ARG-tastic, the world of the Alternate Reality Game.

Before I go on… ARG = Alternative Reality Game – an interactive, cross-media narrative.  ARGs are cross platform games that explore storytelling in an interesting and non-linear way.  They tend to be used as a form of viral advertising, a way to get people involved and engaged in a product so they continue to support it.  However, as the genre grows, self-supporting ARGs are created which function in a similar way, but aren’t based on the back of another media product.

I was first introduced to these through a TV show – Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse which aired on the FOX network.  This show was pretty much doomed from the start, under the constant threat of cancellation but against all odds (and poor ratings) managed to get renewed for a second season.  To try and build some intrigue between the seasons and hopefully win more viewers, Fox launched an ARG.

This began with an email from one of the show’s characters to several prominent fans of the show who were active in the online community.  It contained links to websites that had been set up for companies and characters in the show.  From these, several personas emerged, said to work for the companies and they began to communicate with people via email and Twitter.  This led into a web of mystery where codes were gleaned from the sites which were then put into other sites to get messages from characters and so on… By this point, quite frankly I was lost but I continued to follow the story (via the wiki) with interest and it occupied me whilst I waited for the show to restart, keeping the world fresh in my mind.  A good summary of the basics of ARGs is here

My introduction came pretty late and there are hundreds of others ARGs, many much more successful and for bigger shows (such as the True Blood ARG) but they often link into the idea of a bigger world around a media product.  They tap into the childish urge to make up imaginary worlds around a toy or a place, changing the world to the reality we want.  They also tap into personal desire for knowledge and provide a sense of discovery.  And of course,  ARGs are a more interactive and “approved” way for fans to become involved in a form of fan fiction.   By letting fans become involved in an extended universe, they become much more invested in the product and more likely to continue to support it.

When the ARG comes before the product, much as with True Blood or “The Beast” (another successful ARG, for the film AI, involving 40,000 people) it acts as a sophisticated way to gain interest, involving users so much in the game that they might not even realise the product being promoted – “So sure, we were being hit by marketing, but it was really cool marketing that gave us something to talk about, something to enjoy.”  They can also act as an informal feedback, testing concepts on users during the game and then later incorporating them within the product.

ARGs provide value for both player and observer.  In my case, although I find them incredibly interesting, I tend to prefer to watch them from a distance, enjoying the discovery of clues and the solutions they provide, but never actually dedicated (or clever!) enough to become involved.  They do require a time investment that other games don’t need and constant revisiting to keep up with clues and solutions.  This does tend to create a niche club of users who have been there since the off, exploring and solving  and it can be difficult to join in the middle.

Despite this ARG niche, they are edging ever closer to the mainstream, as I realised when I saw an article in Metro about the latest ARG featuring Lewis Hamilton as an “art rescuer”.  This game is sponsored by Reebok and incorporates real world locations, clue following and online collaboration, along with..well Lewis Hamilton. 

Lewis Hamilton: Secret Life, is one of the most ambitious projects of its kind, building a multi-lingual community of players from every corner of the globe. Staged on a truly international scale the entire adventure will be played out in nine languages simultaneously.

Although this game is just in its early stages at the moment, it seems like a sign that ARGs might be evolving to appeal to a broader range of people, something I will definitely be watching with interest.