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ARG Priorities
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Crowfoot
Unfettered


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 385
Location: UK

 		ARG Priorities
I'm toying with the idea of creating a new ARG, and I already have a set of good ideas. However, there are many elements to the game and I was wondering what people find the most important when they're making/playing an ARG.

Is it the puzzles?
Is it the plot-line?
Is it the interactivity?
Is it the character depth?
Is it the flashiness of the web-sites?

Please tell me what you think, it would help me greatly.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:06 pm
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Phaedra
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Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously

 		Re: ARG Priorities
Crowfoot wrote:
I'm toying with the idea of creating a new ARG, and I already have a set of good ideas. However, there are many elements to the game and I was wondering what people find the most important when they're making/playing an ARG.


Okay.

Quote:
Is it the puzzles?


No. The puzzles are a bonus.

Quote:
Is it the plot-line?


Sort of.

Quote:
Is it the interactivity?


Definitely.

Quote:
Is it the character depth?


Definitely.

Quote:
Is it the flashiness of the web-sites?


No. However, if the website doesn't fit its function within the game well (i.e. if a multimillion dollar corporation has a cheap*ss-looking website, or if an eight-year-old boy has an expensive-looking, ultra-complicated and well-constructed one) it strains my ability to suspend my disbelief.

For me, it's definitely a combination of plotline, character depth and interactivity.

A good plotline will grab me -- if I really want to know what happens next, the game will probably hold my attention -- but alone it isn't enough, and the plotline doesn't necessarily have to be daringly original. The elements of ILB -- someone gets sent back in time, multiple personalities, impending alien invasion -- weren't exactly new or different, but they were HANDLED well enough that they worked.

Character depth is another biggie, at least for me. I've been finding myself unable to get into a lot of the ARGs currently going, because the characters seem more like props than actual people. The character shouldn't just be a mouthpiece for the PMs -- if I'm going to care about them (again, look at the Sleeping Princess, Melissa, and Dana in ILB -- there was actual grieving going on when the SP died) they have to have depth and seem real. Which brings me to point #3:

Interactivity, used well, seems to be a way to get players to care about the characters, and it also generates excitement and holds players' interest.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:20 pm
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jamesi
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Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 2195
Location: Canadia

 		My preference has always been: story, characters, puzzles, interaction. The website design/flshability matters little if the story is engrossing, the characters are believable, the puzzles are intriguing, and the interaction is captivating.

Am I asking too much? Probably.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:35 pm
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bill
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Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 614
Location: Tampa

 		i'll vote story, puzzles, characters, interaction.

Something tells me you'll get as many different answers as you get replies. Wink
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:50 pm
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dmax
Unfictologist

Joined: 09 Jan 2003
Posts: 1387
Location: Location: Location!

 		Puzzles attract me a lot less than mystery. Getting scattered portions of a tale, and having to put the parts together to understand the narrative from others' perspective...that's more interesting than a Vignere cipher any day. And, for me to care, it's nice if the characters have personality - even an abrasive one.

One thing that fascinated me, but was obvious in retrospect, was the amount of antipathy generated towards the game players when they began flooding Dale's friend Bruce with questions at the very beginning of CTW. He was pissed that so many people began hassling him. That made the game more fun to me, realizing that the laws of human behavior haven't been suspended.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:41 pm
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jamesi
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Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 2195
Location: Canadia
dmax wrote:
One thing that fascinated me, but was obvious in retrospect, was the amount of antipathy generated towards the game players when they began flooding Dale's friend Bruce with questions at the very beginning of CTW. He was pissed that so many people began hassling him. That made the game more fun to me, realizing that the laws of human behavior haven't been suspended.


Suspension of disbelief -- très important. Which is really why I think a lot of people, when asked, will say story/plotline, because as much as they want to get into the game (immersed, asthe case may), they probably don't want to get as involved with a situation that is unremarkable, unbelievable, or just plain craptacular.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:04 am
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AnthraX101
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Joined: 18 Mar 2003
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 		You gotta have someone speak up for the puzzles Smile

AnthraX101
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:50 am
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Nightmare Tony
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Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 824
Location: Meadowbrook

 		Is it the puzzles?
Is it the plot-line?
Is it the interactivity?
Is it the character depth?
Is it the flashiness of the web-sites?

Yes.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:58 am
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vpisteve
Asshatministrator


Joined: 30 Sep 2002
Posts: 2441
Location: 1987

 		It's the honey.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:53 am
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colin
Entrenched

Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 810
Location: Australia

 		Those are all things that go into an ARG but they won't make a great ARG, there's always that elusive 'x factor'

also, be careful trying to please peoples expectation...it could become the driving force of your game instead of the story

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 3:56 am
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Crowfoot
Unfettered


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 385
Location: UK

 		Wow, thanks for the brilliant response! As far as I can see, people prefer to see a deep storyline and well developed characters more than they like puzzles and interactivity. For me, I think interactivity is very important, if it wasn't there then all an ARG would be is a story. Puzzles, i think, are a great way of laying the foundation of this.

colin wrote:
Those are all things that go into an ARG but they won't make a great ARG, there's always that elusive 'x factor'

also, be careful trying to please peoples expectation...it could become the driving force of your game instead of the story


I wouldn't mind if someone tried to explain this 'x factor' to me. When does it occur? What are the results?

Thanks again.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:21 am
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Phaedra
Lurker v2.0


Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously
vpisteve wrote:
It's the honey.


Rock On
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:57 am
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Crowfoot
Unfettered


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 385
Location: UK

 		Is that an inside joke? Razz
_________________
“Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.” - Charles Lamb.
(Player and PM = total addict)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:38 am
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Phaedra
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Joined: 21 Sep 2004
Posts: 4033
Location: Here, obviously
Crowfoot wrote:
Is that an inside joke? Razz


Only if you don't love bees.
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Voted Most Likely to Thread-Jack and Most Patient Explainer in the ILoveBees Awards.

World Champion: Cruel 2B Kind

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:41 am
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Crowfoot
Unfettered


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 385
Location: UK
Phaedra wrote:
Crowfoot wrote:
Is that an inside joke? Razz


Only if you don't love bees.


Ah, ILB.
_________________
“Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.” - Charles Lamb.
(Player and PM = total addict)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 11:47 am
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