[arg_discuss] Open Source ARGs

[Morbus Iff]

> to be a crutch, which would be bad...) So, I have two questions.

> First, is this actually a good idea that we should be thinking

> about? And second, how can someone best implement it? Maybe a


Something I'm working on is in this vein, but the roots were
there in a previous (not-traditional-ARG) game I did:

   http://www.gamegrene.com/wiki/Main_Page

Ghyll ran for about two years with the premise: "The basic idea is that 
each player takes on the role of a scholar, from before scholarly 
pursuits became professionalized (or possibly after they ceased to be). 
You are cranky, opinionated, prejudiced, and eccentric. You are also 
collaborating with a number of your peers -- the other players -- on the 
construction of an encyclopedia about Ghyll. Despite the fact that your 
peers are self-important, narrow-minded dunderheads, they are honest 
scholars. No matter how strained their interpretations are, their facts 
are as accurate as historical research can make them. So if you cite an 
entry, you have to treat its factual content as true! (Though you can 
argue vociferously with the interpretation and introduce new facts that 
shade the interpretation.)"

The ARG I'm currently spec'ing out (dunno if it'll go anywhere) will be 
considered "Ghyll Round 3" (the first two rounds having been played on 
the wiki via the Lexicon rules). Ghyll grew out of nothing - everything 
on the wiki was player made, and the goal was to accept everything as 
fact; a guiding principle of the Round 3 ARG would be much the same.

Everything in Ghyll is released under a Creative Commons license.

I'm envisioning situations where the players are given a chance to write 
as their own scholar for the Ghyll Encyclopedia. Accepted entries (with 
new "facts" and knowledge) become canon, and part of the existing 
Encyclopedia/wiki. Whilst I haven't fleshed them out, I see "me" and the 
players getting into factual "battles" - where the game presents a 
puzzle (or situation) and, instead of "solving" it, players write 
entries that make the situation less dangerous, worrisome, etc.

There will be open submissions in the sense that every player can submit 
an article for the Encyclopedia. But, the Encyclopedic organization 
already has precedents for quality control - the Encyclopedants. They'd 
be the ones who would finally "accept" an entry as fact (or fix any 
errors that blindly contradict current facts) - all others would be 
disregarded as unpublishable (and thus, not canon).


> your character write a blog post about her scary encounter with

> a freaky MiB looking for a middle-aged psychic. I think there's

> some really cool potential here.


See also Noteworthy, which I've been wanting to run for a while.

   http://www.allenvarney.com/noteworthy.html

-- 
Morbus Iff ( i still fail to see what this has to do with morocco )
Technical: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/779
Enjoy: http://www.disobey.com/ and http://www.videounderbelly.com/
aim: akaMorbus / skype: morbusiff / icq: 2927491 / jabber.org: morbus