[arg_discuss] ARG_Discuss Digest, Vol 37, Issue 18

[Nathan Mishler]

Hey Morgan,

In the past Studio Cypher has helped run a series of academic conferences
called Ludium that were all in real space, had a game element, and also an
argy sort of lore / alternate world component. We found that our players
(academics, games industry professionals, and lawyers among other things)
played the Ludium the way that ARG players approach args. Some tested
boundries and tried to figure out the limits of the game, some really got
into their role and roleplayed, and some really just wanted to get into the
"interesting bits."

You can see the rules and results for Ludium 2 here

http://www.studiocypher.com/pages/ludium

Indiana University is also currently running an arg with a big real world
component but it just launched and it's very local to the IU campus so I'm
not sure there's much to see or learn from just yet.

On Thu, Sep 25, 2008 at 11:00 AM, Morgan Calhoon <morgan at calhoonplay.com>wrote:


> Thanks Michel!

>

> I've tried to participate in a few ARGs that I've found on the unfiction

> website, but none of them have lasted very long or players get bored with

> them and move on. So I've never played one to its completion. I have read a

> bunch of post mortems or guides written by players while playing them.

>

> Looks like I'll start playing Superstruct and see how that works out.

>

> Since I'm planning on doing a localized game, I'm going to use a lot more

> real world objects, interactions, and activities - I'm still going to use

> the internet, but not as heavily as most have used in the past. I think the

> internet is a great way to form a community for ARGs, but the nature of it

> still had the potential for players to feel a little removed from the game

> and the other participants. I want to see how more face to face interaction

> effects the community that forms. Is it stronger? Does it last longer? Does

> it continue to grow? Do people use it to accomplish anything?

>

> I really want to test an ARG game that is more specific to the people

> playing and the lives they have. I hope it will make players feel more

> invested. I know this is somewhat impossible for games that are meant to

> involve people from a variety of different geographic areas - so I'm

> curious

> to see what changes and if my predictions are correct. I'm really trying to

> find a local non-profit group to work with. There's a couple I'm interested

> in, but I'm waiting to see which one ends up working out.

>

> Although I haven't made a functioning ARG yet, I have been doing a lot of

> interactive experiments to test people's limits and creativity. It seemed

> like an easier way for me to quickly pinpoint which action or activity

> worked instead of doing a full fledged game and then trying to figure out

> which actions were the problem. It's also pretty easy to get one of my

> little experiments together - so if it fails, I'm not too heart broken.

>

> Thanks everyone! Morgan

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