What is an ARG?

An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.

The form is typified by intense player involvement with a story that takes place in real-time and evolves according to participants’ responses, and characters that are actively controlled by the game’s designers, as opposed to being controlled by artificial intelligence as in a computer or console video game. Players interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and often work together with a community to analyze the story and coordinate real-life and online activities. A.R.G.s generally utilize multiple media, such as telephones, email, message boards, websites, apps, augmented reality, and mail, but rely on the Internet as the central binding medium.

A.R.G.s are growing in popularity, with new games appearing regularly and an increasing amount of experimentation with new models and subgenres. They tend to be free to play, with costs absorbed either through supporting products (e.g. collectible puzzle cards fund Perplex City) or through promotional relationships with existing products (e.g. I love bees was a promotion for Halo 2, Iris is currently promoting the release of Halo 3 and the Lost Experience promoted the television show Lost). However, pay-to-play models are not unheard of. A.R.G.s are now being recognized by the mainstream entertainment world: The Fallen Alternate Reality Game was recently awarded a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for an Interactive Television Program.

A.R.G.s create exciting marketing, branding, and advertising opportunities which are not present in conventional programming:

• Interactive elements and user participation encourage ‘real engagement’.
• Encourages viewer identification with products and Sponsor identity as a brand of choice.
• Enhances traffic to Sponsor Web site for exclusive site content.
• Generates viral buzz for sponsors, and product.
• Creates advertisement opportunities for sponsors in video content, on affiliated Web sites, and in many untapped new arenas.
• Makes possible cross-promotion of Sponsor Featured products and/or services.
• Attracts a new variety of brand awareness.

Alternate Reality Games use new and old technologies in exciting ways to encourage intense viewer interaction. Prospects (players) will be directed to enter a richly layered interactive experience in which their ideas or actions can affect outcomes, and reveal depth in narrative never before seen in the medium.

Fake web sites, user-generated video, social networking pages, Wikipedia entries, commercials, chat rooms, message boards, phone calls, text and instant messages are some of the ways an A.R.G. will engage the players in this fast paced, pulse-pounding, leave-them-searching-for-more original experience . Players will interact directly with characters in the game, solve plot-based challenges and puzzles, and often work together with a community to analyze the story and coordinate online activities.

The future of media is to interact, invite contribution, build relationships, and engage in conversations with one’s audience.