Defining ARG's

    Here's a really good definition of Alternate Reality Games by a guy who helped write one of the more interesting recent ones:

You can be standing in a parking lot, or a shopping center. A pay phone near you will ring, and on the other end will be someone demanding information.

ARGs combine video, text adventure, radio plays, audio, animation, improvisational theater, graphics, and story into an immersive experience. The game doesn’t just happen online: players are sent out into the real world to meet one another and complete tasks. Players have traveled thousands of miles to follow clues to their source. 

Unlike many video games, where players are encouraged to use cutthroat tactics against one another in search of victory, ARGs encourage cooperative play and the formation of ad hoc ommunities. No one player can possibly have all the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the game, and players are required to combine their talents and share information. The ARG is all about the creation of community through a shared experience. The games attract a somewhat older audience than video games, more or less evenly divided between men and women, and with better social skills.

         

Interested in learning more?  Then you probably should have clicked over to  Williams'  blog to read the rest of this fascinating, behind-the-scenes post.  But, you might also try this link.

Comments

[John Pederson]

Wow. There isn't much on the Internet these days that's completely new to me. This has me thinking hard.