[arg_discuss] [players] Communities and resources

Sat Apr 8 21:14:57 EDT 2006

Jonathan, my post was definitely not a criticism of ARGN. I realize  
it is a volunteer effort and I've always felt that it is probably the  
most important voice for ARGs today.

I'm definitely going to drop you a line when I'm ready with the next  
one, Jonathan -- as I said I have no issues opening up the process to  
a writer for a good "launch" feature story.

I realize there is a tendency for PMs to stay way behind the curtain  
-- when we launched Audi we really didn't understand where the  
boundaries were and whether it was appropriate to connect with ARGN  
in advance or not, but I think these things change over time.

The concept of TINAG is a very soft line, in my opinion. I think it  
is bad for the genre if those behind a game have to remain completely  
hidden until it is over -- there is no other form of media today,  
video games, music, books, movies, TV, where the people and companies  
responsible have to remain hidden from view until after you bought  
it, and it is silly for ARGs to function that way.

I'm not saying there should be monster media blitzes all over giving  
all kinds of information out, but I can't imagine committing the kind  
of time it takes to play and ARG without knowing who is behind it. I  
think that's one reason why so many people get angry over imploded or  
poorly designed games -- they don't know who is behind it and so they  
dive in expecting the world and when it turns out bad then everyone  
is angry.

Best,

Mike
__________
haxan | films | http://www.haxan.com

On Apr 8, 2006, at 11:38 AM, Jonathan Waite wrote:

> As a response to this, and also to Mike's comments:
>
> ARGN has always been, and continues to be, a news site/ARG network  
> that is staffed and maintained by volunteers.  As senior editor, I  
> do try to make sure we get stories out on a timely basis -- either  
> I ask the writers to investigate a lead, discussion thread or  
> ongoing game, or I write the article myself.  Often, the stories we  
> preview come directly from game tips that are sent in to us through  
> our contact page.  Sometimes, the stories we feature come directly  
> from the threads in the News & Rumors section of the Unfiction  
> forums.  Rarely do we get a 'heads-up' insider's view from a  
> creative team or a publicity manager.
>
> As far as the comments from Mike that the site seems to be "written  
> purely from a player's perspective" that "puts ARGN behind the  
> curve," I think this is a valid and truthful statement to make.   
> However, take into consideration that the writers on the site are,  
> for the most part, players first and writers second.  Also, the  
> fact that the writers are volunteering their time and energy, and  
> (to the best of my knowledge) are not professional journalists  
> means that ARGN, for the time being, may always be "behind the  
> curve."  If that means that players are going to have to go  
> elsewhere for comprehensive, daily news about Alternate Reality  
> Gaming, then that's the way it goes.  I don't see that sort of  
> resource out there currently, so I guess ARGN is as good as it  
> gets.   Is that a bad thing?  Not in my opinion.  I believe (all  
> biases being what they are) that we are keeping track of ARG news  
> as best as anyone out there can, and have done more than our fair  
> share of 'digging' to make sure that all ARGs get their fair shake  
> on the site.  But we are certainly not perfect.
>
> This is not to say that we aren't growing, as we have recently  
> brought on two additional writers, and our presence at recent  
> events (GDC, SXSW) show that we are serious about this sort of  
> reporting.  We can't yet support our staff financially (either  
> fully or in part), but we are making a meager ad revenue, which in  
> turn, is currently keeping ARGN's hosting costs covered.  ARGN is  
> one of the news sources that is indexed in Google News, and our  
> articles are often featured in the Google News Alerts for ARG- 
> related search terms.  We have been in touch with some of the  
> creative teams that will be releasing games this year, and continue  
> to do our best to get information out in a way that is  
> opportunistic to not only the the Puppetmasters and the existing  
> ARG community, but to the world as a whole.  Our writers create  
> texts that are easily accessible and to-the-point, and I could not  
> be happier with their dedication to the site.
>
> I think as a representative of the site, we would ask the people  
> involved on this board the same questions Wendy asked:  Would you  
> let someone from ARGN have a sneak peek at your next project?  If  
> so, at what point?  Our writers are comfortable (and professional)  
> enough to know that all information shared by the ARGN staff about  
> a particular game is kept in-house and not released to the public,  
> even if those writers are playing the game, or planning to.  I have  
> talked to other people involved in this industry about this very  
> same thing (Adrian Hon comes to mind) but would love to know how  
> other creators of these games feel about sharing information with  
> ARGN.  So, in short, we welcome any open, two-way communication any  
> of you want to set up with any of our team.
>
> If this sounded like an advertisement for ARGN, I apologize.  I  
> just wanted to address some of the open questions what were present  
> in the recent threads, and in particular, respond to Wendy and Mike  
> about their comments.  Thanks for your time!
>
> Jonathan Waite
> Alternate Reality Gaming Network
>
> From: despain at quantumcontent.com
>> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] [players] Communities and resources
>> To: "Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG" <arg_discuss at igda.org>
>> Message-ID:
>> 	<3653.69.144.84.21.1144480533.squirrel at webmail.quantumcontent.com>
>> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>>
>>
>> "Michael Monello" <mike at haxan.com> wrote:
>>
>>> If ARGN got inside the games and broke stories that were more
>>> exclusive (i.e. not observations that any player could make) then I
>>> imagine it might become a more critical read to people in the
>>> advertising, marketing, and gaming industries.
>>>
>>
>> So I'll ask. Would you let someone from ARGN have a sneak peek at
>> your next project? If so, at what point? Days before launch? After  
>> launch,
>> while it's still in the early days?
>>
>> In other industries, it's easy to find out what projects are  
>> coming down
>> the line. Reporters can go to their press contacts and get the  
>> backstage
>> access they need. Does the ARG developers community need to start  
>> inviting
>> people in for sneak peeks?
>>
>> Wendy Despain
>> quantumcontent.com
>>
>>
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