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Alternate Reality Games Grow In Popularity

Posted by Zonk on from the you-could-be-playing-one-right-now dept.

A Joystiq post has some commentary on the popularity of Alternate Reality Games. Specifically, they reference some statistics gathered to give quantifiable metrics to game popularity. From the post: "Based on official numbers, the volume of forum posting and the number of hits on Google, these figures are pretty impressive. Two of the better-known ARGs -- The Beast and I Love Bees -- attracted upwards of two million players, according to their designers." For folks who play: What is your sense of their popularity? How many people do you know who play?

6 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What is "ARG"? by yitzhak · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's not like MMORPGS, it's more like LARPing. But if you STFU and RTFM, you should know that.

    Just kidding. It pisses me off when things get posted to /. with NO background information whatsoever, especially when the articles themselves assume you know what it is.

    ARGs are basically playing a game in the real world, and suspending your disbelief long enough that you are in an alternate reality. The idea is that fiction should blend seamlessly into life.

  2. Re:What is "ARG"? by fosterNutrition · · Score: 2, Informative

    As I understand it, ARG is essentially a MMORPG, but one where the game is actually designed simply to let you live out a second life. (I think Second Life is actually the name of a popular one). Instead of running around for one or two hours a day doing some quest and killing fantasy monsters, you spend ten or so hours pretending to be a [instert favourite sexual orientation here] member of [inster favourite minority here] living in Laos.

  3. Definition by xtieburn · · Score: 3, Informative

    'An alternate reality game is a cross media game that deliberately blurs the line between the in-game and out-of-game experiences, often being used as a marketing tool for a product or service. While games may primarily be centered around online resources, often events that happen inside the game reality will "reach out" into the players' lives in order to bring them together. Elements of the plotline may be provided to the players in almost any form, some of those used have been'

    From wikipedia for anyone else who was wondering what the hell this is all about.

  4. Re:What is "ARG"? by clamatius · · Score: 4, Informative
    Here's unfiction's definition (unfiction is one of the bigger ARG discussion sites):
    A cross-media genre of interactive fiction using multiple delivery and communications media, including television, radio, newpapers, Internet, email, SMS, telephone, voicemail, and postal service. Gaming is typically comprised of a secret group of PuppetMasters who author, manipulate, and otherwise control the storyline, related scenarios, and puzzles and a public group of players, the collective detective that attempts to solve the puzzles and thereby win the furtherance of the story.
  5. Re:Any that are currently running? by inio · · Score: 2, Informative

    Who Is Benjamin Stove seems to be the current big (promotional) one. Not sure what it's promoting yet though.

  6. Re:eXistenZ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Just to clarify about eXistenZwhich for the 90% of the population, who have never even heard of it much less saw it, was like The Matrix only it would have done better had it some out a year or two before it. Like Eragon and Prince before it.. Existenz was overshadowed by the more popular (notnecessarily better) precursor.