alternate reality games new media consortium online gaming event, december 2005
TRANSCRIPT
Alternate reality games
New Media Consortium
Online gaming event, December 2005
Alternate reality games
Also: “search opera,” “Beasting”
Plan of the talk
I. ARGs: survey of the field by 2005
II. Case study: Project Mu
III. Principles for digital gaming and learning
I. Overview of the field
Who plays an ARG? Puppet masters Players Innocent bystanders
Where do they play? Fora IM Mail Web sites: trailheads,
updates, dbs, guides AR
I. Overview of the field
What is in an ARG? Puzzle content Nonpuzzle content Nongame content
What is it played on? PC and Mac Handhelds Phones Fax machines Multiple applications GPS units
I. Overview of the field
In other words:
Distributed, complex,
multimedia, interactive storytelling
Puzzle content?
Puzzle content
“h zptwsl pklh aoha dpss johunl aol dvysk”
Puzzle content
“h zptwsl pklh aoha dpss johunl aol dvysk”
through Caesar substitution cipher,
ROT-1:
“i aquxtm qlmi bpib eqtt kpivom bpm ewztl”
Puzzle content
“h zptwsl pklh aoha dpss johunl aol dvysk”
ROT-2 j brvyun rmnj cqjc fruu lqjwpn cqn fxaumROT-3 k cswzvo snok drkd gsvv mrkxqo dro gybvnROT-4 l dtxawp topl esle htww nslyrp esp hzcwoROT-5 m euybxq upqm ftmf iuxx otmzsq ftq iadxpROT-6 n fvzcyr vqrn gung jvyy punatr gur jbeyqROT-7 o gwadzs wrso hvoh kwzz qvobus hvs kcfzr
Puzzle content
“h zptwsl pklh aoha dpss johunl aol dvysk”
ROT-8 p hxbeat xstp iwpi lxaa rwpcvt iwt ldgasROT-9 q iycfbu ytuq jxqj mybb sxqdwu jxu mehbtROT-10 r jzdgcv zuvr kyrk nzcc tyrexv kyv nficuROT-11 s kaehdw avws lzsl oadd uzsfyw lzw ogjdvROT-12 t lbfiex bwxt matm pbee vatgzx max phkewROT-13 u mcgjfy cxyu nbun qcff wbuhay nby qilfx
Puzzle content
“h zptwsl pklh aoha dpss johunl aol dvysk”
ROT-14 v ndhkgz dyzv ocvo rdgg xcvibz ocz rjmgyROT-15 w oeilha ezaw pdwp sehh ydwjca pda sknhzROT-16 x pfjmib fabx qexq tfii zexkdb qeb tloiaROT-17 y qgknjc gbcy rfyr ugjj afylec rfc umpjbROT-18 z rhlokd hcdz sgzs vhkk bgzmfd sgd vnqkcROT-19 a simple idea that will change the world
Puzzle content
Caesar cipherROT-19 :
“a simple idea that will change the world”
I. History of the field
The Beast (2001)“Jeanine Salla, Sentient
machine therapist”
"Evan Chan was murdered“, "Jeanine was the key"
I. History of the field
The Beast (2001)
Puzzles Codes Steganography HTML source DNS Hints Googling
I. History of the field
The Beast (2001) puppet masters Cloudmakers traditional media
tie-in TINAG
I. History of the field
Majestic (EA, 2001) Multiple devices Fictitious creators
(Anim-X)
I. History of the field
Majestic (2001) Push strategy Commercial
failure
I. History of the field
ILoveBees (2004)
I. History of the field
ILoveBees (2004) Halo 2: game basis AR aspect Culture clash:
PuzzleLover vs Skullcrusher
I. Overview of the field
Perplex City (2005, ongoing)
I. Overview of the field
Noncommercial games Project Mu/Metacortechs
Integration with other media Alias and Omnifam
Academic games Ares Station (http://www.aresstation.com/)
II. Case study
Project Mu: anatomy of an ARG
Fan media culture
(via BoingBoing)
Fan media culture
(via Fark.com)
Fan media culture
Project Mu: Metacortechs
http://www.metacortechs.com/main.html
Project Mu: Metacortechs
Discussion fora notice
Project Mu : Metacortechs
Information about company Links to Matrix story world Established temporal frame by the game’s end
Project Mu: web hosting
Project Mu: web hosting
Project Mu: web hosting
Underscore hosted numerous sites, each with unique look and feel
Project Mu: setting
Aquacortex: undersea hotel and covert research base
Project Mu : characters
Characters established by Content mention Relationships Infrastructure
Project Mu: characters
Katherine Cunningham, false friend to Beth
Project Mu: characters
James Avery, MetaCortechs executive
Project Mu : character
Project Mu: character
little-boxes to Paranormal Studies, Phil Gairden
Project Mu: setting
Established by website and hidden floorplans Media content hidden by puzzles
Project Mu: character
Ethan and Dina searching for their son
Blog format
Project Mu: plot
Violent fate of James Avery revealed by hidden image sequence
Project Mu: plot
Project Mu: plot
Project Mu: plot
Project Mu: plot
\
Project Mu: plot
Project Mu: plot
Aquapolis attack
Project Mu: conclusion
Project Mu: frame
http://www.metacortechs.com/mumowmow/
Project Mu: players
Collaborative exploration of web content
Project Mu: structure and design
Some trends in 2005
More marketing Art of the Heist http://www.stolena3.com/
New businesses and models 42 Entertainment
More media dependency Lost games and sites
Some trends in 2005
Perplex City http://perplexcitysentinel.com/ Increased profile ARG techniques seeping into other venues
http://www.badwolf.org.uk/disclaimer.html
III. Principles
Social gaming Distributed Multimodal Productive Can be interactive with puppet
masters
III. Principles
Digital gaming Cross-platform Multilinear Genre: puzzle-solving
III. Principles
Differences from other digital games Permeability of game boundary (space and
time) Focus on distributed, collaborative cognition Increased ephemerality
III. Principles
Differences from other digital games Constructivist narrative model Unstable emergence Fanfiction model
III. Principles
ARGs and education Intrinsic object of study Instance of new media
III. Principles
Rich field of antecedents
John Fowles, The Magus (1965)
III. Principles
Rich field of antecedents
Luigi Serafini, Codex Seraphinianus (1970s)
III. Principles
Rich field of antecedents
Ray Johnson (1927-1995)
III. Principles
Rich field of antecedents
David Fincher, The Game (1997)
III. Principles
Rich field of antecedents
William Gibson, Pattern Recognition (2003)
III. Principles
ARGs and education Information literacySupport issuesNot heroic central position
III. Principles
ARGs and educationPedagogy of constructivism InterdisciplinaryCollaborative (MMOG)Blended and distance
Resources
Alternate Reality Gaming Network (ARGN) http://www.argn.com/
Unfiction http://www.unfiction.com/ DeadDrop http://deaddrop.us/
Resources
Wikipedia entry Dave Szulborski, This is Not a Game (2005) Jane McGonigal http://avantgaming.com