Layers of Reality

kib102arg: What are use case scenarios? Oh wiki! You should be...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:11:54 -0400

Branching

Linear

What are use case scenarios? Oh wiki!

You should be starting to plot out your narrative this way and detailing what platforms will be used to deploy. This is a great tool to get an overview of your game. It can be as detailed as the first image (with legends of pre-game, in-game, end-game) or as simple as the second depending on the degree of complexity of your game. Given you that the final assessment is a group assessment and is due in Week 13… I’m thinking it needs to be more like the first use case scenario.

argplay: World Without Oil. ARG 2007. This ARG provides a great...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:10:28 -0400

argplay:

World Without Oil. ARG 2007.

This ARG provides a great example on how to present your final documentation. This video summarizes and documents the ARG… it introduces the concept and game, presents much of the collected media made during the event by both makers and players… and provides info about the public/player response): http://worldwithoutoil.org/metavideo.htm

The World Without Oil game asked players to imagine a world reeling from a sudden oil shortage, describe how the crisis is unfolding where they live, and work together on simple and practical ways to adapt. By playing it out in a serious way, the game aimed to apply collective intelligence and imagination to the problem in advance, and create a record that has value for educators, policymakers, and the common people to help anticipate the future and prevent its worst outcomes. In sum, World Without Oil invited people to, per its slogan, “Play it before you live it.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Without_Oil

If you are ever in doubt of the potential impact of an ARG, read this: http://worldwithoutoil.org/metaabout.htm

Also, check out this archived article:

ITVS INTERACTIVE’S WORLD WITHOUT OIL, AN ALTERNATE REALITY GAME WINS “ACTIVISM” AWARD AT SXSW WEB AWARDS

ARG Called Upon the Internet’s Vast Collective Intelligence to Address Peak Oil Concerns. http://web.archive.org/web/20080516071151/http://www.itvs.org/pressroom/press_detail.php?pressId=6586

argplay: The Darkest Puzzle New ARG Game by the wonderful Hugh...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:08:00 -0400

argplay:

The Darkest Puzzle

New ARG Game by the wonderful Hugh Davies

Get involved! http://www.thedarkestpuzzle.com/

The story should be familiar to you from my lecture in week one…!?

On the day of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, a group of Alternate Reality Gamers called the CloudMakers discussed in an online forum how they could employ their “Collective Detective” skills to uncover the culprits behind the attacks. The moderators of this group soon dismissed the idea declaring “This Is Not A Game”. However a small group calling themselves Dark Cloud broke away to solve what became known as: The Darkest Puzzle.

Ten years later, all members of Dark Cloud have disappeared.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Darkest-Puzzle/176678025725594?sk=wall

The Lost Ring | Trailer

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:59:40 -0400

The Lost Ring | Trailer

The Lost Ring | Case Study

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:57:00 -0400

The Lost Ring | Case Study

Audi A3 - Art of the Heist | Case Study The Results: 500, 000...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:50:00 -0400

Audi A3 - Art of the Heist | Case Study

The Results:

500, 000 Participants
45 million+ PR impressions
10, 000+ leads to dealers
2 million+ unique visitors to audiusa.com

Successful? YES!

ARG: Something in the sea | Bio Shock 2

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:47:51 -0400

ARG: Something in the sea | Bio Shock 2:

If you’re familiar with Flash your trailer could be something similar to this.. It needs to be interactive & represent the style and underlying story of your proposed ARG.

Why so serious? | Case Study A recap of The Dark Knight MARG....

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:31:00 -0400

Why so serious? | Case Study

A recap of The Dark Knight MARG. I’m sure you’ve all seen this in class, but if you haven’t, take a look!

ARG: Conspiracy for Good

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:27:55 -0400

ARG: Conspiracy for Good

ARG: Xi [NDreams]

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:24:00 -0400

Questions? Ask here...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:55:53 -0400

acollectivehunch: When you are trying to create a narrative...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:55:00 -0400

acollectivehunch:

When you are trying to create a narrative around your concept/idea for a better world remember to research, research, research!!! The aim of an ARG is to blur the lines between an alternate world and reality, so you need to explore the real world context for your fictional theme. By doing this you can increase the player’s sense of immersion and willingness to suspend disbelief.

One of you lovely students has settled on exploring a better world through the power/phenomena (positive or negative) of hacking. This is such a topical issue at the moment so there is plenty to research… here is a great starting point (everyone else should watch it too… it’s amazeballs).

Copyright-free Archives

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:52:42 -0400

For those of you looking for copyright-free material this may be a good place to start..

Assignment 1 (Brief & Overview)

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 01:45:16 -0400

ARG Project Pitch and Interactive Prototype

Due Date: Week 6

Weight: 40%

1. Research and Reviews

Refer to Inspirational Works: Other work that supports/inspires your theme, style, story, scenario, interactions etc .

At Least 3 posts that include an image, a link to find out more about the project, 200 words describing the work and why/how it relates to your proposed ARG.

This is evidence that there is a ‘case’ for the project to be supported/funded/selected… and indicates that you are aware of the professional ‘design space’ and possible public understanding of the medium.

2. The Pitch: Setting the scene and motivating engagement

Tagline: One/two sentence teaser.
Plot Description - Introduce the story (circumstances and characters). 200 - 400 words
Media List - describe the interfaces/networks/services/systems/devices and how you will use them to deliver the content, host user interactions and provide user feedback (eg. a combination of fake website, twitter character, posters, vimeo/youtube, wiki etc)
The Use Case Scenario - a possible sequence of user interaction… from pre-game, in-game and end-game. A recommended format is a ‘storyboard’ of a possible player sequence from finding the game to completing it. Will there be winners? If so, what are the rules of winning.
This should include some kind of indication of how long the experience will take for a player/s to complete and if there are any special requirements (eg. venues, services on and offline).
Design Documentation: The Pitch should include multiple interface sketches/diagrams and at least 3 interfaces presented as Mockup designs.

3. The Visual Prototype (Game Teaser/Trailer)

The visual prototype will represent both the intended aesthetic/attitude/style of your ARG and demonstrate a kind of interaction that the ARG experience will include. More details below in the section ‘Assessment Items’.

You are to create a prototype (proof of concept) that acts as a ‘TEASER’ promoting your ARG Event. This prototype can act as a “Teaser” (Concept Snapshot) that introduces the viewer to the fictional ‘world’ of the project and indicates to potential players what kinds of interactions to expect with that world, it’s characters, its props, other players etc.

4. Resource Statement

Display and describe:

A project timeline: for development between weeks 8 and 13. Describe major milestones for design, development, event hosting and documentation.

List of Roles and Responsibilities: people and their project profiles/activities/outcomes
List of Materials for production and event hosting: tools, services, equipment etc requirements

Tip: It is expected that this project will be developed on a ‘zero’ budget! Your time and the time of other collaborators would be considered as ‘in-kind’ contributions. Please note if there is any support required from the university: venues booked (CIP offices/classrooms), services appropriated (ie. class emails), basic printing (up to A3 black/white posters). This will be considered under review.

Submission Details

Format: Presentation in week 6 (max 10 minutes) and web site (tumblr)

Your ARG Pitch: Items 1 – 4 above (tumblr ‘page’ for each)
A downloadable document Copy (pdf)
Your prototype (post)

Where: Submit the URL to the Introductory Web Page on the Unit Discussion Forum on Blackboard (details on how to submit will be available on the Discussion forum a week before the submission date)

Assessment Criteria:

Response to brief: Design concept responds to the brief in a creative, imaginative and distinctive manner, clearly the result of an active and thorough exploration of the theme and design space.

Resolution of the concept: The prototype clearly represents, evidences and communicates the intended concept, and exploits the design space in a unique, exemplary way

Appropriate use of design principles: The work evidences an exemplary degree of understanding of issues pertaining to interface design and media presentation.

Effective articulation of design process: Documentation of the process is clearly demonstrated and shows a sophisticated level of engagement in design concepts and methods of resolving design issues.

Presentation and communication: the presentation of materials insightfully contributes towards the communication of your design idea(s) in a distinctive and creative manner. This especially relates to the design of the presentation BLOG.

Immersion & Agency - Class Discussion

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:43:25 -0400

Incentives
Tangible rewards – money (We Lost Our Gold), clues (e.g. numbers out of ‘The Clock with No Face’), game-specific material (The Gotham Times newsletter from The Dark Knight)

Ease of access to mediums
In order to gain a wider audience the mediums should be free, easy, existing, and integrated into your ARG to create a seamless effect

Attention to detail
Consistency – content, characters, clues

More options for players
Different directions/paths to take, different levels of clues or challenges

Mediums & Creative Platforms
Links, videos, codes, advertising, navigation, phone calls, recorded messages, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Youtube, Blogspot, Google +, QR codes

Location Based
Clues could relate to physical locations. They may tie-in with the movie, for example, The Dark Knight (bank locations, bus, etc.)

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:45:33 -0400

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world:

TED Talks

Jane McGonigal - Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems?

The world's most elaborate album cover

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:01:00 -0400

The world's most elaborate album cover:

Nine Inch Nails had been recording their new album ‘Year Zero’. They needed a way to provide context for the songs. The solution? The world’s most elaborate album cover using the media of today - an Alternate Reality Game. The initial clue was so subtle that for nearly two days nobody noticed it.