[arg_discuss] New Topic of the Week Aug. 7: ARG SIG Conference

[Andrea Phillips]

Just wanted to reiterate that the topic of this week is our proposed
ARG SIG conference. I'd particularly like feedback on the focus I
wrote about on Friday -- that conversation between creators and
commissioners.

I was really very surprised I didn't get a chorus of emails telling me
what an awful, terrible, unworkable idea it was. If you keep this up,
you're going to make me feel like nobody loves me anymore. ^_^


On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 1:18 PM, Andrea
Phillips<deusexmachinatio at gmail.com> wrote:

> Snipping, because this is a response to lots and lots of people by

> now. My vision for the ARG SIG conference was starting a conversation

> between creators and commissioners.

>

> Let's say in the morning you have Penguin and Running Press talking

> about what they're looking for in a transmedia book. Or NBC, C4 and

> Warner Brothers talking about the business philosophy behind their

> online immersive experiences -- what they want to get out of them, and

> what they think has (and hasn't) worked for them. These speakers would

> be people who probably aren't on this email list, and would almost

> certainly never show up to ARGfest (at least not unless it undergoes a

> pretty explosive transformation) but who have things to say that as a

> group, we'd really like to hear.

>

> And then in the afternoon you have the other half of the conversation.

> That's where we get members of our community talking about the

> different kind of metrics of an ARG and what they really mean (HI

> BRIAN AND MIKE). Maybe how to build a working framework so that

> characters can communicate with players responsively and quickly when

> you work with an organization with a slow but unskippable approval

> process and a particularly cautious set of lawyers. Or the importance

> of monitoring pace and tension, and making sure that every time you

> ask a player to do something, they get something meaningful in return.

> Stuff that I at least think those morning media people would be really

> interested in learning about -- things they might not even be on their

> radar, but should be.

>

> Not to mention the value of putting a bunch of people who might be in

> a position to need and hire ARG developers in a room with a bunch of

> ARG developers who like working a lot more than not-working. Ahem.

>

> This sort of conference fulfills what I see as the two sometimes

> conflicting reasons the SIG exists: One, to provide a place for ARG

> developers to get together, talk shop, and help each other out; and

> two, to create information and resources for those who want to learn

> more about this crazy stuff we do.

>

> --

> Andrea Phillips

> http://www.aaphillips.com

> AIM: Andrh1a * Skype: Andrhia

> Words * Culture * Interaction

>




-- 
Andrea Phillips
http://www.aaphillips.com
AIM: Andrh1a * Skype: Andrhia
Words * Culture * Interaction