|
INDIE EDUTAINMENT MARKETING
|
MOVIE ARTICLESTable of Contents
GAME ARTICLESTable of Contents
|
The Birth of ARG - Alternate Reality Gaming
ARGs as Event Promotion for Films and OutreachAn article on the FutureLab site by Tash Lee detailed the beginning days of ARG in an article entitled "This Is Not A Game: Alternate Reality Gaming and its potential for learning." It was published in July 2006.Is an ARG even a game at all?In addition to the reliance on cooperative game-play and the inherent flexibility of an ARG to adapt to its players' contributions, there are other characteristics that set ARGs apart. In most games - console or online - the player controls avatars to interact in a virtual world. In an ARG, however, players are 'playing themselves'. Instead of helping an avatar to 'learn' skills and gain experience in order to develop, ARGs rely on knowledge that a player already possesses.In an ARG players interact with the fictional world through everyday artefacts (e-mail etc) that players use to interact with the real world - there is no special equipment, and no virtual world. The idea is that the game-play becomes integrated fully in players' lives - both on and offline. It is in this omnipresence that the genre's mantra of 'This Is Not A Game' (TINAG) is cemented. ARG brings two areas together in one package: video games and social software - both of which have been recognized as powerful tools for learning.
Early ARG Games
ARG Games circa 2008-2009ARGs are interactive narratives in which players work together to solve puzzles and co-ordinate activities in the real world and online, using websites, GPS tracking devices, telephone lines, newspaper ads, and media that many people already use on a daily basis - text messages, blogs, social networking sites, video-sharing.
ARGs and Education
The Art and Craft of ARGsAndrea Phillips, an ARG writer and producer who helped developer Mind Candy, produce the ARG game Perplex City, says, "A lot of people in entertainment are seeing the value of using alternate reality gaming to tell stories as their own creative form..." Phillips says the key appeal of these games lies in the art of crafting a collaborative narrative. "Collaboration in storytelling is an old tradition, even older than print. All our stories are ultimately descended from this sort of back-and-forth oral tradition.""In the not-for-profit sector, ARGs can be a great platform for raising awareness in a realistic way," says Siobhan Thomas, a research fellow at the University of East London and ARG design lecturer at London Southbank University. The opportunities are limitless. But issues relating to real-world gameplay such as privacy issues and protecting personal data is becoming an increasingly serious issue as more and more sites are sharing data. The format is predicted to be increasingly of interest to performance artists and educational designers, but MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online games) and digital games are likely to hold on to the lion's share of the market because they offer more flexible player time. ARGs are more of an event that has to be staged. For an irreverent (and slightly colored!!! Warning: this post contains explicit language.) Overview of the state of the ARG "fiction" genre, check out "Everything you know about ARGs is wrong" by Dan. FutureLab.org The referenced article was published in 2003
BOOKSHELF & TOOLS FOR FILM & VIDEOBrowse our personal recommendations of books and software for indie producers, distributors and marketers. These practical how-to books will help you market your creative products and services. |
|
We invite you to visit our community of publications:
