unforum

[Orphevs]

Though this is my first ARG, I'll try to say what I think I'd like. One thing I would like to see would be to include some sort of treking out on hiking trails or something of that sort involved to find clues. Physical activity sounds like something that would be really cool to do with all the crazy mental stuff that these games involve. It certainly doesn't have to be anything as stenuous physically as these games are mentally trying, of course. I really got the idea from this practice called letterboxing where people hide stamps in places like hiking trails, botanical gardens, and museams and put clues up on the internet. It's a lot of fun to kinda have that experience of going out in search of something, and I think it's a very similar feeling that drew me to ARGs. This would also be another way for folks that are in a certain area to all meet up and do something together.
Yhea, random idea. Maybe it's just me trying to combine things that I like/think that I'll like when I actually experience them. *shrug* Dem's my two cents.

[vpisteve]

Couldn't resist:

.....I'd make sure all the phones actually work.


/me has a feeling he's gonna pay for that, later.

[Orphevs]

Heh...

[jokerstrademark]

This is my first post! I've watched people play these games for a little while and I'm going to start playing this one once it starts. I would like to see something that would be unexpected. Like, release a cd by a made up band that has clues hidden in the music or on the cd. That's just an example. Imagine someone coming across the cd accidently and just be pulled into a game with out realizing it's a game.

[Fatal666]

Physical...

[EMUGOD]

i have never actually played in an arg, but have followed both the haunted apiary (until i found out it was a halo tie-in) and the "Dread House" one on and off, and have been waiting to get to play one from the beggining, so i don't know if anything like this has ever been attempted.

i think the ARG that would work best would be one long, huge quest, with absolutely no "tearing of the curtain", that existists almost entirely in the "real world" (not internet), and has a completely freaky subject matter with complete freaky happenings.

for example, a tv spot airs with a website and the image of a ring. people get curious and go to the website, and see an image of severed hand with the ring on it, an an adress carved into the back of the hand. at the bottom of the page is a message prompting players to get the ring. upon visitng the location, all players are turned away from what would appear to be an apartment complex.
(and imagine where it could go from there?)

Also, like others have said, really pull the players in. I for one would be stoked to wake up one day and find a bloody hunting knife pinning a threating note to my front door (with all assurance that it is in-game). i would also unashamedly run off to bribe a doctor to examine the blood, and get the knife checked for prints(puzzle anyone?)

Ofcourse, for this to work the PM's would need alot of cash and alot of balls, or there would be the risk of only players from one city getting involved at all (and even that would cost megabucks), and doing anything so interactive would be a major risk for them (lawsuits flying everywhere!).

[darkmoonz]

[Hyperion]

I agree with Yanka about Metacortechs. While it was my first ARG and I'm probably a little biased about it, there was a huuuge "wtf" sense going on, like a creepy ominous feeling that there was something way bigger then you could comprehend happening behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel that way about ILB. I wanted to be excited about it, but it seemed that all that could be done was to sit back and watch while the people who had axons near them played the game. I got to observe. It was like a giant scavenger hunt where all of the items were beyond my reach.

I'm hoping Perplex turns out to be something that can turn me away from Metacortechs, but I still have the fondest memories of it. But here is my list anyway.

1. Minimal character interaction.
While it is nice to be able to connect to the characters on a certain level (i.e. being able to call Katherine's voicemail, having the characters respond to your attempts to solve the puzzle, live calls from the Urchins, etc.) keeping them at arms length gives an ominous, "larger then life" feeling to the game.

2. Variety of puzzles.
While crypto and steg and all that are fun, having simple riddles embedded in images (paint-over.net) and the rest really give everyone else the ability to get into the game.

3. Loose ends.
Why does everyone think that everything has to tie up nice and pretty in the end?! Games with loose ends and dangling plotlines give it a sense of realism and mystery. Small, unexplainable "easter eggs" make the game seem deep and enthralling.

4. Discovery.
Nothing makes you feel more accomplished in a game (other then solving a puzzle, not many get to do that) then discovering something new. A website, an email, all that make you feel like you are a part of the game.

And the last isn't a vital part of an ARG for me, but it would make me insanely happy if it happened.

5. LET THE VILLAIN WIN!

[thebruce]

[rose]

ilovebees ending

[thebruce]

I liked ILB entry because I honestly wasn't sure for a few days whether the site was real or a hoax, and only after joining unfiction did I get pulled into the game... I dunno if the arg was announced at all, if there was a waiting period, or if the honey and the trailer were the very first public connections to the arg... in which case, ilb had a tiny intro time. I'd say the 'waiting' was spread throughout the game, only having updates mainly on tues and fri ... it wasn't a continuous game. So months of waiting in advance were spread through regularly scheduled updates ... heh

[KSG]

First, I'd like to congratulate this thread on it's one-year aniversary. Way to go, thread!

I have to dissagree with thebruce on the bag guys winning. They have to win occasionally, or there's no fun at all, because you know how things will turn out. That's true in movies even more than ARGs. If the entire thing is really cheery and it's obvious who's going to win, that defeats the purpose of even having a plot. On the other hand, if it's really depressing until the end, when everything suddenly brightens up just so the good guy can win, I'll end up hating the entire movie. It would be better to stay in character throughout the whole thing, and if that means the bad guy wins, let him. I expect that would apply to an ARG. Most of all, I want whoever can win most believably to do so. If the good guys or the bad guys have an absolute stranglehold on the plot, and the others miraculously save the day at the last minute, I won't be impressed. As long as the ending is explained, I don't care who it favors.

The only other thing is the location-based stuff. This Abbey Road business could turn out to be very cool, and who knows, we spectators might even have our own action involving the webcam. That said, I live 300 miles from the nearest city that has even a slight chance of seeing in-game activity. Even just getting into town to pick up USA Today was tricky. I will not be able to attend any meetings of any kind. If the vast majority of this game doesn't happen through the internet and major media, I'm going to be very disappointed.

That said, I'm a total newbie, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

[thebruce]

[firefox]

i would prefer a cube = old yeller ending....

but for the sake of saying it. in the real world evil wins. now thats just being a realist. so we come to an arg to escape that reality, so ya should be happy with a different view for once, good winning its not novell escapism per say, but its escapism nonthlss

[thebruce]