Post by Sarah Butler on Jul 8, 2010 15:26:16 GMT
You may have seen the phrase "alternate reality game" or the acronym ARG used to describe the Avoncroft Stories and Artefacts Project. You may be wondering what that means. Well, here's a brief explanation, or at least an attempt at one...
Alternate Reality Games are very hard to define, because although there are some common themes that run through most ARGS, you'll find once you start digging that there aren't really any hard and fast rules. There has been an awful lot written about what an Alternate Reality Game is, which is a good place to start.
The Wikipedia article for ARGs is particularly helpful if you're looking to understand what is going on.
This sort of interactive storytelling, where the 'players' can help shape the narrative, has lots of other names for it too. Transmedia... chaotic fiction... immersive gaming... the list goes on and on.
All you really need to know is this: this is a game, but a game with a difference. You can talk to the characters. You can even meet the characters. You are a character, and you will help shape how the game unfolds and, ultimately, how it ends.
Welcome to the ASA Project.
Alternate Reality Games are very hard to define, because although there are some common themes that run through most ARGS, you'll find once you start digging that there aren't really any hard and fast rules. There has been an awful lot written about what an Alternate Reality Game is, which is a good place to start.
The Wikipedia article for ARGs is particularly helpful if you're looking to understand what is going on.
This sort of interactive storytelling, where the 'players' can help shape the narrative, has lots of other names for it too. Transmedia... chaotic fiction... immersive gaming... the list goes on and on.
All you really need to know is this: this is a game, but a game with a difference. You can talk to the characters. You can even meet the characters. You are a character, and you will help shape how the game unfolds and, ultimately, how it ends.
Welcome to the ASA Project.