After a long conversation with Mani and a not as long conversation with Tom, it’s about time I actually bothered to write this article on ARG’s and what effect they could have on the general gaming community and the ways we play.
ARG’s (Alternate Reality Games) are a fairly new type of gaming which breaks the fouth, fifth and sixth walls and breaks the distinction between what is reality and what is a game. Rather than being played on a console as a character in that games universe, ARG’s use blogs and websites to convey their world. With each character blogging on their day to day lives as well as whatever their part in the story is, and mentioned places having their own websites, usually holding some sort of clue along the line as to cracking the “game”. You are yourself in these games and can contact and communicate with the characters as you would anyone else on the internet. There’s real people behind these characters so the “game” is shaped b the community and their input and suggestions. For example, if they were diffusing a bomb and you gave them the wrong information then don’t expect to see them in the plot again, while a quick relay of information may end up saving a character who was originally planned to be killed off. Online events are also present with people collaborating at key times to help live during “missions” as well as real life, creating q blend of gameplay that connects you to the world in an emotional level that cannot be achieved by most games as well as letting you truly shape the outcomes of the game.
Some of the more popular ARG’s to date have included: The Beast, I Love Bee’s, Perplex City and Iris. Many TV shows are using these today too, including: Lost, Heroes, Torchwood and Spooks,
I was involved in one of the largest ARG’s to date called Perplex City, which revolved around the retrieval of a missing artifact. While the world and characters were fictional, the artifact itself did exist and there was a £100,000 reward for whoever found it first. Over the three years of playing we solved puzzles, uncovered conspiracies, murdered agents, saved the life of widow thanks to quick thinking, killed off a few of the important characters, got chased down the street of San Francisco by low flying helicopters, wrote a book, spend several hilarious hours sending prank calls to the Perplex City Police Department, discovered a film trailer which hid a darker side in canada, received hints in the form of sky writing, tried to find a man only using a photograph and his first name (and still are) and found the Recada Cube worth £100,000.
Okay, i’m not expecting anything this big to be incorporated into normal gaming bt heres a few quick examples I made up of what it could be used for:
Imagine playing a WWII shooter and one of the soldiers your fighting with dieing. Okay your probably going to think no big deal and carry on blasting away.
Now imagine that you know that soldier, you’ve spend months talking to him and communicating with him. Reading his transcripts online and sending emails that not only are responded to, but influence his actions on his missions.You’ve followed him from step to step listening to his thoughts and feelings, giving advice and providing the tech support as he goes through his missions. Then watch this character killed off, knowing what he’s been through, his dreams and goals and everything he’s fighting for. Suddenly that one death makes a greater impact on your experience of the game, changing the way you think and feel about it.
This could also be used as a filler between games in a series, creating a greater link between story to story. It could also be used to show what has happened after the events of the original game. An example of this could be following and participating in the trials and accomplishments of a group of townsfolk after the disasters of the first game. Or possibly the other way round, showing events prior to the next game in the new areas its set in, giving those areas a greater significance when you see them in game.
Finally it could be used alongside games to deliver a sort of side quest. While not important to the story, delivers something extra. Animal Crossing would work perfectly for this sort of arg. I hate to use the rebuilding town example again but it works. Crosser X has moved into the small run down town of Y and needs your help. By communicating both in game and on the internet you can interact with X and the colourful cast of characters that move in thanks to the events and advice you give both online and in game. Then each of these characters and new places get their own blogs and websites where you can find out more, interact with them, and help them with their problems. Almost like a second town from yours, but that you cant actually visit. If this could be linked with your game somehow it would let you participate with events in game as well (perhaps send fruit to help them plant trees with the full amount donated affecting what happens next) and then you could even receive rewards for helping in game.
Okay these aren’t the best examples and it wouldn’t be nearly as complex as real arg’s but they could offer an insight into the gaming world like no other and change your experience of the game in new ways previously unexperienced.
So… what do you think? Would you be interested in these types of sidegames? Do you think they would work? Is my explanation as bad as I think it is? Are you still reading this?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions and am happy to try and answer any questions 
Further Discussion can be fount at the WiiDs Forums
