[arg_discuss] Open Source ARGs

[David Flor]

I think I might hold the record for the longest fan-created unFiction 
thread that was based on a game that, at the time, didn't exist.

For my currently running game (which I call "ShadowWatch", but the UF 
guys refer to as "BoL/SiD"), I created a membership page shortly after I 
finished LGL. As a result of that page, and the months between that 
page's discovery and the official launch of the game, in order for 
players to keep interested they began creating their own story.

So my little run of the mill ARG, which hadn't even been launched yet 
and nobody knew anything about, ballooned in to the 49-page "Pastry 
Wars" thread on unFiction ( 
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25020 ). Several 
people on UF now have their pastry affiliation in their signature, even 
in the form of graphics. There have also been two ARGs since then based 
on the whole pastry theme, all generated by fans (they asked for my 
blessing, and I obviously encouraged it).

It felt kind of weird that the "pre-game" and the two new games the fans 
created were more captivating than my own game, and it is something that 
to this day is kind of hard to live up to.

As part of LGL I invited fans to submit artistic recommendations - 
books, artwork, songs, etc... - and the response I got was fantastic. 
And I did end up using their recommendations for game content (for 
Joshua's reviews and for elements of the "four paths" puzzle set). It 
was kind of pleasing to see their reaction when the game responded to 
their suggestions and their input, and the sensation they had that they 
were in control of the game made it all the more enjoyable.

For my next game I am kicking around some ideas about making it more 
player driven, mainly because it's going to have some artistic aspects 
that I am not very good at. We'll see how it goes.

Tnx & Rgds...
David Flor - dflor at dlimedia.com
Darklight Interactive - http://www.dlimedia.com/

"Omne ignotum pro magnifico"


Brooke Thompson wrote:

> On Jul 30, 2008, at 3:09 PM, Andrea Phillips wrote:

>>  And the very concept of

>> gamejacking that's come into existence since then. The act of a player

>> creating within the context of the game world has taken on hostile

>> connotations and is actively discouraged by the community at this

>> point. Which, well, it's too bad, and in retrospect I feel terrible

>> that I was a part of fostering that culture of intolerance. Sigh.

>

>

> I disagree with this. A number of players and puppetmasters love it 

> when players create within the context of the game world. They just 

> like it to be done within some parameters in order to avoid confusion.

>

> Look at WWO - the entire game was about players creating within the 

> framework provided by the puppetmasters. They were putting themselves 

> into the story and letting the player imagination take the lead.

>

> Beyond WWO, a number of games have created and called out for 

> player-generated content: from images of players doing things to short 

> stories and articles written within the game universe. Some games let 

> players take control over certain aspects of the narrative in order to 

> let them lead the direction of the game. My favorite forum posts are 

> not "SOLVED!" but are the ones where players are taking game elements 

> and expanding upon them - from photoshopping game images to latching 

> onto characters and other narrative elements to create wild 

> speculations of what this might all mean and where it might go. Isn't 

> that a form of creation and story building within the context of the 

> game universe?

>

> It's all about the parameters created (either by the player community 

> or the designers of the experience) in order to reduce the confusion 

> on the player-base as a whole. If a framework was set-up that would 

> reduce or support that confusion (such as the one created by WWO), I 

> think that players would actively embrace "gamejacking".

>

> (this doesn't even get into Lonelygirl 15 -- they actually hired one 

> of their "gamejackers" to help create some of their more arg-ish 

> elements)

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