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An alternate reality game is a cross-media game that deliberately blurs the line between the in-game and out-of-game experiences. While games may primarily be centered around online resources, often events that happen inside the game reality will "reach out" into the players' lives in order to bring them together. Elements of the plotline may be provided to the players in almost any form, some of those used have been:
- e-mail
- websites, both those obviously connected with the game and those innocent looking - often where the bulk of the game lies, these sites provide puzzles in many forms, e.g. cryptography
- phone calls to a player's home, cell or work phone
- land mail
- newspaper articles or classifieds
- chat/Instant messaging and so on - the games have been known to initiate conversation
- IRC channels
- real world artifacts related to the game in play
- real world events utilizing actors who interact with the players who attend
These games often have a specific goal of not only involving the player with the story and/or fictional characters but of connecting them to each other. Many game puzzles can be solved only by the collective and collaborative efforts of multiple players.
Players, however, may be driven by conflicting motivations and thus may not always be trustworthy.
Brief history
- The first wildly successful ARG was a game developed to promote the movie A.I. by a small team at Microsoft. At its peak, this game was being played simultaneously by many thousands of users, and created something of a cultural phenomenon when it was released; it was referred to by its developers (and now by players, as well) as "The Beast," and is considered the granddaddy of the genre it created.
- One of the earliest large-scale examples of this was the EA game known as Majestic. Though the game itself suffered commercial failure and had significant problems, it remains a useful initial case study for the genre. While development on Majestic began before the "The Beast" was launched, Majestic was made available to the public at the tail end of this A.I.-related campaign. [Change Agents Out of Control (http://www.unfiction.com/compendi/games/ca.ooc/)] was an early ARG that actually grew from the demise of Majestic.
- A more recent ARG is the Haunted Apiary ARG, which was developed in relation to the Xbox game Halo 2 and set in the vast fictional universe that has grown around the Marathon-Halo franchise. This ARG departed from the traditional puzzle-led form to be more story-led. the Haunted Apiary is currently regarded to have been the most successful ARG to date, in terms of audience size and participation.
- Likely in response to the Haunted Apiary, Nintendo developed another ARG, Channel 51, which was centered around a fictional company called Orbis Labs. This ARG was used as a promotional vehicle for Nintendo's now-released game Metroid Prime 2.
- In January 2005, This Is Not A Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming (http://www.immersivegaming.com) was released, the first book to cover the phenomenon of Alternate Reality Gaming in detail, providing an overview and history of the genre, and tips for players and would-be puppetmasters.
Terminology
- ARG - the abbreviation for Alternate Reality Game
- ARGonaut - a term sometimes used by players of ARGs to refer to themselves
- The Beast - the promotional game for the movie A.I.
- Beasting - to play an ARG (deprecated)
- Cloudmakers - the original group that took on "The Beast". They are also credited with coining most of the terminology.
- Curtain - the layers of plot, technology and social contract between the players and the PuppetMasters
- Evan Chan - the fictional character murdered in Beast.
- Guide - a narrative of the experiences of gameplay, including the process of clue discovery and puzzle solving.
- PuppetMasters - the usually secret group that controls a ARG
- Rabbit Hole - the initial page or clue that drives the player into the game.
- Trail - a reference list of sites, clues and other items found during gameplay
Main Resources
- Alternate Reality Gaming Network (http://www.argn.com/) - the largest and most complete resource available for players of online collaborative alternate reality games
- cloudmakers.org (http://www.cloudmakers.org/) - the first famous group of the genre
- deaddrop.us - Dedicated to alternate reality gaming with a heavy focus on PuppetMastering and behind the scenes content.
- unfiction.com (http://www.unfiction.com) - a news and fan site for ARG's.
- unforums (http://www.unforums.com) - message boards dedicated to ARGs since September 2002.
- Meta Unlimited (http://www.metaunlimited.com) - Meta Unlimited is a spoiler-free resource for the players to discuss the genre and ideals.
- Reality Gaming Alliance (http://www.rgalliance.com) - Opt-in to be notified when new games are discovered.
- ARGInsider (http://www.arginsider.com) - - Relatively new ARG news site, growing rapidly.
- Immersion Unlimited (http://www.immersionunlimited.com) - site for players to solve puzzles without spoiling the immersion effect the game establishes.
Other Relevant Sites
- Collective Detective (http://www.collectivedetective.org/) - Complete resources including news, information, trail sections, forums, chat and many other tools, all in one location (no longer involved with ARGs; archives still exist)
- Dave Szulborski (http://www.daveszulborski.com) - - homepage of Dave Szulborski, the creator of five ARGs and the author of This Is Not A Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming, a resource book about ARGs.
- The Dionaea House (http://www.dionaea-house.com) - Horror Alternate Reality Game used to promote a movie screenplay.
- Immersive Gaming (http://www.immersivegaming.com) - - home of This Is Not A Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming by Dave Szulborski, a book covering the Theory, History, and Making of an ARG.
- Project MU (http://www.metacortechs.com/mumowmow/) - a widely played alternate reality game based on The Matrix
- ARGeuro (http://www.argeuro.net) - Another great ARG resource site with an introduction to the genre in several languages.
Related Terms and Sites
Immersive Reality Gaming (IRG) - A sub-genre of Alternate Reality Gaming in which the players control and drive the game's storyline, rather than the puppetmasters. This term may be confusing, as many Alternate Reality Games already allow the players to control elements of the story, an element which began with a popular vote at the end of the very first ARG, "The Beast." Immersive Reality Games just hold more elements similiar to the aforementioned through the entire story.
- IRGamingA (http://www.irgaminga.com) - Immersive Reality Gaming Association is a new resource focused on this spinoff sub-genre.
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