[arg_discuss] A possible way forward?

[Christy Dena]

Hey everyone,

 

Just a thought about a possible way forward for the ARG SIG.

 

I, like many others on this list, would love to see ARGs as they are better
understood, as well as see ARGs develop in ways unimagined. One of the
continuing issues we've all spoken about many times on this list and
elsewhere, are public descriptions of ARGs, the wikipedia entry, ARG SIG
blog, ARG SIG whitepaper and so on. There has been some criticism (from
within and outside of the ARG community) of the whitepaper and wikipedia
entry - two high profile sources of information about ARGs. 

 

It seems to me that the reason both of these sources fail in some regards is
in their inappropriately comprehensive nature. In other words, the
whitepaper and wikipedia entry are trying to be too many things. What is
great about the whitepaper is that it brings together the various interests
and expertise of this ARG SIG. It is in some ways a mission statement for
all the possible initiatives the ARG SIG can achieve: descriptions of ARGs,
antecedents of ARGs, history of ARGs, types of ARGs, ARG design techniques,
economic models, ARGs in education & training, ARG research and so on. We
just need to address these separately, in the right place(s). 

 

It seems too that the ARG SIG blog and wikipedia have other obstacles too -
including lack of control over design and content (the wikipedia entry is
riddled with vanity spam). What if we got our own URL, like
www.IGDAARGSIG.org or whatever, and created our own quality-controlled
portal? 

 

I'm thinking of a site that provides descriptions on ARGs for artists,
producers and the press; has links to ARG resources & information on design
& economic modes as well as a much needed listing of the all the developers
working in the area. Examples of related sites on design are IPerG
(Integrated Project on Pervasive Gaming) website: http://www.iperg.org/ and
Gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com <http://www.gamasutra.com/>  and what
about Play Finland: http://www.playfinland.fi/ as an example of a portal
that promotes developers & their games? Also, considering many people have
important resources on their own sites, it would beneficial to provide links
to sites rather than insisting all info be housed in the one place, and
anonymously.

 

Irrespective of whether a new portal is a way forward, another issue is
getting initiatives happening. I want to see more articles about design for
instance! It seems that asking people to volunteer to do things hasn't
worked so well in the past. What about a Driver & Poke model? Yes, I just
made that up. People volunteer to be Drivers of certain initiative (and
rotate amongst each other so no single person is doing it the whole time).
Those Drivers call for volunteers to do things but also directly Poke, or
request an article or something from people they feel will provide a helpful
contribution? 

 

And then information such as the history, design techniques and research
into ARGs can be encouraged and find their proper home, and the whitepaper
and wiki entry can go back to doing their job. 

 

Over to youse all to add ideas, alter ideas or blow raspberries. :-)

 

Best,

Christy