[arg_discuss] Greetings and a Question

[fono at dgp.toronto.edu]

Hi Alex,

It's about a month overdue, but I've got a few suggestions as well, beyond
the excellent ones that Christy already contributed. My experience in this
area comes from working on TorGame, which was a large ARG situated in
Toronto. Hopefully this is still of some use!

CONTEXT-SPECIFIC GAMEPLAY

It's really easy to create puzzles and challenges that simply exist within
the environment. This is the natural way of doing things, since most games
are completely constructed. A standard puzzle brings together elements
that are strictly of the designers' choosing; any limitations are
self-imposed. If you take a puzzle like that, and put it in the sort of
situated ARG you want to do, that's a puzzle that "simply exists with the
environment" -- it's independent from the particular physical context of
your game, and could just as easily be transposed to another locale.
Conversely, you could create puzzles and challenges that depend highly on
the unique features of your environment. Here's another way to look at it:
when solving a puzzle, are players looking closely at a piece of paper, or
the world around them? I don't think there's anything inherently wrong
with the former, but the latter is undeniably cooler. Being forced to
engage thoroughly with the physical world has a couple of payoffs: One, it
heightens the sense of being involved in an actual event -- something that
is truly happening, as opposed to a story that someone is merely telling.
Two, it can be genuinely powerful when some sort of concrete artifact is
implicated in whatever context-specific plot you develop. Imagine being
able to suspend your disbelief enough to feel that a 50-year old sculpture
was built specifically to act as a key for some sort of cipher. It can do
huge things for immersion.

Of course, the space between environment-independent challenges and
environment-specific challenges is a continuum. It's a relatively simple
matter to take a standard template and replace the specifics, such as
generating a trail or crossword with clues from your surroundings. At the
other end of the spectrum are challenges that couldn't be even conceived
outside of the given context. Coming up with those sorts of ideas can be
hugely taxing, mind you. My general approach has been to work backwards --
start by exploring the environment in which the game will take place, and
see what piques your interest. If you're trying to make puzzles, look for
coherent patterns of information that can be used to build some sort of
code.

PHYSICAL GAMEPLAY

In my experience, people are looking for a different sort of experience
when they play a situated ARG vs. an online ARG. A big part of the
former's appeal is the get-off-your-butt-and-onto-the-streets angle. This
is the same angle that "big" games tap, like urban capture-the-flag or
C2BK. This is the "it's fun to run around" angle.

Physical activity releases the endorphins and provides a tactile
experience that strictly celebral online games just can't match. I'm not
talking about playing touch football or anything. I'm talking about
walking around, exploring. I'm talking about climbing a tree to find a
clue. Although some sort of high energy intelude might not be a bad idea
either. In TorGame, one of the 13 game days was dedicated to a 1-hour game
of modified Payphone Warriors. The great outdoors is one of the great
things a game like this has going for it, and it's important to play to
your advantages. On that note --

SOCIAL GAMEPLAY

Unless you're building this game to be a strictly solitary experience,
which would not be a good idea for so many reasons, you're going to want
to build in opportunities for collaboration. This happens almost
automatically in online ARGs because of the nature of the online space. It
will also happen automatically in a situated ARG, because people like to
play games with their friends, and they will invite their friends to join
in -- regardless of whether you specifically build in mechanisms to
exploit or support this behaviour. However, including such mechanisms can
improve the experience.

You can, for instance, create challenges that specifically require
collaboration. One fun thing to do -- which is generally impractical in
online ARGs but quite feasible in situated ARGs due to the limited player
base -- is to give each player one piece of a particularly important
puzzle. But more specifically, you should try to cater to the actual
*process* of collaborative play. This is as much a usability issue as it
is one of game design. I once played a game where puzzles were distributed
on paper -- and despite the fact that players were all in groups of about
8, each group only got a single copy of each puzzle. This made playing
together immensely frustrating. To me, this game said "screw you and your
buddies." Your game should say, "go ahead, hang out, play together." Your
game should say, "It's a sunny day, why not find a nearby picnic table,
lay everything out, and spend some time figuring it out?"

Cheers,
David



> -----Original Message-----

> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org]

> On

> Behalf Of Alex Jarvis

> Sent: Thursday, 17 May 2007 10:29

> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG

> Subject: [arg_discuss] Greetings and a Question

>

> Hello all, My name is Alex Jarvis- long time listener, first time Caller.

> I

> am a college student in Connecticut hoping to bring Game Design to my

> campus

> due to the lack of any similar programs on the east coast, specifically

> the

> north east. I have been feverishly interested in ARG's since hearing of

> them

> - The idea of a world-wide mindgame somehow appeals to me :).

> Now, on topic; After one extremely revealing event* on my campus, it has

> been drawn to my attention that my campus would be ripe to host an ARG-

> however, as far as I know, it would be the odd man out, focusing around an

> actual physical location rather than world-wide website. Would anyone have

> literature, or tips, on how one might go about launching a "Local

> Alternate

> Reality Game" - With, of course, full permission of the administration :).

>

> Danke!

> --

> Alex Jarvis

> Ludology Student

> http://ludologistjarvi.blogspot.com/

>

> * The event- in our cafeteria hall, which is obsessively noisy, there are

> several television screens on the walls. One day, one by one, each buzzed

> and went out. The room, always roaring, drew deathly silent for a full 20

> minutes. I had to cover my mouth from giggling and began jotting down on

> my

> notebook immediately. The fact that there is a graveyard on campus and we

> are considered one of the area's most haunted in the area means that I

> really have a juicy field to play on.

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