[arg_discuss] Tools for ARG developers

Michael Monello mmonello at campfirenyc.com
Wed Nov 28 17:42:13 EST 2007


It's actually not so difficult, because at the end of the day, and ARG
is actually very linear in that it happens over time.

I always start with a written narrative document, a "script" if you
will, that basically tells the story. It details the characters, the
relationships, and all the events. That 6-20 page document is then
distilled into a chart that is organized by time and media. For example:

MEDIA Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Site 1 action action action
Site 2 action action action
Twitter action action action
TV action
Radio action action
etc.

Then, everything gets put into calendar program like Google's. This
way, you can see things by narrative, by media, and by date.

I don't try to script every possible outcome and scenario in advance
-- you'd go crazy. We discuss those scenarios extensively, but
ultimately we make those branching decisions as they come. I believe
this makes for a game/narrative that allows for the most audience
interaction and makes the whole experience more electric.

It also makes your life a living hell. Enjoy!

;)

Best,

Michael Monello
Partner, Campfire
---
http://www.campfirenyc.com


On Nov 28, 2007, at 1:05 PM, Tony Walsh wrote:


> I've used a spreadsheet the size of a meeting-room wall for past

> games. On one axis, you have all the actors (characters and other

> forces). On the other axis, you have all the major events: This

> could be episodes, scenes, plot-points, etc. You then know what

> every actor in your game is supposed to be doing during your

> storyline. With the entire thing printed out, you can mark it up,

> add sticky notes, etc. Probably a giant whiteboard would be ideal

> for this.

>

> --

> Tony Walsh

> email tony at secretlair.com

> mobile/sms +1 416 894 0894

> home http://www.secretlair.com

> blog http://www.clickableculture.com

>

>

>

> marc at thedigitaldemons.com wrote:

>> Hi guys,

>>

>> I'm in the process of outlining a grassroots game, and I want to do

>> it in quite a bit of detail. I was thinking of both spider diagrams

>> and flow charts, but I'm unsure how to best document the

>> interactions in a game. I'm finding it's incredibly hard to

>> document such a non-linear game in a linear form.

>>

>> Any tips on how to do this, what level of abstraction to go into

>> when documenting a game. What sort of tools do you guys use? (Mac/Pc)

>>

>> Thanks,

>>

>> Marc

>>

>>

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