EVERYTHING YOU
KNOW ABOUT ARGS
IS WRONG
DAN HON, SIX TO START, DAN@SIXTOSTART.COM

The taboos of alternate reality games - the number of
people playing, the types of people playing and the degree
of immersion and ask: where did it all go wrong? (and,
hopefully, have some pointers as to how to put the world
to rights).

SOME CAVEATS

• HIGHLY RESEARCHED
• TOTALLY OBJECTIVE
• COMPLETELY INOFFENSIVE

WE SUCK
DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PLAYERS
THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY ARE WEIRD
THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY HAVE NO MONEY
THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY AREN’T MAINSTREAM
WE MAKE GAMES FOR THE HARDCORE
WE’RE TOO EXPENSIVE
WE DON’T SCALE
WE LIE

AN APOLOGY

DEFINITIONS

ALTERNATE REALITY
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GAME
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ALTERNATE REALITY GAME
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ARG AS A LABEL
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(A STORY GAME)
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3 PRINCIPLES OF
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GOOD STORYTELLING

CLUE #1
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CLUE #1
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TELL A GOOD STORY,
IN THE CONTEXT OF
ALL STORYTELLING.

CLUE #2
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LESS IS MORE.

CLUE #3
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THE INTERNET IS
NOT VIDEO.

(A STORY GAME)
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GAMES ARE SUPPOSED
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TO BE FUN

A SUGGESTION
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NO MORE OF THIS SHIT
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VIEWING SOURCE CODE
“DE-STEGGING”
WAITING
CODEBREAKING
MORE CODEBREAKING
ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE
VIEWING MORE SOURCE CODE
SOLVING STUPID PUZZLES
BUYING STOCK IN UV TORCH COMPANIES
STILL WAITING
NOT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO

MORE OF THIS PLEASE
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SHORT, SNAPPY AND FUN
LAST CALL POKER
THE LOST SPORT
PLAYTESTING
PLAYFUL DESIGN
PROPER GAME DESIGN
REPEATABLE
SOCIAL

WE MAKE GAMES AND
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TELL STORIES

SOME CHARTS
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PERCENTAGE OF PIE CHART RESEMBLING PAC MAN
PERCENTAGE OF PIE CHART NOT RESEMBLING PAC MAN

NO, REALLY
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EVERYBODY
GAME STORY
NOBODY

EVERYBODY
WE TELL STORIES
YOUNG BOND
GAME STORY
PERPLEX CITY
NOBODY

EVERYBODY
MAGICAL PONY
UNICORN LAND
WE TELL STORIES
YOUNG BOND
GAME STORY
PERPLEX CITY
NOBODY

LAST SUGGESTION
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NO MORE OF THIS SHIT
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THIS IS NOT A GAME
LAZY CALLS TO ACTION
HELPING A TEENAGE GIRL
HELPING AN ATTRACTIVE TEENAGE GIRL
HELPING AN ATTRACTIVE AMNESIAC TEENAGE GIRL
HELPING ATTRACTIVE AMNESIAC TEENAGE GIRLS
“THE ORDER”
COUNTDOWNS
MILLIONS OF BLOG ENTRIES
JUMPING THROUGH FUCKING HOOPS
MASTURBATORY PLATFORM EXCITEMENT

NO MORE OF THIS SHIT
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OOH, A MOVIE CREDIT
OOH, A WEBSITE
OOH, AN EMAIL ADDRESS
OOH, AN AUTORESPONDER
OOH, A PHONE NUMBER
OOH, A VOICEMAIL
OOH, A PHYSICAL ADDRESS
OOH, AN EMAIL ADDRESS
OOH, A WEBSITE
OOH, A SECRET CODE

PLEASE STOP
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LAST, LAST SUGGESTION
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TIME TO DECIDE
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OPTIMISE FOR VIEWERS OR PLAYERS (OR BOTH?)
MARKETING CAMPAIGN (PR) OR GAME
DO YOU REALLY NEED A STORY?

THE END
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