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Ok, so calling it a flash mob grates on me a bit, but this is a neat example of large-scale collaborative play… a massive crowd performs a choreographed dance at a concert. I expect to see it in loads of presentations over the next year!

Apparently, they hired a director and 20 choreographers. Those 20 taught the dance to 800 and then taught the 20,000 other members of the crowd.

Fun!

Here’s a behind the scenes making of. Somewhat strangely, it contains a  solid definition of a flash mob that completely contradicts what’s to come.

A large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place and perform an unusual action to surprise onlookers.

I’m not sure how this is “assembling suddenly” or “surprising onlookers” – though I gather that since Oprah, herself, was not in on this even if everyone else was, they feel it counts.

Oprah’s staff plots a flash mob for her Kickoff party

(Oprah has no idea)

Me? I’d call it a Oprah’s staff plotting a great & fun surprise for Oprah.

Still, very fun!

As you may know, every year the community at unfiction puts together a pretty fun time. We call it ARGFest-o-Con (or, ARGFest). The first one was held back in 2003 in Las Vegas and since then it’s roamed the country growing bigger and better every year.

The thing is – we don’t know where it’s going to be in 2010 and we need your help to figure it out! A fairly lengthy RFP has been created which will take you through the steps of many of the various considerations we have to make. So, please, if you have an idea of where you want it to be – fill it out! If you know of others in the area who can help you out – get them in on it!

I’ve already received some comments on “Page 3″ which alludes to the fact that we are seriously considering taking ARGFest to another level – more panels, roundtables, events, and games! At this point, I can’t comment much further on that. It is something that we are thinking about and, so, it would only be right to have those proposing locations and considering getting involved “on the ground” thinking about it, too.

I am really crazy excited about some of the ideas and suggestions that have been talked about. I know that ARGFest 2010 is going to be great and wonderful. And it all starts with choosing the location (publicly, at least) so I can’t wait to see the proposals that come in!

There is a recurring meme in the ARG community… what in the heck is “Alternate Reality Gaming”?!

Does the term adequately describe what we do? Is it approachable? What does it mean? Does it mean anything anymore? Should we just kill it? This conversation has been going on since, at least, 2004. It will probably continue until 2024 and maybe even to 2424. It comes and it goes, sure. But it always seems to resurface.

Most recently, it resurfaced as a potential panel for SXSW: The ARG is Dead

Which, humorously, provoked someone on twitter to ask: How can I make an “‘Args are dead’ is dead” panel at SXSW?

But, the thing is, the panel didn’t provoke laughter from me. It provoked anger and frustration. Between the venue and the description, I was suddenly very upset about a topic that I actually tend to enjoy discussing and a concept that I’ve always thought would be fun.. a funeral for ARGs so that we can have some sort of rebirth and reclaim the phrase in our own way.

hmmm…. I’m getting ahead of myself.

The panel description is: Following a New Orleans funeral procession to the Convention Center, join a collection of pioneers from the alternate reality game movement as they deliver their eulogies to a label long past its prime. Share in the remembrance of what ARGs were, celebrate what they achieved, and help us provide comfort to ARG’s numerous children and extended family that survive its passing. Funeral attire recommended, but not required.

The idea of having a funeral has been floating around for a couple years now. I’ll give credit for the idea to Brian Clark and Mike Monello, but I don’t know if that’s completely accurate. And it’s been discussed by others on and off over the years. It seems to have a life of its own, seriously. And, as such, I’m sure that more than a few of us have our own thoughts and ideas of what this could ultimately be.

My ARG Funeral always took place at ARGFest where the community could celebrate the life and history of ARGs together before some grand rebirth. Funerals, after all, are for friends and family. Strangers are welcome, of course, but they’re always the outsider who isn’t sharing in the remembrance as much as they are hearing stories about someone they may have known of but really didn’t know. So, I have always seen the ARG Funeral taking place at ARGFest which is an annual gathering of ARG enthusiasts. Of course, I have grand visions for what happens then and proposed all sorts of craziness but then held back out of respect to Dave Szulborski, who passed away earlier this year.

So, for me, it was always about the community and, more, it was always about reclaiming and reinvigorating the term. Oh, there are practical reasons for this – not the least of which is that so many community resources are named Alternate Reality Game X. And there are emotional reasons – the term was coined by Sean Stacey (SpaceBass) for the Lockjaw Trail which means, on some twisted level, that I created the first Alternate Reality Game (I don’t believe that, but emotionally, I am very close to the term). But it is also because in this strange quest to be mainstream we are finally at a point with ARG that it can be mentioned in an article without an immediate and confusing definition. It often still is, but there is also an assumption that people (real, general, everyday people!) know what ARGs are or can easily find out. We are on some sort of tipping point of the ARG phrase being known by a mass audience so now is, in my opinion, the perfect time to give it life.

And the community. The funeral was, in my mind, never for SXSW where it seems like a gimmick for people just getting to know and understand Alternate Reality Games only to be told that they shouldn’t call them that. It was for the community who has been caring for ARGs for years. The community which the panel description claims doesn’t even know how to define ARGs, that they’ve stopped trying to define them. No, the panel is not for “that community” because they will be discussing what it means for “that community” to be creating in a post-ARG era (and sadly, you know, that community is probably to stupid to be post-arg because they can’t even figure out what ARG).

The truth of the matter is that the ARG Community that I am a part of hasn’t stopped trying to describe and understand ARGs. In fact, we touched on the subject just this weekend as we were discussing the future of ARGFest (which, I suppose, would have to be Post-ARG era Fest if the panel has its way). I heard similar conversations about ARG and what they mean at ARGFest. It wasn’t just the designer & developer types talking about it and the way they pitch them to clients – it was players talking about what ARGs mean to them and the qualities that they feel are important to the games they enjoy.

See, the thing is, it’s not that we have given up talking about it, it’s that we can’t get enough of talking about it. Like any community of enthusiasts, we have definition issues. We’ve all heard the example of Eskimos and their 40 words for snow. Or film school students debating the differences between videos, movies, flims, and cinema.  And, so, it seems as if taking this debate which is somewhat tired for those in the ARG Community to the broader interactive community is like airing our dirty laundry. Or, perhaps it’s a desire to say “hey! look at us! we’re as cool as you! we can debate these subtle differences just like the big kids!”

I realize that I am reading a lot into very few words. But the panel proposal, just feels wrong to me. It’s for the wrong audience. About the wrong topic. Sending the wrong message.

But, perhaps, that’s what will make it a good choice. It’s got at least one person upset and it’s got a gimmick. And, I’m sure, they’ll use this to show how ARGs are all about the gimmicky events and controversy which is why, ironically, the ARG is dead.

Note: The panel is organized by Dee Cook & Brian Clark. I adore them both. They are great people who are very intelligent and smart. I know I’m fairly harsh (or, at least, wordy) here, but at the end of the day it’s nothing. And, honestly, I kinda wish it was the end of the day and we could head out for beers where we probably wouldn’t agree on this but would definitely agree that we love what we do and the community of people that surrounds it.

One of the greatest things about SXSW is that the people get to pick the panels. Ok, not completely, but the whole internets gets a 30% say on what sort of panels & presentations they would like to see at SXSW. How cool is that? Pretty darned cool!

I have submitted 2 ideas this year that I think would be pretty cool. If you do, too, please vote for them :)

The (R)evolution of Alternate Reality Games

In the search for the mainstream, ARGs have become entwined in PR stunts and companies pimping their stuff. This presentation breaks free of the hype and takes you on a tour of the evolution of Alternate Reality Gaming as seen from someone who’s been standing in the trenches since 2001.

This is me being arrogant and thinking that because I don’t have a company to promote or expecting me to pimp certain games, that I can speak more honestly about the trends. The truth is, I’m coming from the community with the agenda of pimping ARGs as a whole in hopes that we see more great games.  I think that one of the biggest issues that we have, as a community, is how difficult we make it to actually discover what has been done in the space. As of right now, there is no concise resource for this information. Hopefully this presentation will be the start of that. My goal for it is to provide those curious about genre and/or making a game (for whatever reason) a brief understanding of what’s been done  while encouraging them to explore the space and take things further. There is so much potential with Alternate Reality Games. They’re just getting started, so lets see where they can go. To support this panel, go here.

To The Streets: ARGs and Real World Play

From hidden geocaches to flash mobs to all-expense-paid trips to Europe, Alternate Reality Games are pulling players away from their computers and getting them involved in real world play. Join designers, producers, and players who have explored play online and off as they discuss what’s worked, what hasn’t, and why.

I really like the idea of this panel mostly because I want to have people on the panel from every stage of live event planning and participation: the designer, the producer, and the player. The each bring so much to the event and have great insights to share with an audience – whether that audience wants to create live events or participate in them. You can support this panel here.

Other interesting panels or ones that stick out for me…

• Jay Bushman’s Transmedia: It’s The Story, Stupid. I don’t always agree with Jay but I do so love his ideas of story in this connected age and I can relate to his frustrations with ARGs being taken over as advertising vehicles instead of storytelling ones. And while he should have stopped at Transmedia: It’s The Story so we could shorten it to TITS, I can’t imagine that this would be anything other than an outstanding panel.
• I was sold on one question in the description for The Distributed Stream: True Web Native Storytelling… “What is the difference between an interactive and distributed story?” It is not a hard question to answer. In fact, I think it’s fairly obvious. However, over the last few years, ARGs seem to have become more interactive and, at the same time, less distributed. These are not mutually exclusive ideas, but the trajectory is so similar that you’d almost think they were. And, to be honest, I think it’s the distributed story telling in alternate reality gaming that is far more interesting and exciting than the interactive bits. So I am very excited to see that addressed and I wonder if it cause any discussion (I hope so!).
• Say it isn’t so! There’s A Hot Brunette Who Needs Your Help?! It is so frustrating that a genre of entertainment that is so very much about stories, social collaboration and problem solving,  which are not sexist things and areas where men and women excel, is so often about running to the aid of the hot chick. With a number of women in leading positions (designers, producers, community leaders), why is this acceptable? I love that Andrea is not only thinking about this, but getting us to talk about it.
• Another great topic for conversation: Suspending Belief in an Age of Disclosure. This seems to focus on the TruBlood campaign which is a fairly good starting point as far as this topic is concerned – it’s benign enough (vampires are, obviously, fictional) but has had some controversy (how explicit should sponsored content be). There is no way a panel can properly address the topic as a whole – it’s so huge and complex and head-ache inducing that it’s something that can only be hashed out over many many conversations and blog posts and academic articles and so on and so forth. But as long as they aren’t trying to solve any problems or provide solutions but just get people talking about a few of the issues, it’ll be good. Though, the description makes me wonder – would Barnum, Wells, or Irving ever consider marketing cars, movies, or sodas… they weren’t marketers, they were entertainers and storytellers. So, a missing question might be is an audience more or less forgiving of disclaimers if the man eating chicken is just eating chicken and not KFC.
• Playing with Place is probably my biggest competition for the To The Streets panel, but if I totally lost to Catherine Herdlick I’d be totally honored. She is awesome and has done amazing things with Come Out And Play Though, I think it’d be even better if both our panels were selected – they’re slightly different as is, and I’m sure that we could work together to make them complimentary. (on the off chance that she runs across this…it was COAP that inspired me to do Board 2 Street – so, thanks! and yay! you’re inspiring people to make games. awesome!)
• Advertising in the Apocolypse. Ok. He sold me on “Zombie Uprisings”. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m preparing for The Zombie Uprising which is pretty much anything but advertising. I wonder if I could get Brian Cain to advertise my non-advertising arg in his args as advertising panel.
• From Mike Monello, another Campfire partner, is Transmedia Storytelling for Filmmakers.This was hidden over on the film side, so I almost missed it. eep. I’m not a filmmaker and I’ve been around transmedia for a while, so I’m certainly not the target audience but still… looks fantastic.
• We’ve been talking about it for, what, three years now? So I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise that the ARG funeral finally makes it on the list as The ARG is Dead. I’ve got to admit that I’m quite torn on this one. More on this, perhaps, later.

So, what panels have I missed? What else looks great? What deserves to be shown off? What will elicit strong emotions (and potentially good discussion)?

note: yes. the possibility that people might click on my name on the panel picker and come to the site was the motivation to actually get off my ass and finish the site design. sometimes we need that extra motivation and, I gotta admit, as much as I’d rather be making games than playing with my website, I’m kinda glad to finally get to finishing this. So thank you SXSW! Whether my panels are selected or not, you’ve at least gotten me to update this ol’ site o’ mine

Over the next few days, you’ll be able to watch this site transform from forgotten blog into a dynamic portfolio. I’m quite excited about the new direction – not to mention finally having a fun & pretty place to show off some of my favorite projects. You’ll notice the base copy for a few of them have already been written and linked to under “portfolio” and, by the end of the week, they should even look pretty and include images and files and links to more discussion. Crazy!

Things will break in the process. I have done my best to stop that, but if you notice something broken and it hasn’t been fixed by, say, the end of the week, holler at me. And if the site hasn’t transformed from a dreary dead blog to a vibrant updated portfolio by Friday, August 21, somebody please just take it all away from me.