[arg_discuss] we are obsolete (RE: Copycat warning over alternative reality games)
Dan Hon
dan at sixtostart.com
Thu Oct 9 13:27:21 EDT 2008
I don't know if there is a new name. It's just experience,
entertainment, storytelling.
The fact that we're using all the available media in an appropriate
way, rather than being hamstrung and saying "WE MUST CREATE TV-LIKE
VIDEO FOR ONLINE" is what the big change is, I think, and "ARG"
really, really doesn't describe that.
--
Dan Hon, CEO, Six to Start
m: +44 7870 600 828
t: +44 33 3340 7490, f: +44 33 3340 7494
On 9 Oct 2008, at 18:25, Brian Clark wrote:
> So what are the steps necessary to change the name of the SIG? And
> if we
> were to rename the common interest of the SIG in terms of game
> design, what
> is the correct label?
>
> It will never change without a new community-consensus label, and I
> don't
> have much to offer in way of solution. Experience design has always
> been our
> focus, and game is just one thing of many that people can experience
> together.)
>
> Crossmedia certainly isn't that: there are tons of existing
> organizations
> that service that space in great variety (like SIGGRAPH, BANFF and
> others.)
> It seems for IDGA, that umbrella needs to be more confined to gaming.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org
> ] On
> Behalf Of Dan Hon
> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:32 AM
> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] Copycat warning over alternative reality
> games
>
> The article in the magazine is actually much longer - I'm trying to
> get hold of a print copy at the moment. Suffice to say that we're
> trying really, really hard to stop talking about "ARGs" - instead
> talking about "traditional ARGs" and the new, more general, cross-
> platform entertainment/game hotness. Which, really, is just
> Interesting and Engaging Content, Optimised to the Medium and Platform
> It's Being Delivered On.
>
> --
> Dan Hon, CEO, Six to Start
> m: +44 7870 600 828
> t: +44 33 3340 7490, f: +44 33 3340 7494
>
>
>
>
> On 9 Oct 2008, at 16:29, Adrian Hon wrote:
>
>> Yeah, not a lot in that article surprises me; just confirms that
>> these
>> guys don't really understand what's going on. I don't really have a
>> lot to offer this discussion other than saying 'I agree'. Certainly
>> it's a shame that ARGs are being pigeonholed in this way (not that
>> 'ARG' as a term holds a lot of useful meaning). Most of the
>> interesting work is being done outside of marketing, right now.
>>
>> Adrian
>>
>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 4:02 PM, Brian Clark <bclark at gmdstudios.com>
>> wrote:
>>> No one took "The Hand Grenade" Monello's bait, eh? No assist from
>>> me, sir:
>>> this was what had me foaming at the mouth 2 ARGfests ago.
>>>
>>> "ARG" isn't just "a marketing approach" ... it is one that isn't
>>> even loved
>>> by marketers. Attempts to reclaim in the word in non-ironic ways
>>> are doomed
>>> to failure, which is why very few of us as practitioners use that
>>> word
>>> anymore.
>>>
>>> Upsides are broader than even what "The Hand Grenade" suggests,
>>> though, as
>>> his definition still doesn't provide a place for non-fiction in that
>>> continuum. Or maybe what ever supplants ARG only cares about obvert
>>> fiction,
>>> but the same principles work without having to play make believe.
>>>
>>> But in reality, that news story is no stranger than "Marketers Still
>>> Struggle To Understand This Strange Nightmare World They Inherited".
>>>
>>> :)
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org
>>> ] On
>>> Behalf Of Mike Monello
>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 10:52 AM
>>> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
>>> Subject: [arg_discuss] Copycat warning over alternative reality
>>> games
>>>
>>> Stories like this are why I always bristle against defining an ARG
>>> versus
>>> living under a looser definition such as cross-media narrative or
>>> similar.
>>>
>>> I still maintain we are (or should be) in a period of extreme
>>> experimentation, the results of which will ultimately define what
>>> it is and
>>> what the sub-genres or styles are. When we codify a strict
>>> definition around
>>> ARG, we turn it into a series of tactics rather than a formal
>>> structure
>>> under which an infinite variety of projects can live. When people
>>> use the
>>> term "ARG," it should be the way people use "sitcom" or "soap-
>>> opera" -- only
>>> a specific form of cross media engagement.
>>>
>>>
>>>
> http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/39895/Copycat+warning+over+alternative+reality
>>> +games.html
>>>
>>> Copycat warning over alternative reality games
>>>
>>> Platform: Internet | Author: Luan Goldie | Source: nma.co.uk |
>>> Published:
>>> 08.10.08
>>>
>>> Brands are being warned against rashly adopting alternate reality
>>> games
>>> (ARGs) as their use as immersive brand experiences takes off.
>>>
>>> Cancer Research, Red Cross and Puffin (whose Young Bond ARG ends
>>> this week),
>>> are among the recent wave of brands to join the new trend for
>>> creating ARGs,
>>> which aim to engage consumers in connected online and offline
>>> activities.
>>>
>>> Early ARGs have been successful. McDonald's The Lost Ring game,
>>> supporting
>>> its sponsorship of the Beijing...
>>>
>>> ... Olympics, attracted more than 2.5m people in 100 countries, for
>>> example.
>>> However, the online industry has urged brands to be cautious about
>>> adopting
>>> them ad the next craze.
>>>
>>> Toby Feldman, marketing director for wrestling federation WWE, said
>>> the
>>> organisation had looked at ARGs as a marketing technique but
>>> decided it
>>> would not be an appropriate engagement tool.
>>>
>>> "It's down to the brand you have. One size never fits all, and if
>>> it's not
>>> relevant then it can very quickly become gimmicky," said Feldman.
>>> "If you're
>>> first to do something then it will work as it will stir interest and
>>> publicity."
>>>
>>> "Everyone looks for innovative ways to get messages across but if
>>> too many
>>> others follow suit then it becomes run of mill and waters down its
>>> effectiveness," he added.
>>>
>>> Likewise, Rei Inamoto, co-chief creative officer at AKQA's US
>>> office, the
>>> agency behind McDonald's The Lost Ring, said, "I do feel that ARGs
>>> are a bit
>>> of a fad right now. If agencies and clients do it blindly just
>>> because it's
>>> the buzzword, it will just lead to copycat tactics."
>>>
>>> However, Alex Miller, head of Jam, i-level's social media
>>> department, said
>>> it was clear why ARGs are becoming popular among brands looking to
>>> create
>>> strong brand connections. "If the buzzwords at the moment are
>>> audience
>>> participation, interaction and empowerment then a branded ARG, if
>>> executed
>>> well, ticks all of those boxes," he said.
>>>
>>> Adrian Hon, chief creative officer at ARG specialist Six to Start,
>>> which
>>> recently rolled out a cross-media competition for Penguin called We
>>> Tell
>>> Stories, agreed that interest was growing. "It hasn't happened
>>> overnight,
>>> but we're now getting brands coming to us all the time. Two years
>>> ago we had
>>> to explain what these games were for, but now it's very popular and
>>> we're
>>> getting approached all the time."
>>>
>>> Other major brands, while not ruling out ARGs feel it's too early
>>> to make
>>> the investment. Emma Jenkins, head of interactive marketing at
>>> Procter &
>>> Gamble, said, "It's still very new and gaming is evolving so
>>> rapidly.
>>> Anything we do has to stay in line with our consumers, so we
>>> wouldn't rule
>>> it out completely. We'd look at it, but not yet."
>>>
>>> Audi's UK PR manager David Ingram agreed. In 2005, Audi US launched
>>> ARG The
>>> Art of the Heist, which encouraged players to find a stolen Audi
>>> A3. The
>>> game had more than half a million participants and created over
>>> 4,000 test
>>> drives.
>>>
>>> "We're a bit more traditional," said Ingram. "ARGs have never been
>>> on the
>>> cards for us. We've run campaigns on PlayStation and we're
>>> confident in
>>> doing that, but not ARGs yet."
>>>
>>> ARGs utilise media across multiple platforms, including mobile,
>>> print,
>>> outdoor and online, with the player often able to influence the
>>> story. The
>>> first ARG was The Beast, used to promote the film Artificial
>>> Intelligence,
>>> with players taking part in a game that incorporated websites,
>>> email,
>>> telephone conversations.
>>>
>>> Sky won an nma Effectiveness Award in 2007 for its ARG for TV show
>>> 24. Last
>>> week the Red Cross launched its Traces of Hope ARG to raise
>>> awareness of
>>> civilians separated from their friends and families due to
>>> conflicts around
>>> the world.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---
>>> Mike Monello
>>> Partner, Campfire
>>> http://www.campfirenyc.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Adrian Hon - mssv.net
>> Chief Creative at Six to Start - www.sixtostart.com
>> Founder of Let's Change the Game - www.letschangethegame.org
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