[arg_discuss] we are obsolete (RE: Copycat warning overalternative reality games)

[Steve Peters]

At this point, we've been referring to them as Participatory Entertainment
Experiences...

On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:31 AM, Brian Clark <bclark at gmdstudios.com> wrote:


> > I don't know if there is a new name. It's just

> > experience, entertainment, storytelling.

>

> Challenging you: none of those things are new. ARG-SIG abolished?

>

> > "WE MUST CREATE TV-LIKE VIDEO FOR ONLINE" is what

> > the big change is.

>

> Maybe for some, others of us have been grappling with that line of request

> for years (so it doesn't seem to new to me either: less "new" than ARG, in

> fact.)

>

> But again, not an IDGA SIG, right? Abolished!

>

> -----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 1:27 PM

> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG

> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] we are obsolete (RE: Copycat warning

> overalternative reality games)

>

> 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

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>> _______________________________________________

> >>> ARG_Discuss mailing list

> >>> ARG_Discuss at igda.org

> >>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss

> >>>

> >>> _______________________________________________

> >>> ARG_Discuss mailing list

> >>> ARG_Discuss at igda.org

> >>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss

> >>>

> >>>

> >>>

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >> --

> >> Adrian Hon - mssv.net

> >> Chief Creative at Six to Start - www.sixtostart.com

> >> Founder of Let's Change the Game - www.letschangethegame.org

> >> _______________________________________________

> >> ARG_Discuss mailing list

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> >> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss

> >

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