[arg_discuss] Res: Introduction and a blog post

[André Sirangelo]

Hi Kars,  you were right on the spot when you wrote that the goal was to entertain. Raising awareness for the Amazon and making the headlines was a great 'side effect', but not the main goal

Thanks for the post!

(if you want more info on the project for your conference just mail me off list)

André


----- Mensagem original ----
De: Kars Alfrink <kars at leapfrog.nl>
Para: arg_discuss at igda.org
Enviadas: Segunda-feira, 28 de Abril de 2008 5:48:26
Assunto: [arg_discuss] Introduction and a blog post

Dear all,

I thought I'd decloak and briefly introduce myself, the main reason
being a blog post I published that is based on some of the discussions
here.

My name is Kars Alfrink, I am a Dutch freelance interaction designer
currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark. I have a strong interest in
game design, and have been straddling the line between interaction
design and game design for some time. I tend to gravitate towards the
fringe of gaming which is why I am a lurker for some time on this list
(and a few others, such as the mobile one).

In preparation for a conference I will be speaking at [1] I have bean
posting on the topic of games and cultural resistance at my blog. The
most recent one in that series takes the example of Zona Incerta and
discusses how its model might be used by activists (and some other
related ruminations). I'd love to get your comments on it, either here
or at the blog. [2] To make sure I won't offend anybody (this is an
honest attempt at discourse, not an effort to get more people to visit
my blog) I'll copy the post here, for your convenience:

START COPIED POST

Zona Incerta and using ARGs for activism (originally published at
Leapfroglog on April 23 2008)

For a while now, I have been lurking on the mailing list of the
Alternate Reality Games IGDA SIG. ARGs are games that use the real
world as their platform. They usually revolve around a mystery to be
unraveled. I find ARGs interesting for the way they clash with the
game design notion of the magic circle. The magic circle can be
defined as the time and space within which a game is played. With
traditional games, players are aware of the magic circle and enter it
willingly. Not so with ARGs, as the following example I found on the
list shows:1

The producers of Zona Incerta, a Brazilian ARG, published a video on
YouTube. In it the 'senior marketing director' of Arkhos Biotechnology
asks viewers to help them buy the Amazon rainforest and reminds them
"the Amazon belongs to no country, it belongs to the world".

The video was mistaken by many as real–including two senators and one
governor. On the list, André Sirangelo, the game's writer, says:

    "It wasn't long until some journalists connected the dots and
found out the company didn't exist. That's when it really exploded -
after all, there are lots of companies that actually do want to buy
the rainforest, but it's not every day a powerful senator makes a
speech about one that doesn't really exist."

Because the game was sponsored, they had to come out and offer a
public apology. Some people took it in a good way, others were less
amused:

    "They wanted to sue and maybe even arrest us for making a video
that was against the nation's sovereignty and all that. It was all BS
though, because there wasn't really a crime. We never published fake
news, we just put the video on YouTube and some people tought it was
real. Not our fault! :)"

Clearly, the ambiguous nature of ARGs is key to what makes them fun.
Knowing that people might mistake things for real is thrilling to ARG
developers. Players are challenged to recognize the content that is
part of an ARG—rewarding them with the feeling that they are part of a
secret society.

So far, the genre remains a niche.2 But what if ARGs take off in a big
way? What if the mediascape is flooded by ARG content?

Will we, similar to what is now being proposed for ubicomp, need
recognizable iconography that tells people: "warning, alternate
reality content"?

I wonder what would make a good image. Perhaps the March Hare?

Zona Incerta's aim was to entertain. Despite this, they raised
awareness for the Amazon's plight. Would the format of ARGs be useful
to people with another agenda? What if activists start using them to
make the future they want to avert—or desire to bring about—tangible
to the public?

END COPIED POST

Thanks for the great conversations here, I'll be sure to keep
following along (and perhaps contribute again, in future).

Regards,

Kars

[1] – <http://www.thewebandbeyond.nl/>
[2] – <http://leapfrog.nl/blog/archives/2008/04/23/zona-incerta-and-using-args-for-activism/>

-- 
Kars
Christiaan Pieter Alfrink, M.A.
Leapfrog
kars at leapfrog.nl
+45 412 642 49
www.leapfrog.nl
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