I was shocked to see that no one has brought up Alternate Reality Gaming. From the standpoint of gaming across multiple media and translating an experience from one domain to another, certainly ARGs are worth mentioning. Anyway, it's something worth mentioning since the text from ARGs often can go from text story to sound files, hacking of websites, and even real life meetings.
For people that need a little catching up...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game
And ARGs are popular enough nowadays that they even have their own network dedicated to finding them...
http://www.argn.com/
So why is it important to talk about ARGs in translated spaces?
1. It takes the mystery novel appeal and translates it to a mass audience in real time
2. It's a unique cultural experience with massive insight into game development and the needs of the casual and hardcore gamer
3. It's the only medium where you can get hilariously ironic free referential swag for participating: http://www.argn.com/archive/000711harvey_dent_campaign_swag.php
2 comments:
One of the problems with ARGs is that one really has to be a part of them as they unfold. I suppose the ARGhive is a noble effort, but I've found that a big part of experiencing an ARG is interacting with the other people involved as well.
I don't share the same passion others might have with ARGs, most likely because I've never participated in one and don't really feel the need to at the moment.
It's usually a very time-dependent medium. If you're not there when something is going on, you miss it. I guess that's one of the reality parts of it, since that happens all the time outside of games.
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