ARG; Newest Entertainment Experience?
 

An ARG (Alternate Reality Game) is a cross media narrative that has started to gain popularity. In short, you solve a mystery or learn about some fictional secrets with the internet, your phone, and possibly by actually talking to a designated actor. It started with a game known as "The Beast", which was used to promote the movie A.I.

Players tried to solve a fictional murder by traveling to various websites and collecting clues. The Cloudmakers, and whole group dedicated to cracking the Beast's code, was formed. Eventually it was all figured out and more then likely heightened the experience of the movie to anyone who was in "the beast".

Why am I talking about this? Because if your like me, this sound friggin' awesome and would dedicate a part of their lives to engage in said experience. If my description was too vague, I've putten links to the Wikipedia article. You could also look it up. (duh)

So, I've never partaken in one, but am extremely interested in it and wanted to see if anyone was also interested in ARG's. Mostly for shits and giggles. Hey, I'm bored and it sounds like a good conversation as long as it is not destroyed. BEGIN WITH THE SPEAKING!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game

I don't participate, except in the Transformers Movie one where I pretended to be a crazy spider Transformer call Tarantulas.

I just let them do the hard work, and reap the rewards.

See. Now I can talk to you. But I won't, because you hurt my feelings. Prick. :P

(I assume you voted that it sounds stupid and I'm an idiot..)


Well, do the people you mooch(spl?) off of have fun?

Guesss so. But half the people seem to be way to into seriousness, a quarter are just normal people in it for fun, and a quarter are just arseholes.

The Serious people have fun digging all over everything, the normals have fun humouring the seriouses, and the arseholes have fun being arseholes.

It all works.

ARGs are not very popular in The Netherlands, and since most of them are held in the USA, I don't participate.

Yeah the US central thing is lame

It sounds stupid and your an idiot.

Actually, Kastere, ARGs are a pretty big thing. Remember the Cortana Letters? Or ILoveBees? Or even the Aperture Science website?

All great ARGs.

Oh, those were ARG's?

Cool, I retract my statement.

I'm kind of confused, but I agree, they do sound pretty awesome.
Are there any current ones that we can join?

I think the aperture science website has one going.

When I was little Lego had a contest on their site of 'finding the golden bionicle mask' I wanted to find it so bad, it was a smidge of an ARG.

That solid gold one? It was won by some creepy collector dude. He took like, 20 pictures of it and nobody ever saw it publicly displayed again.

It's so great that most people agree on the level of my intelligence! Weee!

As for the two who said I'm smart, die. Slowly. You're creepy and I don't need more stalker. >.>

edit: Cloverfield has one going, but the movie is JUST around the corner, so it won't last long.

ARGs are cool, (I never knew they had a name) but I'll most likely never take part in one. The coolest one I've heard about by far is the one for the new Nine Inch Nails album.

Than golden bioncle thing reminds me of a certain chocolate factory.
Anyways, are there any ARG's at the presetn that we can join? :)

Look up ARG's on your local search engine.

ARG's are an interesting new version of combining hype, story elements, and entertainment. I like how it makes you follow a trail and gives you a sense of discovery so you feel like, 'Oh yeah, I'm awesome, I solved the mystery first and now people all over the internet will want to claw out my eyes in jealousy for being the best.'

Of course, if you're not first, it kind of kills the experience since you're the person wanting to do the eye-clawing or something equally violent. But stuff like ILoveBees was cool, since it forced people who didn't know each other at all to work together for a common cause.

To run it down, I think they're cool, but they only really apply to the hardcore. ILB had me going for a long time, but I don't think people who weren't intrested in Halo 2 would have been excited about it.

Broaden the appeal, and then it will definitely gain some steam as people other than excited fanboys start working on it.

hey if you want a good example go over here:
http://awards.sf.akqa.com/creative/2007/halo3/iris/

it's a sum up by the guys who actually tought it