[arg_discuss] we are obsolete (RE:Copycatwarningoveralternativereality games)

[A Nakama]

But all fiction creates an alternate parallel universe while you're engaging
with it...  In your brain!
To engage your question the way you meant it, though, I think the AR part of
ARG is what draws a lot of people to these things--it's what drew me--but
for those of us who see it as a medium, ARG is just a label (with the AR
essentially meaningless, what the other Adam was getting at) that applies to
a medium/toolset that we draw upon to tell certain stories.  Some of them
masquerade is "true" within everyday reality, and some of them don't
(actually, most of the high-profile ones don't seem to these days--different
topic: AR in an ARG is a mark of amateur work?).

~ Adam Nakama

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 8:08 AM, Dan Hon <dan at sixtostart.com> wrote:


> One thing that's always confused me is this whole "alternate parallel

> universe" concept. Can't we just say that these games are fiction? We don't

> get hung up on all movies being in alternate parallel universes, or all

> books doing that as well. Y'know: it's a story. Some things are made up.

>

> --

> Dan Hon, CEO, Six to Start

> m: +44 7870 600 828

> t: +44 33 3340 7490, f: +44 33 3340 7494

>

>

>

>

> On 10 Oct 2008, at 13:06, Jason Chrest wrote:

>

>  Interactive Cross-Media Games in Alternate Parallel Universes run by

>> deviants!!

>>

>> ICMGAPURBD SIG

>>

>> I like the length!

>>

>> ICMG though could be a fair representation of the majority of games I have

>> followed in the past. It's not as sexy of an acronym as arg, but - /shrug.

>>

>> (Just wanted to toss my two dusty pennies into the ring and hope I didn't

>> miss good emails lol)

>>

>> Jason Chrest

>> Aporia Cross-Media Entertainment, LLC.

>> http://news.aporiacme.com

>> Cell:(662)251-9312

>> jason at aporiacme.com

>>

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: "Brian Clark" <bclark at gmdstudios.com>

>>

>> Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:22:29

>> To: 'Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG'<arg_discuss at igda.org>

>> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] we are obsolete

>> (RE:Copycatwarningoveralternative

>>        reality games)

>>

>>

>> "I plan to continue to embrace it and love it and call it george."

>>

>> I hope no one took my Swiftian arguments too seriously yesterday: I was

>> just

>> being overly-provocative to see what oozes out if we pick the scab off.

>> Plus

>> Monello gave me $5 (but I also had to eat a bug.)

>>

>> If I had to give my serious opinion, though, it is a variant of Adam's:

>> ARG

>> was always a label, not a genre not a media not an art form. It was a

>> label

>> applied by the fan community to describe SOME of what we do, but not ALL

>> of

>> what we do. Internally, as a lab and studio, we see far less distinction

>> between our projects, but then we essentially study digital human

>> interaction (so that's fine). As a creator, the label is useful if it

>> provides some expectation of the experience the audience might have, so I

>> find myself using "ARGish" far more than I use "ARG".

>>

>> If I had to pick a hill to plant my flag on, the closest match would be

>> Experience Design of the post-Shedroff variety. I think Adam hit another

>> key

>> point though, which is the general sense of déjà vu on definitions to the

>> 1990s and MUD/MOO/MUSH, a stable triad of different definitions and goals

>> for something very similar. I've always had a nagging suspicion that these

>> same definitions apply here as well ... that part of the difference

>> between

>> my work that gets called ARG and what doesn't is related to the MUD/MOO

>> distinction (MUD=ARG, MOO="Extended Experience" roughly.)

>>

>> But that really just brings us back to Monello's "lots of experimental

>> variety" comment that opened all of this, and only really brings to it the

>> idea that ARG might just be a subset of that variety rather than the

>> umbrella.

>>

>> Which begs what the umbrella concept is all over again, right?

>>

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org]

>> On

>> Behalf Of Wendy Despain

>> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 6:32 PM

>> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG

>> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] we are obsolete

>> (RE:Copycatwarningoveralternative

>> reality games)

>>

>> I for one have no problem with the ARG label or the hanging out with

>> video game folks. Videogames are more and more interested in narrative

>> these days, and I think the "gamey" parts of ARGs improve the player

>> experience.

>>

>> And when I tell videogame devs that I also do ARGs they no longer

>> stare blankly at me and think I just choked on something.

>>

>> I plan to continue to embrace it and love it and call it george.

>>

>> Wendy Despain

>> quantumcontent.com

>>

>>

>> On Thu, October 9, 2008 3:03 pm, Adam Martin wrote:

>>

>>> 2008/10/9 Brian Clark <bclark at gmdstudios.com>:

>>>

>>>> So no need for an IGDA SIG anymore?

>>>>

>>>

>>> The IGDA seems happy with supporting us so far :), and with what we do

>>> (and it's relationship to games). IGDA's "games" remit seems to be set

>>> very broad, generally speaking.

>>>

>>> They're even offering us money, just waiting for us to tell them what

>>> we need it for...

>>> _______________________________________________

>>> ARG_Discuss mailing list

>>> ARG_Discuss at igda.org

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

>>>

>>>

>>

>> Wendy Despain

>> quantumcontent.com

>>

>> _______________________________________________

>> ARG_Discuss mailing list

>> ARG_Discuss at igda.org

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>>

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