[arg_discuss] 2006 ARG SIG Whitepaper: Discussion

[Kristian Leth DR UNG TV]

Chris Martin (of Coldplay fame) wrote:

>> What is religion's TINAG principle?

>>

>>   

>

>Taking fiction and pretending it's all true.

>

>I would go further but my magic friend in the sky is asking me to burn 

>some Catholics and the petrol station closes at 6.00.

>

>Chris


While funny, I think that's a simplification. From both sides of the comparison.

Often good ARGs incorporate real elements (political and social) and blend them with the ficititious, which - in the hallowed tradition of conspiracy theorists - makes the subject not simply fiction and not simply documentary. Which is why truth can be found even in the classic Illuminatus Trilogy, which makes no pretense as to its character as a novel. By AUGMENTING  our already wellknown world with facts and fiction mixed to blur the boundaries, the effects are something else entirely. And building on that tradition ARGs often need to have a "what if?" element. An idea that this could actually be SOMETHING, if not real, then a version of reality.

And it's this uncertainty that makes the TINAG principle something other than a mere suspension of disbelief. I mean, the player feel a need to uphold the fiction because - IMO - that way they can keep holding on to whatever fragment of a hope that this is all real. Even though they know it's a game. But "what if it held some truth?"

And re: religion, it's something more than pretending a fiction is true. The TINAG concept for religious people is not a "close your eyes and hope"-thing. It's a deadly serious belief that what they believe is closely interwoven with reality. 

And in that way the two concepts are similar: It's not a mere division between fiction and reality, the concepts blur to the extent where it would be hard to make an ARG truly TINAGy (?) without incorporating truth and reality. And on the other hand it would be (and is) hard for us to grasp religion without aknowledging that what we believe fictitious is in any sense that matters 100% REAL to religious people.

Kristian