[arg_discuss] Loose fish project

[Brooke Thompson]

On Nov 14, 2007 9:15 AM, Andrea Phillips wrote:

> On Nov 14, 2007 7:41 AM, Adrian Hon <adrian at mssv.net> wrote:

> > On 13 Nov 2007, at 15:23, Andrea Phillips wrote:

> >

> > > I'm starting to think (and I can't claim this thought is original)

> > > that when people say 'ARG' the meaning they're trying to fumble

> > > towards is something like 'natively cross-media content.'

> >

> >

> > I don't think it's even as focused as that; I've seen people calling

> > games that exist only on one medium an ARG.

> 

> You know, I almost said "digital native content," but that doesn't do

> justice to things like ILB, where the entirely offline component is so

> crucial. But yeah, a very unfocused term.


I'm not sure that stating that ILB had an entirely offline component is
accurate. Sure, the payphone activity was offline, but only to a degree.
Every time that a call was made and answered appropriately, the website was
updated showing not only that the call was answered but also including a
link to the sound file that contained the story element.

Not only was the internet crucial for informing people where and when to
answer phones, but also in assembling the story. While it would have been
possible to have ILB without the internet (perhaps using a phone system of
some sorts in conjunction with free weeklies), it would not have been
feasible.

Was it Sebastian Mary on if:book that called ARGs the first stirrings of
net-native literature? I like that term "net-native". Of course it refers to
the internet but, on a far more abstract level, it suggests the network of
players and designers that are responsible for bringing the story to life.
We all have the pieces of ARGs that excite us the most - the story telling,
the game play, the immersion, etc. The piece that has attracted me the most
has always been that network of people.