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Alternate Reality Games

Discover the world of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) through immersive storytelling experiences that blur the lines between fiction and reality. Learn about the Anatomy of a puzzle, real-world crossovers, and the rise of Serious Games. Delve into the unique aspects of ARGs, including community building, tangential learning, and player-created resources.

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Alternate Reality Games

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  1. Alternate Reality Games Chad Haefele Reference Librarian for Emerging Technologies, Davis Library cHaefele@email.unc.edu Presented 10/3/08 Slides online: http://www.slideshare.net/chaefele/args-presentation/ (flash) http://tinyurl.com/argsG4L (ppt)

  2. The Beast • 2001, A.I. Movie poster:

  3. What is an ARG? • An immersive storytelling experience • Multimedia • The real world is the publishing medium • Collaborative • “No one knows everything, everyone knows something, all knowledge resides in humanity” • Pierre Levy, Collective Intelligence

  4. Example: I Love Bees • 2004, promoted Halo 2

  5. Example: Last Call Poker • 2005, promoted Gun

  6. Grassroots/Self Sustaining ARGs • Metacortechs – 2003 • Perplex City – 2005

  7. Vocabulary • “Rabbit Hole”: The method of an ARG’s debut • “Puppet Master” (PM): A person running an ARG • “This is not a game”: Many ARGs don’t explicitly admit they are games.

  8. Tiers of play Source: http://42entertainment.com/see.html

  9. Real-world crossover

  10. Anatomy of a puzzle • Mysterious audio file:

  11. One spectrograph later…

  12. Anatomy of a live event

  13. Synchronous vs. Asychronous • Players can come together • Players can collaborate apart OR

  14. ‘Experience’ vs. ‘Game’ • Same tools used in both • ‘Experience’ is a trail of puzzles & interactions, linear, repeatable • ‘Game’ is more collaborative, longer term

  15. Why participate? • Swag! • Recognition • Immersion • ‘Wow’ factor • Interesting stories

  16. Community

  17. Rise of the Serious Game • Primary purpose: to teach or provoke thought • Generally applied to video games - until recently • Repurposes the tools of entertainment

  18. Year Zero • 2007, Nine Inch Nails • Civil Resistance

  19. World Without Oil • 2007, non-promotional • http://worldwithoutoil.org/ • Asychronous, collaborative, explicitly educational • Worked on a limited budget

  20. Teachable moment: Issues • Players re-interpret their lives • Imagining the issues inspires real thinking Source: WorldWithoutOil.org

  21. Teachable moment: Info Literacy • ACRL Info Literacy standards (in part): Students should be able to… • "Recognize that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation, and/or analysis to produce new information." • "Identify the value and differences of potential resources in a variety of formats (multimedia, database, website, book)" • "Create a system for organizing information" • "Utilize technology for studying the interaction of ideas and other phenomena" • "Validate understanding and interpretation of the information through discourse with other individuals…" • "Apply new and prior information to the planning and creation of a particular product or performance." • "Manipulate digital text, images, and data, as needed, transferring them from their original locations and formats to a new context."

  22. Teachable Moment: Tangential Learning • Expose a player to new ideas and potential for learning, without forcing it on them • (source: http://www.edge-online.com/blogs/the-power-tangential-learning ) • ARGs can take it even further: learn new skills along the way

  23. Teachable moment: Player-created resources • Wikis • Blogs • Photoshop • Art • Video

  24. Why run a campus ARG? • Good method for cross-disciplinary cooperation and learning • Participatory/Collaborative learning • Fosters community among students • Social issues to be addressed • Drinking, stress, relationships, etc.

  25. Advantages for running a UNC ARG • Centralized player base • Diversity of academic programs • Blanket wi-fi • Rich campus history • Funding possibilities!

  26. For further reading • Dena, Christy. "Emerging Participatory Culture Practices: Player-Created Tiers in Alternate Reality Games." Convergence 14.1 (2008): 41-57. • Kim, Jeffrey Y., Jonathan P. Allen, and Elan Lee. "ALTERNATE REALITY GAMING. (Cover Story)." Communications of the ACM 51.2 (2008): 36-42. • Szulborski, Dave. This is Not a Game : A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. [Pennsylvania]: New-Fiction Pub., 2005. • IU Bloomington gets $185k grant- http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/8300.html • The Power of Tangential Learning - http://www.edge-online.com/blogs/the-power-tangential-learning • Try it yourself • www.EagleEyeFreeFall.com • www.love-resurrected.com/ • http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/ • www.ARGN.com

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