: Choosing ARG by puppetmasters?
pancito wrote:
infrarad wrote:
Can I join ARGaming through being a groupie?
Why not?

You might look at Superstruct, here. Not sure if it's actually an ARG...


Depends on how loose your definition of "ARG" is. It's very similar to "World Without Oil", although I have to admit I wasn't part of that; Jane McGonigal's running it, so you can expect it to be game-ish to some extent.

She does like active participation in games, but considering this game is set ten years in the future I'm not quite sure how that's going to work.

And I'm on the advisory panel, so if it's not planned to be an "ARG" they're in for a few surprises from me. Twisted Evil
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 4:19 pm
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Flobblem
Greenhorn

Joined: 17 Sep 2008
Posts: 9
Location: Derby, England

 		thank you, i am new to ARGs (i heard about them a while ago but only became interested when i read a book called 'Halting State' where an ARG called SPOOKS is involved. good book btw)
SPOOKS is a secret agent style ARG, does anyone know if there are any similar ones going on?

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
If you want to know, SPOOKS turns out to be real, a fake ARG if you like 'this is not a game' ect ect


PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:00 pm
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infrarad
Kilroy

Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Posts: 2

 		Thanks! I am chomping at the the rab bit over superstruct!

PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 7:21 am
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DaniellaK89
Boot

Joined: 22 Oct 2008
Posts: 10
Location: Houston

 		I'm looking for an ARG or time waster with a light hearted storyline I don't really much care about the subject matter, interaction, or ease.

I'm just tired of the ghosts and murderers!!!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:58 am
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