[arg_discuss] is ARG just a marketing technique to the press?

[Ian Millington]

> The key is that we have to have something that we can show those investors to convince them to come on board.


Really? Surely any investor is going to ask 'how do you make any
money' at some point...


> I feel ARGs can be as or more successful entertainment venues contrasting t.v. And movies.


By what metric? Certainly not by the metric that investors will use.

The genre isn't ready for serious investment because it doesn't have a
convincing business model (which is where we came in). So advergaming,
experimental and grassroots stuff is all there is. Clearly nothing
wrong with any of them, but not comparable with established
multi-billion dollar industries.

On business models, a quick question, because I don't have the
encyclopedic knowledge of ARGs some here do. Is there any game that
has made generating revenue for the producers part of the game? So the
player base is tasked with working out how the developers get paid
what they need to in order to progress? Could be part of the story
(John needs to raise X for some in-game event, Jane is running a
business and needs to stay in business to keep the story alive)? ARGs
benefit from having a well above average intelligence of players - as
long as you let people see behind the curtain on the rationale (for
transparency's sake and to avoid committing fraud) would players do
it?

Ian.