Consider the proverbial ice broken. Tonight we tackled the frustrating task of defining the undefinable by asking the daunting question "What IS an Alternate Reality Game anyway?" We considered a number of definitions and characteristics of the genre. Perhaps by the end of the semester we will have a definition.
We also reviewed the Syllabus, talked about the PUSH vs PULL homework (email your list to me!), and watched some of the 1997 movie: “The Game”
THIS WEEK:
1) Twitter me at "albrackin" and lets all start tracking each other. (its a sort of unofficial EMAC tradition - or so I'm told.)
2) Log in and get onto this blog and start making comments, posting links and making it a proper social networking tool. I recommend you subscribe to the feed by clicking the option on the right.
4) Email me if you have not already so I have your proper email address.
HW: Create a "fake internet presence" (alt) that can not be linked to you in any way. Email me (from your real email) a link to this fake “you’s” mark on the web by Wed night – but don’t tell anybody else what it is.
Sonia Carreno of "Passage Communications" is an "Online Media Consultant" out of Canada. Her description of "Push vs Pull" Media is one of the best I've seen. Check out her blog and her post about it at Passage Communications.
Remember that this week's assignment is to generate a list of PULL media that you have come across in your daily activities.
"This is Not a Game" is the catchphrase for "Alternate Reality Games", the newest form of Interactive Online Entertainment. They were born from interactive forms of "Guerrilla Advertising" and are made up by a blending of Social Networks, Interactive Fiction, and MMOGs. This class will explore all things ARG from its history to its future, including the known boundaries of "Interactive Online Entertainment" and "Chaotic Fiction" as they relate to ARG, as well as the art and science of creating and playing ARGs.
Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes
Students will be asked to research, follow, and analyze past and current ARG games and to engage in the first steps in creating an online fictional self within the context of an interactive online environment through tools such as ARGn.com, Unfiction.com, Despoiler.org, and the ARGology.org project, as an interactive part of mapping the genre as it discovers itself.
Regular weekly HW assignments (email to me / bring to class)
Weekly contribution to internal class discussion blog (http://argclass.blogspot.com/)
Regular Contribution to ARG community (email regular “monthly” status updates)
The ARGology.org project
unforums.com game forums
despoiler.org site
other sites?
presentation to class about chosen “historical” ARG (10/2-10/23)
3-5 page paper about chosen historical ARG (due your presentation day)
presentation to class about chosen “current” ARG (11/6-12/4) from ARGn or UF“What’s Hot” lists about an ongoing game
3-5 page paper about chosen current ARG (due your presentation day)
Course, Grading, & Instructor Policies
This class relies heavily on discussion and class participation. Students will be expected to attend ALL classes unless you have a special circumstance in which case you MUST contact me in advance by phone or email! A student who misses more than one class session or misses without approval will be required to do an additional project or have their grade dropped by one letter for the course. Late work will be dropped by one letter grade for each week it is late. No Exceptions.
The five deliverables for the course will be weighted equally and averaged (20% of course grade). A student who attends all classes, completes all coursework on time, and whose five deliverables all meet the high standard expected of a University student will receive an A in this course.
Technical Support
If you experience any problems with your UTD account you may send an email to: assist@utdallas.edu or call the UTD Helpdesk at 972 883-2911.
"This is Not a Game" is the catchphrase for "Alternate Reality Games", the newest form of "Online Interactive Entertainment". They were born from interactive forms of "Guerrilla Advertising" and are made up by a blending of Social Networks, Interactive Fiction, and MMOGs.
ARG is one of the hottest new forms of massive multi player online games. Though born in advertising, it has become so much more and is on the verge of splitting into dozens if not hundreds of sub-genres within the next few years. ARG blends virtual and real-world elements into an enticing blend of reality and fiction that has recently been seen in movies, television shows, commercials, and used to promote every type of product imaginable. ARG has blurred the line between fiction and reality for millions of players who have dared to enter the ARG "rabbit hole," follow the "trailhead" laid by the ARG "puppetmasters," and discover the secrets of an Alternate Reality.
This class will explore all things ARG from its history to its future, including the known boundaries of "Interactive Online Entertainment" and "Chaotic Fiction" as they relate to ARG, as well as the art and science of creating and playing ARGs. Students will be asked to research, follow, and analyze past and current ARG games and to engage in the first steps in creating an online fictional self within the context of an interactive online environment through tools such as ARGn.com, Unfiction.com, Despoiler.org, and the ARGology.org project, as an interactive part of mapping the genre as it discovers itself.
Dr. Adam Brackin has acted as the director of game development at Fundi Interactive Games since 2006. He has been the head writer and Creator of numerous works of Collaborative Online Fiction, most recently the 2006-2007 "Deus City" ARG, and the 2008 "Conspiracy Asylum" Online Interactive Fiction spin-off. He spoke as a panel member in the 2007 San Francisco ARGfest and most recently represented Fundi and UT-D at the Boston ARGfest in August 2008.
This course is part of the new program in Emerging Media at UT Dallas.
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