[arg_discuss] Advertising in games

[Andrea Phillips]

On May 26, 2006, at 1:55 AM, Colin Gehrig wrote:

> It will be interesting to see how it plays out and what the player and
> media reaction is to it. Will this see a whole new generation of ARGs?
> More integration between TV shows and web content? Or just a bunch of
> second rate copies?
>
>   -colin

Well, looking back at the Beast, to I Love Bees, and on to Art of the  
Heist, nobody should be shocked that a game is being used as *gasp*  
an ADVERTISING VEHICLE! We've got some strong roots in advertising,  
and I think gained a lot from it, too. I think what we're starting to  
see here, though, is a similar evolution as TV went though; we used  
to have Wild Kingdom, sponsored by Mutual of Omaha. Now we have  
product placements (good guys use Apple; bad guys use Alienware...)

As with any other product placement, though, I suspect the outcome  
will be a need for subtlety, or risk offending your playerbase. I  
don't really see this, though, as a separate generation of ARGs, so  
much as a continuing growth of the same basic idea (that's my  
'massively multi-player participatory storytelling.') You could make  
a pretty decent case for something like American Idol or Big Brother  
being an ARG, I think, albeit very limited in scope. Reality TV and  
alternate reality gaming have, deep down inside, an awful lot in common.

--
Andrea Phillips
http://www.perplexcity.com
http://www.deusexmachinatio.com