ARG

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.

If you’ve visited this site over the past year or so, you’ve seen a site very much in progress with an almost complete design and a not nearly complete portfolio. Oh the plans I had. I still have them, but I’m finally giving myself permission to let them go for now. I’m hoping that the return to simplicity here won’t make me feel guilty every time that I want to post something – as if I should be focusing on the design and portfolio instead of the thoughts and ideas that helped me to fill that portfolio.

I’m making no promises. There will likely be few posts. Though, I would like to actually do the Blog Round Table mentioned in the post just below this from almost a year ago. I may start that back up again if there’s interest (is there?). That would mean a post or so a month from me, at least.

Things have been insane, obviously, over the past year (and the five before it). I’ve continued working on corporate games (training & teambuilding) and with the government (military & intelligence). There’s been quite a bit of consulting with people like tv execs and ad creatives. Perhaps the most notable of my projects, seeing as it’s the only experience open to the public, has been Eldritch Errors for which I’ve been a creator, producer, and writer along with the great guys at GMD Studios.

Of course, there’s also Unfiction and ARGN, both of which keep me a bit busy even though I’m a total slacker (see above and sorry guys!). They’re two websites that I couldn’t imagine the internet without – not because of the design or the content, but because of the people involved both behind the scenes and in the community.

It blows me away when I think that it’s been six years (six years!!) since Lockjaw launched. We were so naive and hopeful and, yet, never in my wildest imagination would I have guessed where it would lead me and, more importantly, the amazing community that would take root during (because of?) it. For as much as I love my job, it is the community that has given me the most. I’m constantly in awe of it, learn from it, and am inspired by it. My job may be crazy, but it is the community that keeps me that way reminds me that I’m sane. So, thanks guys. You all are amazing.

(Wow, this got a bit sappy for a “oops, haven’t blogged in a year!” post. Hmmm, built in motivation to keep posting and to get this off the front page. Gotta love it.)

… almost!

We need help in a very big way. You see, the site is absolutely amazing, but, at this point it’s only a fraction of the site that it should be. It needs a full database of the games that have taken place over the course of ARG history. Right now, we have most of the games prior to I Love Bees, but even those contain only the most basic of information. This means that we have a number of beta testers, especially those that have joined the community in the past two years, looking at games that they did not play. So they’re looking at the site and seeing the potential, but being underwhelmed and, to a degree, left out of the fun.

The task of gathering the information we need is a huge one. There’s no way that we can expect any individual to gather the information. However, together we can make quick work of this. Who does collaboration better than ARGers? If a couple dozen of us take on a game each, the database could be filled within days. If a few more dozen help out, it could go even faster. A wiki has been set up for this purpose. Please, go and add to it – add whatever information you know or can find. Read the information that others have already added for accuracy, grammar, and spelling. If you don’t know where to start, start with the games you played. If those are taken, start from the present and work your way back or grab that one game you always wanted to know more about. You don’t even need to be a solid writer, if you can go through and pick out the start and end dates for all the games that start with the letter L, that would be a great help. This something that can take so little of your time but really make a big impact.

If you’d like to see what the site looks like and some of the things that it does, you can take the ARGdb Tour. If you feel like seeing it a bit more up close and personal, and promise to tell us your thoughts – no matter how good or bad, you can sign up for the beta.

Most importantly, you can add any information that you have (or find) to the ARGdb wiki.

Twitter.

Of course I signed up back when and promptly got annoyed by it. It was pointless and stupid and something that only a bunch of kids would enjoy. Or so I thought. After seeing it in action at SXSW, I’ve become a fan. Oh, it’s still pointless and stupid and something that a bunch of kids would enjoy, but only 99% of the time. The other 1% is gold.

If you have somehow missed all the twitter talk (more power to ya!), it is essentially massively multiplayer text messaging and there are times when that is really handy – such as during conferences. With twitter, you can post up to 140 characters via the internet or email or sms and anyone (or just your friends) can recieve your post via the internet or email or sms. One post and everyone can see it in a form that’s convenient to them.

At SXSW this included updates on conference sessions and parties – where people were, what was interesting, what rocked, what sucked. It helped people find each other or, for some, avoid one another. It was fantastic. But, not fantastic enough for me to actually have logged in or used it – besides, others that I was with were getting the twitter updates, I didn’t need to bother.

What really excites me is the potential for ARG events. Imagine the ability for those at live events to post a stream of updates as to what’s going on from their phone that hits the web (or email or phones) instantly. Or, perhaps, a distributed scavenger hunt taking place the world over where people have to keep everyone else informed of what they’ve just found – each discovery building upon the other. Those are both possible with other technologies but twitter makes it fast and efficient and the possibilities excite me to no end.

Charlene Li has a great post on What Twitter is good for and how the program needs to be improved. I completely agree with her on the need for a more robust permission system. Until then, there’s just far too much noise – even if it is just my friends. But oh the possibilities.

San Francisco! I love this city! I love that the only times I’ve been here have been to play and/or attend game conferences. I got in yesterday so that I could get settled in in time for ARGfest which leads right in to GDC, which I’ll be covering for ARGNet and indieWIRE. Then it’s on to Austin, a city I’ve never been to for a conference that I’ve never been to – SXSW. I’ll be covering that, as well, for ARGNet and sitting on the ARG! Attack of the Alternate Reality Games panel. Excitement!

Of the three, I am the most lookiing forward to ARGfest. It’s going to be an amazing time and not just because it’s a huge party filled with people that I see once a year (if that) despite chatting with them near daily. First off, I’ll be announcing two projects that I’m really quite excited about and hope that others will be as well. And then there’s the conference. The organizers, notably Rose, have done an absolutely AMAZING job in pulling this together and getting some fantastic people to come in and talk to us. A little taste:

1) The first public appearance by the folks behind lonelygirl15. I’m quite anxious to hear what all they have to say. They’ll be speaking the following week at SXSW, but I have a feeling that the talk at ARGfest will be a bit more intimate. It will definitely be interesting to compare the two, especially the audience reaction.

2) A panel with a number of folks from 42 Entertainment. I’m not sure who all will be a part of it, but from what I’ve heard, it will cover a wide range of roles & responsibilities. It should offer some fantastic insight on how the company approaches a project which is always interesting to me. Plus, they’re just a really fun group of people. I’m sure we’ll be getting our information served with a large side of fun banter & stories.

3) The guys (or at least one of them) from SFZero – a “Collaborative Production Game” which is created by the players almost as much as it is by the developers. By getting people to challenge each other to explore themselves and the world around them, the game makes a very real impact on the players and, by extension, their world. I’ve been a longtime fan from afar and have only heard amazing things by those more familiar with them and their work.

4) Jane McGonigal. She’s hosting Cruel 2 B Kind (a game she created with Ian Bogost) on Friday night and then sitting on a panel about the future of ARGs on Saturday. Her insights on people and play and community are amazing, if only I could sit in her brain for an entire day! It’s going to be nice to get a chance to hear from her before GDC where she’s giving the SGS Keynote on ARGs as serious games – but not serious as in boring, serious as in games for good.

There’s loads that I’m missing, but there’s just no way that I can hit everything that I’m excited about. It was all I could do to limit it to three. Seriously, check out the conference schedule to see for yourself. There will be a bit of coverage of the even on ARGNet, so be sure to head over there for post-ARGfest thoughts, impressions, and whatnots. If I can find a moment or two before getting wrapped up in GDC, I’ll try to add some of my thoughts here as well.