[arg_discuss] ARG competition

[Michael Cox]

I don't know whether it's me noticing them more, or whether this is a real
effect, but there seems to have been an increase in grassroots ARGs and this
got me thinking about PMs and how they are created, practice and get to be
great artisans (ARGtisans?).

For a nascent genre it would be great to encourage this, and innovation, in
some way, and I thought that a competition of some description would be a
way to do it - analogous to short film competitions.  It could target both
the exisiting ARG community, uni courses in relevant disciplines.

Then I got to thinking about how you would submit an ARG to a competition
and came up with three options, though I'm sure there are more:

1. submit an outline for an ARG

2. submit a specifically made ARG of short (a couple of days?) duration

3. ARGs PM'd and completed during the previous year submitted after the
event

There are obvious problems with all these - the first would be hard to judge
(potential for success rather than actual achievement) though perhaps the
prize could be some sort of support (cash, mentoring?) for production of the
ARG.

The second is most similar to short film comps, but suffers in that you
limit your pool of submissions.  It would be the most difficult to enter and
not terribly inclusive.

The third avoids the problems of the second and first, but then the criteria
for inclusion needs to be carefully designed and a requirement for record
keeping on the part of the PM.  Which leads me to what actually is being
judged (I'm ignoring by whom for now) - would it be the final experience
from the players point of view, the originality, the planning?

My half-formed nuggets of ideas that need chewing over - does anyone have
comments?

cheers

Mike

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