[arg_discuss] Antecedents to ARGs

[Brian Clark]

Don't get me wrong, Bryan ... I think it is an excellent piece. I think
often though, some of these early works end up being canonized as IDGA
whitepapers or Wikipedia entries etc. Frequently, those can send the wrong
message that one piece (as Marcus put it) "directly descends" from another.
There was a thread last year that attempted to look at "personal influences"
that really helped reveal how much broader those influences really well and
how many different paths actually led simultaneous experimentation ending up
in the same neighborhood.

Shedroff's work is very interesting as a framework if you haven't
encountered it ... both his website: http://www.nathan.com/ed/ and his 2001
book: http://www.experiencedesignbooks.com/ From my POV, "experience design"
is an effective umbrella concept that contains "ARG" (but a critic might
argue that "experience design" is constructed in such a way as to exist
primarily as an umbrella concept for anything that is designed around the
way people interact with it.)



-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org] On
Behalf Of Bryan Alexander
Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 5:58 PM
To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] Antecedents to ARGs

I'd be delighted to work in Shedroff and Boal, especially as I don't
know the former.

Yes, there's a limitation effect due to my assumptions.  This is pretty
common in literary history, though, at all levels - think about, say,
the Gothic's lineage, or (worse yet by far) science fiction's.  

But I don't have that much invested in my own set of assumptions, and
would be glad to broaden 'em.  This conversation has helped, although I
regret lacking time this season to participate more constructively.

-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Brian Clark
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:03 AM
To: 'Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG'
Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] Antecedents to ARGs

But Bryan, I think that paper suffers from the same problems we're
discussing here: it is a fairly arbitrary selection of items, missing
out on
many of what I see as the deeper influences. Because no one can seem to
build a shared definition of what ARGs are, it is easy to point to
ANYTHING
as an antecedent ... and all you're really doing is revealing some
wrinkle
of your definition of what you think an ARG is.

For example, I think the TINAG principle is really quite irrelevant
(although I think there are interesting specific historical stories
about
why that phrase was created as an alternate to established phrases like
"suspension of disbelief," as well as business cover that phrase
provided
certain practitioners.) Conversely, I think ARG derives quite a bit from
practices like Nathan Shedroff's experience design and Augsto Boal's
theater
of the oppressed.

But that's my perspective. What we lack as a community is a common
perspective or a route to get to it, so the general public cemented
their
own definition instead.

-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org]
On
Behalf Of Bryan Alexander
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:15 PM
To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG; Discussion list of the IGDA ARG
SIG
Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] Antecedents to ARGs

And there's always our paper:
http://www.igda.org/wiki/Alternate_Reality_Games_SIG/Whitepaper/Antecede
nts_
to_Alternate_Reality_Games

-----Original Message-----
From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org on behalf of Andrea A. Phillips
Sent: Wed 1/14/2009 1:46 PM
To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
Subject: [arg_discuss]  Antecedents to ARGs
 
Brooke has pointed out that the conversation the last day or so has  
come up with a lot of stuff that are of interest to ARG developers,  
whether or not they could be qualified as ARGs themselves.

And wouldn't you know, we do actually have a place in the SIG Wiki to  
record information like this, which was completely blank up until  
about *checks watch* two minutes ago:

http://www.igda.org/wiki/Alternate_Reality_Games_SIG/Antecedents_to_ARGs

If anybody feels like spreading the love and the knowledge, that would  
be a *most excellent* place to do it!

--
Andrea Phillips
http://www.deusexmachinatio.com
Words * Culture * Interaction
_______________________________________________
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

_______________________________________________
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