[arg_discuss] Open Source ARGs

[Andrea Phillips]

On Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 4:42 AM, John Evans <btradish at earthlink.net> wrote:


> And then Dave advanced the idea of "open source ARGs" where other

> creators were free to contribute their own ideas to the "official"

> continuity. I found this very intriguing because the same idea has

> occurred to me. Wouldn't it be interesting if some hints or story

> elements in one ARG led to another? What if there was a sort of

> larger alternate reality that had these elements in common? For

> example, an "in-character" news site where you could have results

> from the Gotham City election alongside bulletins from Perplex

> City? Or, what if a hacked file on a Metacortechs server had the

> random filename "BadWolf"? (That's a Doctor Who reference. ;) )

>


We actually introduced mechanisms for that kind of active
player-generated worldbuilding in Perplex City. We knew building a
realistic, living city by ourselves was a huge, daunting task, so
(among other things) we set up email addresses for players to submit
tips to the newspaper, or even submit news articles as stringers...
but nobody ever really took us up on it. Eventually we became a little
more explicit and lobbied for articles from players as, well, players;
but the original intent was to have players filling in gaps in the
Perplexian news cycle, and helping to create the breathing city along
with us.

(Dan, Adrian, have anything else to add to that?)

I think, though, that some of the reason for this
not-taking-us-up-on-the-offer goes all the way back to the Cloudmakers
and our horrified reaction to a player-created news site that went up
-- I think it was Bangalore News Network? 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.

-- 
Andrea Phillips
http://www.deusexmachinatio.com
Words * Culture * Interaction