[arg_discuss] Competitions with prizes and ARGs

[David Varela]

Certainly with Perplex City, the main impact was in PR. It was 'The £100,000
treasure hunt', and that got us a lot of headlines and free publicity, which
in turn attracted a lot of players.

For most of the game's duration (which was a while), the lure of the prize
wasn't really on anyone's mind. The prospect of a cash prize perhaps made
people feel a little more inclined to spend money on things like puzzle
cards, but I don't think anybody seriously considered it an investment with
any potential return other than enjoyment.

Towards the very end of the game, the prize loomed larger as an incentive
and it certainly helped build tension as well as publicity when the winner
was announced. Whether we got £100,000 worth of PR and players is open to
debate. But the vast majority of our players knew they were unlikely to win,
and they still played happily and felt satisfied at the end, even though
they 'lost'.

The dynamics might well be different in a game that offers smaller multiple
prizes, where the prospect of winning is greater. I'd be interested to hear
about what people have experienced in that situation.

David



On Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 10:09 AM, Christy Dena <
cdena at cross-mediaentertainment.com> wrote:


> Hey All,

>

>

>

> There are lots of things I've been wanting to ping the list about, but

> here

> is a quick one:

>

>

>

> There have been some ARGs and ARG-like projects that are competitions with

> prizes. For example: Perplex City, Vanishing Point, Legend of the Sacred

> Urns, We Tell Stories. Obviously the ARG can function without the prize,

> but

> the fact that it is there, is undeniable and constrains gameplay to some

> extent (due to legal restrictions). And sometimes the prize is something a

> client is after rather than the developer. But I'm wondering:

>

>

>

> *       Is offering a prize purely a way to lure newcomers and/or casual

> gamers?

> *       And do they find it successfully achieves that, or something else?

>

>

>

> Thanks in advance,

>

> Christy

>

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