[arg_discuss] White Paper: Direction & Audience (was ARGs in Publishing)

[Necole Duncan]

I'm very excited about the new White Paper. The last one really helped to
introduce me to ARGs, and I've often used pieces of it to explain the genre
to people who are completely unfamiliar with it.

I suppose I fall into the target audience. I'm part of a grassroots start-up
interested in making games purely for entertainment, and we're working hard
to build what we have so far into a business.

One thing I'm particularly interested in that wasn't mentioned is story
genre in ARGs. Is this covered in one of the sections? I know there is
generally some sort of mystery for players to solve, but we make comedic
games, and I'm interested in the ways in which comedy, tragedy, romance,
etc. are used in games, and the ways in which ARG storytelling differs from
traditional storytelling.


On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Brooke Thompson <brooke at giantmice.com>wrote:


> Far from empty, Evan, it's great advice! And something that I struggled

> with a bit... just who is the audience and how do we make it useful for

> them?

>

> I see three main groups:

>

> 1) ARG Practitioners and others who are fairly well aware of the ARG world

> and who are curious as to what we have to say. These folks, while AWESOME!,

> are going to be our harshest critics and find issue with and pick at much of

> what we say. We are not writing for them, but we should put this together

> with their voice in our head - not to steer us, but to help us better stand

> behind what we write.

>

> 2) Academic sorts. They will be interested in the history (but likely be

> quite critical about it). While they may be fairly interested in methods &

> models, best practices will be less useful.

>

> 3) People interested in an ARG for a future or current project - on several

> levels (from executives to designers). They will want to know a BRIEF

> history (mostly for presentation purposes and so they can sound somewhat

> knowledgeable on the subject) but are more interested in methods, models,

> and best practices. Case studies will also be beneficial.

>

> I think the third type is our sweet spot and who we should be aiming this

> towards. Of course, it's going to be a fairly substantial document when it's

> done, which makes it less useful for them. I tried, in putting together the

> sections, to break them up into shorter and more useful chunks (you're

> interesting in publishing? read the publishing section!). To make this even

> easier, each section should include an abstract and contain clear and

> descriptive subheadings. Any other tips, thoughts, and advice is more than

> welcome!

>

>

> Here is the outline:

>   1. Intro (Brooke Thompson)

>   2. Overview

>         1. The Rise of Transmedia (Geoffrey Long & Brooke Thompson?)

>         2. Market

>         3. Business Models (Anthony Saad)

>         4. Audience (Brooke Thompson?)

>         5. General Design Principles (Andrea Phillips)

>   3. ARGs in various industries

>         1. ARGs and Marketing (Kevin Barnes)

>         2. ARGs and Publishing (Michael Andersen)

>         3. ARGs and Television (Aaron Smith)

>         4. ARGs and Film

>         5. ARGs and Serious Games (Dee Cook, Michelle Senderhauf, Marie

> Lamb)

>         6. Towards an Independent Future (Brian Clark)

>   4. An Academic View into research trends & future directions (Mela Kocher

> & Jeff Watson)

>

> As you all can see, we still need someone to write the Market & the ARGs

> and Film sections. Volunteers?

>

> Not listed... I hope to include an appendix which lists each of the

> games/projects mentioned throughout the White Paper (I've gone back and

> forth in my head over whether or not this should be listed alphabetically or

> chronologically). I have also wondered whether or not we should include a

> listing of companies. Making this complete may prove to be difficult due to

> the fact that there are often a number of companies directly involved with

> an ARG... this is a white paper, not the yellow pages.

>

> As for history... each section so far includes a short history. I do hope

> that it will be fairly brief, but it is useful for highlighting examples and

> showing trends & trajectories.

>

> There is also a history specific section, The Rise of Transmedia. Geoffrey

> & I tossed around ideas for it but have not gone beyond that. I believe we

> decided on doing a quick rise from the earliest days of storytelling and

> focusing more on the last 30 years or so. Ultimately, I expect this section

> will be the shortest in the paper for a few reasons - 1) we're both quite

> busy and 2) this topic best when it's brief or incredibly rich and detailed

> and well beyond the scope of a white paper. I suppose my personal goals for

> this section are to show that transmedia is not new (in fact, it tends to

> happen whenever a new technology appears as people want to experiment) but

> that we're at an amazing point in storytelling history not only because

> there are a lot of new technologies to explore for telling stories, but

> computers make it easier for everyone to be a storyteller (beyond verbal

> storytelling) and the internet not only enables us to find and build an

> audience unlike any time previously but it allows us to connect story pieces

> in new and exciting ways. So, I suppose, I hope this section is a sort of

> large introduction that inspires people to create - while remaining

> informative instead of turning into an opinion piece.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> On Aug 3, 2010, at 9:30 AM, Evan Jones wrote:

>

>  Sure thing Michael - it sounds like you're on the right path and keeping

>> it

>> narrow to publishing will aid the project.  Just offering some suggestions

>> for historical touchpoints.

>>

>> I'd agree that it's most appropriate that this whitepaper serve as a

>> practical guide.  With that in mind (and just to stir the pot a little),

>> is

>> history the most helpful starting point?  I'd certainly argue that many

>> disciplines must begin with history (why did I learn chemistry with early

>> models of the atom?) - but it seems now that all of the popular books are

>> focused more on 'best practices' (ostensibly from some guru).  Is anyone

>> on

>> the list able to offer themselves up as the intended audience?  It'd be

>> great to ask around to see what they are seeking as a reference tool.

>>

>> Also - please consider all of this empty rhetoric since I feel I've

>> disqualified myself by not dedicating the time to write a section as well.

>> ------------------

>> Evan Jones

>> Stitch Media

>>

>> Halifax:  902.482.2157

>> Toronto: 647.477.1613

>> www.stitchmedia.ca

>>

>>

>> On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 10:18 AM, Michael Andersen <mandersen at argn.com

>> >wrote:

>>

>>  Evan: I've seen how contentious ARG Histories can be, and planned on

>>> using

>>> the bulk of my space to concentrate on the latter sections that focus

>>> more

>>> on implementation. Rather than presenting a definitive or comprehensive

>>> history, I was planning on presenting a brief paragraph or two

>>> recognizing

>>> that while there is some intensely innovative work going on in the space

>>> over the past few years, it didn't start with the publication of *Cathy's

>>> Book*.

>>>

>>> My intended focus is on methods of implementation and the potential

>>> benefits, as I assume the purpose of the white paper is less academic and

>>> more practical, with people seeking out information on what ARGs are, if

>>> they work, and how to do them. If I'm wrong in that assumption, I can

>>> adjust

>>> my writing and research accordingly. Have any of you on the listserv made

>>> use of the 2006 white paper? And if so, how? (Yes, I realize that may

>>> open

>>> up an entirely different line of discussion.)

>>>

>>> -Michael

>>>

>>> On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 9:03 AM, Evan Jones <evan at mysteryjones.com>

>>> wrote:

>>>

>>>  Hi Michael,

>>>>

>>>> ARG Histories are notoriously contentious - anyone visiting the ARG

>>>> Wikipedia revision page will see how challenging this curation has been.

>>>>

>>>> If you wanted to widen it out a little, you might want to toss in some

>>>> 'non-linear' book concepts like Tristram Shandy, or even allude to the

>>>> early

>>>> days of 'epistolary fiction' like Robinson Crusoe - I've been very

>>>> interested to see Adrian Hon's coverage in this area and how it may

>>>>

>>> affect

>>>

>>>> the trajectory of ARGs in transmedia. My wife and I love the Griffin &

>>>> Sabine books as well, but as you can see it's the thin edge of the

>>>> wedge.

>>>> Pretty soon we're back to definitions again and spinning in circles.

>>>>

>>>> Looking forward to reading about it though!

>>>>

>>>

>

>

>

>

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