[arg_discuss] Communities and resources

[Guy Parsons]

Regarding the value of previews,

Mike says:

For example, in Audi I think it would have been amazing to have a
feature story come out in advance giving players a sense of what was
to come...

But Adrian says:

...there's nary a negative preview out there.
Let's just say that this limits their usefulness, not just to players
but also inevitably to developers.

Given the nature of ARGs, I wouldn't really expect ARGN to be running
previews that make critical judgements on forthcoming games. Instead, I'd
see them as opportunities for PM's to inform potential players about the
nature of the game ahead, rather than try and "prove" its overall quality.
What sort of tone will it be? What sort of pace will it operate at? What
type of cool new stuff will you be introducing? I'd have thought answering
these sort of questions is bound to be useful to players. You needn't get
previewers to actually play the game, and for the reasons stated previously
(that doing so would be a poor imitation of the game proper, and would leave
ARGN writers unable to take part in future) I'm not sure doing so would be
particularly productive.

Anyway, this is less of a novel concept than it might appear. In the Perplex
City case, not only was there a pre-game, but promotion similar to that
mentioned above, even if it was dispersed amongst many interviews. For
example, skywriting was often mentioned in order to illustrate the
"real-worldness" of the game, and UV / heat-sensitive inks were mentioned
regarding the cards. Yet in both examples, this was way before the players
actually saw those elements featured. "Watch the skies!" became something of
a catchphrase, but it was understood that these were examples necessary in
order to describe the scope of the game-to-come.

All in all, I'd see previews as an opportunity to create a back-of-box
"blurb" for ARGs, rather than an exercise in critical discourse. (And folks,
please don't think ARGN is entirely omniscient - while deferring to Jonathan
in matters of editorial policy, I think I can safely say we appreciate
whatever information you'd care to share with us. Exactly how much
information is, as ever, up to you.)

Guy Parsons
guy.lewis.parsons at gmail.com