[arg_discuss] Deception and what it means to be Real

[Brian Clark]

So I've been reflecting on Wendy's comment:

"People want to know when they're stepping into the magic circle. So I
think it's important to make it clear when you're inviting them in."

I totally accept this as valid, but I'm not sure I necessarily follow it to
the same conclusions. Two thought bombs:

First, in reality, every ARG is producing the opposite constantly. Part of
the fun of ARGs might well be "the reveal" -- the moment that they figure
out it is fiction is almost always after they started experiencing it. You
have to turn that tip. To restate Wendy in a different way:

"As someone else mentioned, interacting with fictional characters is fun
*because we CAN DETERMINE they're fictional.* If we CAN'T DETERMINE, that
added magic isn't there. And can't be added on later."

Second, I'm a bit defensive about hoaxes, at least in the William Castle
model of "entertaining film flam." The term is a pejorative: one person's
brilliance is another person's cruel hoax (think "War of the Worlds".) I
accept that valid art might include invisible theater, the dramatic
unfolding in places and ways that break with social tradition. I think
playing around the responsible edges of that are a part of where the thrill
of the ARG form actually comes from (for participants and creators.) 


Brian