[arg_discuss] Insights on Majestic

[Christy Dena]

I didn't play it so I can't give hands-on knowledge. I'm procrastinating at
the moment so I will share a summary of the good and bad things suggested by
two publications:

1) Dave Szulborski's 'A Majestic Failure?' in This is Not a Game (2005),
105-117:

Problems:
1.1) It launched long after the expected date, losing the momentum of the
pre-game marketing;
1.2) It launched long after the expected date - which meant it came after
the highly successful The Beast;
1.3) It was advertised as a game - which after The Beast, players found
anti-ARG-like;
1.4) It had interfaces - which after The Beast, players found anti-ARG-like;
1.5) It involved a subscription fee - which after The Beast, players found
anti-ARG-like;
1.6) It involved a subscription fee - which was unlike the existing free
Internet entertainment culture;
1.7) The first game communication was about the game problems (losing player
trust therefore);
1.8) the game was not on-demand, there were short periods when the game was
played, at the game's discretion;
1.9) the game had 3 'unrealistic' (anti-ARG) modes - 'standby' (no
gameplay), 'act' and 'acquire';
1.10) episodic format - which had additional periods of inactivity;
1.11) designers did not fulfill promises: amount, frequency and length of
episodes were changed and reduced;
1.12) Temporary suspension of game after 9/11 - fanned player suspicions
that the game was having problems;
1.13) Placed fictional links & real world links beside each other in game
updates;
1.14) using a chatbot, pretending it was real
1.15) too high a fee ($10 per month for 15mins of gameplay per day)...

Good things:
* first game to announce itself as an ARG & still be one;
* well-produced game assets;
* intriguing plot-twists;
* enjoyable hacking scenarios & interesting puzzles;
* delivered story content through audio files delivered through a phone;
* blended real world history with the fiction well;
* real-time communication methods;
* real-time story progression;
* encouraged & embraced fan fiction & incorporated some of the fan plot into
the game;
* fan fiction included 30 bio sites & miniARGs;
* inspirited many PMs such as Dave;


2) Carol Handler Miller in 'Digital Storytelling' (2004), p.289-292 says:

Problems:
2a) Launched after The Beast - people thought it was imitating The Beast
(which it wasn't);
2b) Reduced believability due to being marketed as a game;
2c) The Beast was free, while Majestic was subscription-based;
2d) The Beast was a continuous unbroken experience, while the Majestic was
episodic;
2e) Majestic was single-player (solo-play) and so didn't facilitate the
collaborative community The Beast did;
2f) Fixed storyline - players could not impact the Majestic storyline at
all;
2g) Targeting newbie and experienced gamers & leaving both short-changed;
2h) Inability to move at one's own pace;
2i) Too intrusive (calls at home etc);
2j) Suffered from The Beast comparisons;
2k) Unsatisfactory buddy system;
2l) Unsatisfactory story - weak, too many gaps between play & too linear;
2m) Unsatisfactory puzzles - rigged to fail & little reward;
2n) Limited availability - game could only be played in the USA;
2o) Unfortunate timing - 9/11 climate made conspiracy theories unappealing.

Good things:
* Lots of fan creation: 30 biographic sites for the secondary characters &
an additional 380 fan sites;
* game's assets were high quality made by Hollywood professionals;
* realistic bot engine through IM;
* ingenious start - authentic message about game's failures;

Cheers,
Christy

-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org] On
Behalf Of Beth Aileen Dillon
Sent: Sunday, 20 January 2008 17:15
To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
Subject: [arg_discuss] Insights on Majestic

So I've heard Majestic referred to as a great failure, and I'm
wondering why this is or if anyone had any experiencing playing and/or
designing it. Was it that ARGs were so new? Was it EA's monthly fees?
The content to player involvement ratio? Or was it not actually a
failure and I've heard wrong?

I'm really curious if anyone has hands-on knowledge!

- Beth

-- 
Beth Aileen Dillon
PhD Student, Simon Fraser University
School of Interactive Arts and Technology
Research Assistant, Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace
http://www.bethadillon.com
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